The Last Thing He Told Me

by Laura Dave

Review

This was a really fascinating mystery that pulled me in right from the start. Hannah is left a note from her husband telling her to protect his daughter—Hannah’s stepdaughter—Bailey. From there, the two of them are thrown into a situation neither of them expected, trying to uncover the truth behind Owen’s sudden disappearance. What starts off as a confusing and emotional mystery quickly becomes clear that there’s far more going on beneath the surface than it initially appears, and every new discovery adds another layer to the story.

At the beginning, Hannah and Bailey have a pretty strained relationship. Bailey is openly antagonistic toward her stepmom, which makes sense given the circumstances, and while Hannah understands Bailey’s resistance, she genuinely wants to build a real connection with her. When Owen disappears, they’re forced to rely on each other, and watching them work together to dig into Bailey and Owen’s past was one of my favorite parts of the book. Seeing their relationship grow—especially Bailey learning not just to trust Hannah but to truly lean on her—was incredibly rewarding and added a lot of emotional depth to the mystery.