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The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis of The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Protect her. Those are the last words written in a note to his wife, Hannah Hall, before Owen Michaels mysteriously disappears amidst a very public scandal involving his employer. Hannah knows that Owen is referring to his 16 year old daughter Bailey, her stepdaughter, but she can’t begin to understand the urgency behind those two little words.

As Hannah tries to figure out where Owen may have gone, and why the FBI and U.S. Marshalls are arriving at their home, she’ll uncover more than she could have ever imagined.

As Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, including pieces of Owen’s past, they’ll realize that they’re building a future neither one of them could ever have anticipated.

My Thoughts

I struggled to categorize this book; it didn’t really fit “thriller,” nor “crime” – although the plot definitely revolves around a crime. And while I feel the intention of this book was to be that of a thriller, it just missed that thrilling quality I look for in a good read.

I had high hopes for this book; after seeing it in pretty much every single post on #bookstagram, but I felt (and I know this will be an unpopular opinion), that it contained a storyline without a story. Like, the foundation was there, but the details within the plot fell a little bit flat.

I honestly felt like each chapter repeated itself, in more than a few words, essentially they all went like this:

Chapter 1: “I couldn’t believe it, the man I thought I knew was missing. But where could he have gone?”

Chapter 2: “I couldn’t understand what was happening. I thought I knew my husband, but he disappeared. Where can he be?”

Chapter 3: “Owen is gone. But I thought I knew him? I need to find where he went, but where do I even start?”

You get the idea.

To be fair, again, the foundation was good. The storyline itself had all the details needed to captivate the reader. But I just felt like I was seeing a Hallmark story play out and not the thriller that I was anticipating. The ending, however, did provide me with closure, and I may or may not have shed a tear or two (I’m not heartless, just a harsh critic when it comes to books).

I did give this one three stars, which I felt was generous, considering the read itself was slightly sleepy. But all in all, I’m happy I gave this one a go. I just probably won’t be re-reading it anytime soon.

I’m curious to know; have you read this one? What did you think?!