4.25 Stars

68 year old billionaire Liam Noone has been killed. Pushed over the cliff at his Californian house. At least that's what his son Sam thinks. And he tries to get his half-sister Nora to help him find out what really happened.
Nora hasn't had the best releationship with her father and brothers. But she also knows that her dad would never just accidentally fall off the edge of his beloved house.
Off to California they go. Leaving behind Nora's fiancé and an ex who is suddenly trying to contact her again.

🌺📚🌺📚

I really enjoyed reading this.
I was a bit shocked at first to see how short this book was. And the writing also took a bit of getting used to. No idea what I mean by that, but it was a bit weird. I think I wanted many sentences to be longer and the whole book needed to be longer. It was a bit short - I needed more about everybody and all the things. There was too much about architecture and other stuff and not enough about the people and relationships.
But! I really liked the story. It was mysterious and interesting and a bit dark and sad and grievy with lots of family drama ... I liked it. I would watch the movie.

I really loved this book. A love story wrapped up in a thriller. You feel you know the characters, particularly Liam, who tragically dies at the start, and like and empathise with them all. The ending is beautiful. I thoroughly recommend this book.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

This was an enjoyable read, Laura Dave certainly knows how to build a story to get you to the climax. I'm a huge fan of her writing style and the pace of her novels.
But I have to be honest the ending let it down. Some of it was a bit far fetched, I understand the whole phone scenario was probably to create a certain narrative but in this day and age it just doesn't fly. I also did not like the no closure at the end, I wanted to know what happened to Grace's husband

I requested this book because it was described as a thriller, but it turned out to be more of a complex family drama. It didn’t have me gripped at all, and I got confused with the many characters and kept having to turn back a page or two to remember who was who. It was an OK read but I felt that it dragged on a bit. The writing was wonderful and anyone who enjoys a slow burn mystery would love this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

Great thriller, first book I’ve read from this author, I will definitely be on the lookout for more in the future!

A good story line with a good twist. Story was easy to follow going from past to present. And made sense when pulling the story together.

When Liam Noone, the owner of a property empire, dies under suspicious circumstances, his children, half-siblings Sam and Nora are determined to unravel the events leading up to his death. Travelling to the California coast to their father’s estate, they begin to investigate. A precarious fall from the cliffs seems unlikely for a man who knew and loved the area well and Nora refuses to let it go.

When discussions with Detective O’Brien shed little light on Noone’s death and raise more questions than answers, Nora begins to question how well she knew her father. What had Liam done to cost him his life? What family secrets are suddenly coming to light. I found the police oddly frustrating as if not wanting to get involved, not believing Nora and hoping any more time spent on the case would be dropped. But she was persistent, and persistence always pays off.

The parts I loved the most were those that followed Liam Noone and Cory’s romance, leading up to the present day. With tension between all characters and Nora juggling interpersonal relationships, the books flows well with tons of twists to keep me turning the pages. Family backstory is seen through flashbacks, grief and loss taking centre stage. But for me, the family saga, estrangements and resentments were the real mystery. The dialogue is authentic and strong, and the characters grew on me as the book progressed. As the story came to its conclusion, the truth was a surprise.

With Dave’s signature voice and thoughtful, complex writing, this is powerful storytelling at its very best. It’s a must read for your TBR!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author for the privilege of reading an advance copy.

This was not what I expected. When Nora’s father dies unexpectedly, in an accident, at his second home, she is contacted by her half brother., Sam. They have never been close but he manages to persuade Nora that her father’s death was not an accident but murder. As they begin to investigate, they uncover a love story which explains why her father was married three times and kept his families separate. Nothing in his life has been quite what it seemed. I found this an intriguing read as characters developed and relationships blossomed. Crime or romance? It worked for me both ways.

This is an intriguing and well told story. It is certainly unusual which is a bonus. The complication in the story which the reader must unravel is that the main characters have multiple marriages and additional partners! The younger characters seem set to follow in their footsteps. A brother and sister are not satisfied with the police conclusion that their father fell off a cliff at his home, was spotted by a local couple and declared it all to be an accident. But there was talk of a third figure being around so they investigate. The story really does keep a reader wanting to know what actually happened and that comes! I recommend this book.

The proof to Laura Dave's " The night we lost him" was a perfect holiday read for me, enjoyed the puzzle of half siblings Sam and Nora trying to uncover, whether their wealthy father's fall from a cliff near his California home was accidental or not. It's a rich family drama filled with secrets, several twists and turns and a love story/ mystery at the same time.

Such great mystery read. Highly recommend this. If you like mysteries and thrillers you’ll like this. Great book.

Enjoyed this book. Very much about family and relationships love and loss and reconnection. Liam fell to his death but the children need to know more about what happened to their dad on that fateful night.

A very enjoyable read

Laura Dave does it again! This thriller has every element of the genre down pat, and I loved every second of it!

Score 3 out of 5

This is one I struggled with and never felt it fully 'clicked' for me.

First, the positives. Laura Dave does write a simple story that keeps the momentum going the whole way through. There isn't much time given to events outside of the investigation (the story is told over two timelines; the siblings investigation and some from years before the death). While I never got overly excited about this, I was intrigued enough to follow it through to the end.

This is a mystery which places its emphasis on relationships rather than the overall mystery. I haven't read Dave's books previously, but it does seem the emphasis is given to family dynamics and this one does cover that motif. In some ways, this book is more about a brother and sister becoming closer.

Also, instead of making the Dad into a diabolical business who neglected his children and others, he is a compassionate and caring individual. This is a novel aspect where many other stories have gone down the "hate the rich" premise. He is not perfect, but he is a far way off the stereotypical business type.

Overall, this is a book for someone who likes a lighter murder mystery. It seems that for Dave fans this will undoubtedly scratch an itch that's wanted. For those who are murder mystery aficionada this is unlikely to excite in the same way and in particular, the dark murder mystery lovers will find this one severally lacking in the grit and threat.

Slight spoiler talk
Why did I not love this book? The main issue was with the lack of consequence. It's not an issue of danger and threat but the 'so what'. Nora and Sam's investigation is quickly introduced and, positively, doesn't drag things on unnecessarily but this speed leads to a lack of urgency in the why of the story. There isn't a true conspiracy to the proceedings, even though everyone acts strange for red herrings. Finding out their Dad has been murdered is unlikely to change anything. This lack of consequence does lead to a damp finish. We get an answer and then that's it. The story was just lacking a couple of key steps.

***updated with correct review. I predicted a 5 star and it really was a 5 star!***

I could not put this book down. It is a real page turner.

The story is told from the point of view of Nora whose father died in a tragic accident. Well this is what Nora believes until her estranged half-brother Sam tricks her into meeting him. They head off across the country to their father’s favourite home to see what they can dig up. There are also some short chapters told from the point of view of her father, starting with him as a young man all the way through to present day.

I loved how the story interweaved and we got some clues as to what has happened. I’ll be honest though, I knew a twist was coming but I never guessed the ending. It was so cleverly and beautifully written. It deals with grief so lovingly.

If you enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me then you will absolutely love this. It’s a little different and no where near as easy to work out the twist!

Enjoyable read, untangling the web that potentially lies behind a tragic accident - or was it an accident?

Lots of going back and forth between today and the past, which was easy to follow. And provided the back story to relationships.

I enjoyed this, but probably not as much as 'The Last Thing He Told Me'

When Liam Noone, owner of a famed hotel empire, dies, his children, Nora and Sam, suspect foul play. Gradually, they bury past grievances as they join forces to investigate.

Like The Last Thing He Told Me, The Night We Lost Him is a story with a family relationship at its heart. It's moving, gripping and riveting.

I struggled to follow the book at the beginning, due to lots of characters being introduced. I had high hopes for it as a thriller/crime book but I can't say it felt like it belonged in that genre.

It was well written and easy to read once I got to grips with who the characters were but the story just fell a bit flat for me. It was okay but not great. I would be open to reading more work by the author though.

2.45 star rating

Like most people given the chance of reading an ARC I really struggled with this one. The characters are unforgettable, it's siblings who set out to find out who their father real was. I wish it was a page turner but it isn't but I am willing to give Laura's next book another go.

2.5 rounded up. I kind of struggled with this book a little. I would probably have liked it more if I wasn’t thinking of it being a murder mystery and more a story of relationships, family and growth.

Whenever there was a flashback, I couldn’t keep up with who was talking as it wasn’t very distinguishable and for me it was quite cryptic at times so I just really couldn’t connect to the characters despite me liking Liam from an emotional POV in current events. I also kept thinking of Cece as someone else which I’m not sure was purposely done by the author making you think that’s who it was or was just me drawing from familiarities.

Overall I just don’t think this book was for me and that’s okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and CornerStone for the arc.