THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM
By: Laura Dave
Published: September 17, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
I loved Laura Dave’s best-selling thriller, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. I even enjoyed the adaptation with Jennifer Garner on Apple TV. So, I was super excited to get a copy of her newest book. Unfortunately, life didn’t allow me as much reading time as I hoped and it took me a bit to get through it. But, I also noticed that this time, I wasn’t as compelled to keep reading as I was with her last book. I read THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME in two days and THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM in six weeks. I read a lot at the beginning learning the back story and the characters. Then, I read quickly at the end, knowing the conclusion and answer to what happened to Liam was looming closer. The middle was a bit of a slower-paced read for me.
As someone who has been grieving the loss of my dad this year, I found this quote to be so affirming. Nora is on the phone with Sam, hearing him say that he thinks they need to go to California and look into their dad’s death.
“I run my hands over my eyes, exhausted. Grief is exhausting. No one talks about that. Or, at least, no one told me. No one told me just how exhausting it feels to carry it around with you. And it uses the same muscle as love. Because with real love you have to show up and give. You have to show up and be given to. And it’s not so much that I’ve forgotten how. It’s that it’s all added up to be so heavy.”
Estranged siblings Nora, Sam, and Tommy are struggling with the grief of losing their father in a tragic accident on his property. When Sam calls Nora with the idea that it wasn’t an accident, the two of them join forces to find out what really happened that night on the cliff at his property, Windbreak.
“I don’t like that I’m thinking about the beginning. In my experience that usually happens when you are approaching an end you don’t want. Why are beginnings and endings so intricately linked? Maybe because they aren’t the opposite of each other—their DNA is the same. They are the two things we all try to fix.”
Liam, a hotel magnate, apparently kept a lot of secrets from his children. Even though both of his sons worked with him in the Noone Properties business, there was a lot that they didn’t know about. Nora wants nothing to do with her father’s business or his properties, but when she finds out he left her his cliffside home, she is confused, heartbroken over the lost time together, and struggling to find answers to her questions.
Even though there is a mystery about what happened to Liam looming throughout the story, I would be hard-pressed to call this more than that. A mystery. It didn’t feel suspenseful or thriller-like. I wasn’t anxious or white-knuckled while reading. To me, it felt more like a family drama where, over time, we get small pieces of the story that eventually will fall into place and reveal the puzzle we’ve been trying to put together.
“It feels like they’re all pushing their own agenda, like they’re sharing just a small piece of a puzzle that they don’t want us to solve.”
The story is told through short chapters, alternating between flashbacks in Liam’s life and the present day with Sam and Nora. There were several characters to get to know right away and one particular character has two names which you don’t realize until later on. I related to Nora in the story, coming to terms with her father’s death, with the possibility that it wasn’t an accident, and with some regrets over their relationship. Nora is also struggling in her relationship with her significant other, Jack, and what the future holds for them.
I really enjoyed Nora and watching her change and learn about herself in the story. Nora designs buildings, homes, etc, using neuroarchitecture. It’s a term I’ve never heard before involving spaces built specifically to benefit memory and mental stimulation, and to avoid stress. That sounds like someplace I would like to live.
If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller like Dave’s previous novel, you won’t find it here. Instead this slow burn, family drama, leads up to a conclusion that isn’t shocking but leaves you feeling like the characters are going to find a way through their grief and reach happiness on the other side. As a side note, there is a planned sequel for THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME publishing in 2025!
Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels including The Last Thing He Told Me and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and six of them, including The Night We Lost Them, have been optioned for film and television. She resides in Santa Monica, California. Visit her website, HERE.
To purchase a copy of THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM, click HERE.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
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Posted Under Book Review, family drama, Laura Dave, mystery, suspense, thriller