Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Last Thing He Told Me

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave

67 reviews

autumnz's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

So it's a mystery/thriller, I understand that. But I felt like nothing really happened? If that even makes sense. <Spoiler> There were literally three chapters just about these girlies going to the University of Texas. I felt like the other was trying too hard to sound profound, when the story was so surface level. I gave it a 2.5 because I did not really like it but the audiobook was not hard to get through. It was a 9 hour audiobook, and the narrator's voice was actually not annoying (unless she was speaking as Bailey). If you want something fast to get through, this could be nice for the background but I honestly would not read again. I did appreciate that the author did a little '5 years later' moment at the end because I feel like nowadays an author can leave you hanging but it just was not my cup of tea.

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horrorhomebodies's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

My biggest qualm with this book was the anti-climactic climax. Three quarters through the book, I was lead to think the main character was on the brink of discovering some crucial point of information that could lead to a conclusion of the story, but it was really not a relevant part of the story. The story kept my somewhat engaged, but the ending was very bland. It was average in my opinion. However, I gave the book an extra .75 for the relationship development between Hannah and Bailey, as well as the character of Hannah herself. She was extremely likable.

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becca_w_'s review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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cherryrose's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Last Thing He Told Me is a story about a woman named Hannah Hall whose husband, Owen Michaels, goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Before he leaves he writes a note to her that simply says, “protect her.” Over the course of the story Hannah tries to protect his teenage daughter, Bailey, and find answers to his disappearance.

It starts out kind of slow. But, once we learn who the characters are, the plot kept me entertained. I loved the twists and I really didn’t know where the story was going.

However, the characters are lacking. Numerous times, Bailey’s purple hair is mentioned to make up for her lack of actual personality. Hannah desperately wants to be liked by her and talks highly of her but, I don’t understand why. I can’t think of anything in the story that made her feel this way especially, when Bailey is an asshole to her most of the book.

Spoiler

Owen’s goodness is forced and unconvincing. When it’s revealed that he helped his father-in-law pass messages about hits, Grady justifies it by saying he was loyal to fault. He was just convinced by his wife and her brother’s love for their father.

Spoiler

When his FIL tells his side and points out that Owen was also complicit, Hannah says he only believes that because he was wronged. But it doesn’t matter to her because she loves him. I felt like the story was telling me because she loves him, he can’t be bad. You can’t even entertain that he’s bad because he is the love interest.

Overall, this was a fun read but, it could have been better.

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rileslovesyall's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was great for a light read. It's a thrilling page turner, easy to read, and had an unexpected twist. I appreciate the exploration into the human psyche while you following the main character trying to solve this mystery. Not particularly deep or insightful, but if you want something engaging and light, it's great. Good for a beach read, airplane, etc.

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fgalicia's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Good story. Not enough suspense and mystery for me. Very predictable. Bailey’s character was annoying which I think is the point.

Immediate tears with the last sentence of the book.

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