The Last Thing He Told Me. By Laura Dave. Audiobook

Emma Smith

By chance, I ended up reading the last two Goodreads Choice Award winners for mystery and thriller – The Maid and The Last Thing He Told Me – one right after the other. While The Maid was enjoyable, it didn't strike me as a standout champion. In my view, The Last Thing He Told Me was the more deserving winner.

A quick note: this leans more into pure mystery than heart-pounding thriller territory, so adjust your expectations accordingly.

This was a gripping, one-sitting kind of read for me. While the characters themselves aren't deeply complex, the extraordinary circumstances they're thrown into create an immediate, powerful investment. I found myself completely absorbed by their evolving conflict and the fragile bonds forced upon them.

My feelings on the ending are… complicated. I'm still processing it. Part of me recognizes a certain poignant beauty in the final choice, while another part – viewing it through the lens of a parent or a daughter – wrestles with its painful impossibility. It’s an ending that lingers and provokes thought, for better or worse.

Here's a personal confession: I loved the book when I finished it. Then, I made the mistake of reading scathing reviews. They made me second-guess my own reaction, and I hate that. Outside opinions can powerfully shape our perception of art. If I genuinely enjoy a book, I shouldn't have to wonder if my opinion is "wrong."

So my ironic advice in this review? Maybe don't read reviews at all. If a mystery captivates you, that's all that matters. Who cares if it doesn't work for someone else?

Bottom line: I recommend this book.

The Premise
It starts with a chilling, two-word note from her vanished husband, Owen: "Protect Her." Hannah's world instantly shatters. Owen is gone, his phone dead. News breaks that his tech company, The Shop, is at the center of a massive fraud investigation; his boss is already in custody.

The plot thickens when Owen's teenage daughter, Bailey (Hannah's resistant stepdaughter), arrives home with a duffel bag – containing over half a million dollars, left for her by her father.

The questions are immediate and terrifying. Where is Owen? Is he a fugitive or a victim? Why would he abandon them, especially Bailey? Are they now in danger themselves?

Thrust into this nightmare, Hannah and Bailey must rely on each other, their strained relationship tested as they unravel the truth. They soon discover Owen built their life on a foundation of lies. Protecting Bailey just became an infinitely more dangerous task.

My Take
As noted, this isn't a pedal-to-the-metal thriller. It's a story of a shocking disappearance and a fraught stepfamily relationship, forged in crisis. I connected with Hannah's determined, trying-to-do-her-best perspective, even if Bailey's teenage angst sometimes wore thin.

The narrative weaves present-day urgency with brief, revealing flashbacks, peeling back layers of Owen's hidden past. These short chapters are effective, dropping clues without slowing momentum.

My investment stemmed from the core tragedy of a fractured family. The dissonance between the loving Owen they knew and the man who would disappear so brutally drove my need for answers.

I was surprised by some of the harsh criticism online. While no book is for everyone, the cited flaws didn't resonate with my experience. Interestingly, many reviewers panned the chapter titles – a pet peeve I usually share. Here, for some reason, they didn't bother me.

The corporate fraud element and Owen's backstory could have used more depth, but that likely would have required a longer, different novel. Similarly, understanding Owen and Hannah's marriage more before his disappearance might have heightened the emotional stakes. However, starting with that gripping note is a masterful hook – a trade-off I understand, even if it reminded me of books where I later lost connection with the characters.

Overall, I'm on board with most of the author's choices – with two exceptions: Hannah's questionable handling of all that cash, and that morally complex ending.

Without spoilers, the final decision still feels jarring. Perhaps my idealism wishes for a third option, a neater, happier resolution. Life – and this book – isn't always that simple.

Book vs. Limited Series (Apple TV+)
The story is now a limited series, starring Jennifer Garner as Hannah – a spot-on casting choice. Having watched it, here's my breakdown:

The adaptation is largely faithful, often verbatim from the book, which I appreciated. However, two significant changes stood out negatively:

1. Gratuitous Language: The script adds a barrage of unnecessary f-words, which felt forced and added nothing.
2. An Unnecessary Change: The character Max is gender-swapped to facilitate an LGBTQ+ subplot. This baffled me. Why alter a freshly written story? It felt like a checkbox, not an organic narrative improvement.

The series expands certain scenes for visual storytelling, like Bailey seeking out her aunt and viewing home videos, which worked well. A flashback of Owen with his future father-in-law also helped flesh out past relationships.

As an adaptation, it's solid. My husband, coming in fresh, found it engaging and mysterious. For me, knowing the twists removed the tension, but the core story remained compelling.

Final verdict on the series? They did a good job bringing the book to screen. I just wish they'd trusted the original material a bit more – and decided the world didn't need more gratuitous swearing.