Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Last Thing He Told Me

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Hannah begins to investigate when her husband of one year goes missing, leaving behind only his sixteen-year-old daughter and a cryptic note.

This was my first time listening to a thriller on audio (I’ve always avoided it out of worry about my ability to follow the story) and the good news is the audio format worked really well. The bad news is it was probably because this book isn’t a thriller. I’m not usually a stickler for genre labels (I think they should be really broad and fluid!) but I don’t think this one qualified as a thriller almost any definition. It was, at best, a mystery, and really read to me as “vaguely mysterious contemporary fiction.” That’s a valid genre and even one I read, but I truly think the inaccurate marketing for this one affected my reading experience/perspective in a big way.

That said, there were a lot of positives about the book—I thought the writing itself was really good, the characters were likable and I enjoyed the relationship between Hannah and her step-daughter Bailey, and I thought the audio narration was very well done. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the ending and ultimately had more frustration with this book than I did enjoyment.

All of this with a giant caveat, though: I read this as a buddy read and at least one of my fellow readers LOVED this book and gave it five stars. So it definitely is for some people, even though it largely was not for me.

Recommended if you like: contemporary fiction with a dark edge, reflections on parenthood, missing person stories

CW: Loss of parent; abandonment

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? No

3.75

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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

This book was super engaging and fast-paced until the last quarter or so, as the big plot twist was… cheesy? Yes, unexpected, but in a way that turned you off the adrenaline of the story?? It felt like I missed something, like it was a red herring for the “real” twist, but that “real” twist never came. So I was just disappointed really in the resolution. The ending became rather flat to me.

In general, none of the characters have much personality. Which isn’t uncommon for a mystery novel, but made the plot a little stale. It’s hard to believe a character doing unthinkable things for another character when neither are fleshed out so much to show true reasoning behind their actions. Although this is a story about protecting those you love, I found little detailed emotion in the pages aside from literally stating said emotions.

And what modern 16-year-old girl calls their dad by “father”?? I found Bailey’s use of it so off-putting. Her dialogue didn’t give off the teenager voice to me.

Also, chapters do not need to have titles unless it’s intended for someone under the age of 11. End of.

Content Warnings

tiffyd's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Such an intense book. From page one, you hit the ground running with the characters, not knowing what’s happening but so intrigued that you’re compelled to help them figure it out. This book is mysterious, thrilling, and full of love. I really enjoyed the plot arc and the characters are loveable even in the face of difficult decisions.

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aly97's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I read this for a book club and it was okay. I liked the prosaic writing style. The plot was interesting but it didn’t really have enough twists to keep me at the edge of my seat or anything, so it was slightly disappointing.

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krows_ink's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Overall I enjoyed this book and I absolutely consumed it. I read it in about three sittings, one of those where I read 200 pages. So, if anything, this book is a fast, enjoyable and consumable read.

This book — at its core — is about how far we’ll go for family. What we’ll do and where we the draw the line. The relationship between Hannah and Bailey was the strongest thing (in my opinion) about this book. It kept me engaged, turning the page, and asking “what can possibly happen from here?”.

There are a few things that took me out of the book such as

Spoiler

the german protection chocolate labs. Like are you serious right now? I couldn't help but feel like laughing. Not to mention that whole scene of the estate just threw me out of it momentarily. It didn’t feel real. But maybe that was the author’s intention?

But otherwise I don’t have much to complain about besides the extremely redundant use of “said”. I’m sorry but it’s a pet peeve. Like she could have written “asked”, “questioned”, “murmured”, “grumbled”, anything else at least once.

But despite those things I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for an easy read to cleanse your pallet. If you like Gilmore Girls I think you might like this book. It’s not really cozy, and I’d call it more of a mystery than a thriller, but the themes line up with Gilmore Girls and the characters made me miss fall and Stars Hallow.

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