Thursday 27 May 2021

Book ~ "The Last Thing He Told Me" (2021) Laura Dave

From Goodreads ~ Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her.

Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity - and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated. 

Hannah met Owen when she was living in New York and he was there on business.  They quickly fell in love and got married and she moved to be with him and his teenage daughter, Bailey, in California.  Everything is fine until Owen suddenly disappears and leaves a note for Hannah that said "Protect her".  Hannah assumes that means to protect Bailey, which is tricky because Bailey doesn't like or respect Hannah.

The tech company Owen works for is under investigation and the owner is arrested.  Everyone assumes Owen is involved and that's why he has disappeared.  Grady, a U.S. Marshall from Texas shows up to question Hannah, which she eventually finds odd.  She and Bailey head to Austin and discover that Owen isn't who he says he is and they learn the truth about him.

This book is written in first person perspective in Hannah's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.  I liked the writing style and thought the premise was interesting.  But I found it unbelievable that given all she thinks she know about Owen and his past that she would  head to Austin, TX, pretty well the day after he disappeared (rather than waiting at home for him to come back from wherever he went) just because Grady works in the Austin, TX, office and Bailey remembered being at a wedding there when she was about three years old.  And once she and Bailey arrive in Austin, it was way too easy for them to find out information about things and events that happened in the past.  Hannah had the mystery solved and a resolution in about a day ... I don't think so.  I thought the ending was pretty lame.

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