The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave – Book Review

summary

Owen Michaels suddenly disappears when the company he works for goes under investigation for fraud. Before disappearing, he leaves a very cryptic note for his wife, Hannah, to ‘PROTECT HER’. Despite the confusion and fear, Hannah knows who Owen is referring to in his note – his sixteen-year old daughter Bailey. Bailey is heartbroken that her dad disappeared without any explanation and that she is now stuck with a step-mother that she barely knows. Regardless of their cold relationship, Hannah is determined to win Bailey over and to protect her from whatever they are about to uncover. Together, Hannah and Bailey begin their own investigation about Owen’s whereabouts leading them to a startling revelation.

my thoughts

For a book that won Goodreads Choice Awards for best Mystery/Thriller in 2021, reading this book left me feeling extremely confused. This was a very disappointing read. 

The premise of the story kept me intrigued in the beginning and encouraged me to keep reading to find out more. I thought that it had a strong start but it quickly became evident that the plot wasn’t going anywhere. For a thriller, this book was extremely slow. The majority of the action is just Hannah and Bailey going to Austin based on a hunch, and finding out about Owen’s past and his secrets. But other than that, nothing else really happens.

The characters were not necessarily likable or unlikeable, I think they were just lacking depth. I didn’t resonate or feel an attachment to them at all. The writing was easy to get through, but at the same time I felt that it lacked something. I think this book had potential but the narrative and dialogue was not done very well.

Overall, I was very unsatisfied with this book and I would recommend skipping this one.

my rating