I hadn’t heard of Laura Dave. I don’t think I’d even have picked up a book with such a dark blue cover, and blurb on the back talking about a twisty-turny thriller, no matter how cleverly crafted. But ‘The last thing he told me’ was allocated for this month’s local reading group so I acquired it second-hand, and started reading it on Friday. 
(Amazon UK link)
It’s quite a long novel (360 pages in paperback) and at first I wondered whether I’d get to the end in time, as we have visitors staying, so I’m not reading as much as normal. I thought perhaps I’d read a hundred pages or so, and then find a summary somewhere. In the event, it was compulsive reading - and not as heavy as I’d expected - and I finished it by the end of Sunday, after five minutes here and ten minutes there…
The story is narrated by a woman of about forty called Hannah. She’s been married for just over a year to Owen, and they live on a floating house in California. Owen has a sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, whom he adores - and who doesn’t much like the intrusion of a new love into his life. Hannah is doing all she can to befriend her stepdaughter, but Bailey is not responding well.
Other than that, life is pretty much idyllic for Hannah. She works making hand-crafted rustic furniture, and Owen makes sufficient money as a software coder that they live a comfortable life. And then, out of the blue, Owen vanishes. The company he works for is being investigated for fraud, but Hannah can’t believe he would be involved in that, or that - if he was - he wouldn’t be willing to stand trial along with his colleagues.
He leaves her a note with just two words on it. She and Hannah have to try to make sense of what’s happened, with no information initially - and then, as they start to ask questions and investigate, the story becomes more and more confusing. It seems that what they thought they knew wasn’t even right.
To say anything else would be a spoiler; suffice it to say I was hooked, as confused as Hannah and Bailey, perhaps; intrigued to know more. I don’t think I’d class it exactly as a thriller although there are some tense moments. But it’s certainly an exciting story, with quite a few unexpected revelations. It reminded me a bit of some of Louise Candlish’s novels; more a psychological thriller, perhaps, than a high-action one.
The writing is excellent, the pace exactly right, with a few flashbacks here and there to Hannah’s life with Owen before and during their marriage. I liked her very much, And I also liked the way that, although there’s a love story underlying the novel, it’s much more about Hannah and Bailey, and their growing relationship as they bond in their shared loss. Hannah is generous and wise; at times I felt she was almost too altruistic to be believable - but not quite. She has moments of being afraid, moments when she doesn’t know what to believe, and a great deal of anger.
There’s nothing explicit in this book, no on-page violence, and minimal bad/strong language. I thought the ending was well done, but left too much open. So I’m delighted to read, at the back, that the author has started working on a sequel.
Very highly recommended.
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