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

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The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

23 reviews

horrorhomebodies's review against another edition

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.

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.

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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the_true_monroe's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

This was a super quick audiobook for me- kept me engaged and eager to hear what was happening next. Usually I get bored when chapters are based in flashbacks but for this book each of those moments were intriguing. For a while I thought this was going to be a 5 star but at the last quarter of the book or maybe closer to the end, it started to disappoint me because I felt there was too sudden of a drop in energy/ thriller tone. So it ended up between a 3.5 and 4.

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

I only read this for a Storygraph reading challenge, and almost didn't finish. It starts out alright, and the female protagonist is strong, but by 80% I hated it. I didn't like the unnecessary misdirect of there only being 2 (bad) reasons to change your name, found Hannah's conclusions made less and less sense, dislike obligatory one-dimensional angry teen characters, and don't understand how you don't notice the piggy bank isn't full of coins.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Title: The Last Thing He Told Me
Author: Laura Dave
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: May 4, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Captivating • Mysterious • Original

📖 S Y N O P S I S

When the CEO of the company he works for comes under fire, Owen disappears but he has one final message for his wife, Hannah "protect her". Hannah knows the note refers to his daughter, Bailey, who is his pride and joy. With very few clues to work with, Hannah and Bailey are determined to find him by and know they must take matters into their own hands.

When a U.S. Marshall appears at their home, suggesting Owen isn't who he says he is, they find themselves attempting to piece together a puzzle. A story of unconditional parental love and found family, of ultimate trust and the sacrifices of marriage.

💭 T H O U G H T S

As soon as I read the first few pages of The Last Thing He Told Me, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Although not overly suspenseful, I was instantly engaged by the quiet mystery, and somehow still managed to take me for a roller coaster ride.

Laura Dave combines great characters and great writing in this perfectly paced novel that keeps you guessing. She did a fabulous job weaving together the two timelines and the characters had depth. I really grew to care about them, and the relationship that developed between Hannah and Bailey was heartwarming.

The Last Thing He Told Me is definitely more of a domestic mystery than a thriller, yet it was one of those books I just couldn't put down. It didn't have the ending I was expecting, which I appreciated as it felt truer to life. Just a solid, quick and refreshing read worth my time.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• family drama enthusiasts
• fans of Sally Hepworth
• readers looking for a beach or cottage read

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"This is the terrible thing about a tragedy. It isn't with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again. And you see it with a stark quality: This is what is required of you now, just to get along."

"It was a little bit of all of that and something far bigger than all of that. How do you explain it when you find in someone what you've been waiting for your whole life? Do you call it fate? It feels lazy to call it fate. It's more like finding your way home - where home is a place you secretly hoped for, a place you imagined, but where you'd never before been."

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