This would have been a fantastic epic family/multigenerational drama and I would have loved to have delved deeper into the Liam/Cory romance - or for it to have been a journey from Liam through to Nora, Middlesex-style. I was captivated by their romance and the family histories, and mainly forgot that it was a murder mystery so wasn't guessing or looking for clues as I would usually do with a thriller. I actually felt rather indifferent when the killer was revealed. This probably would have been a 4.5, if not 5, had it been that type of novel.

A thrilling mystery/family saga which kept me engaged throughout. Had to keep looking back to check who was who as it was quite complex over the different timelines but it certainly kept me guessing. Solid and satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended to all mystery lovers.
Thanks to the author, publisher and to netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy.

The Night We Lost Him is a slow paced family drama based around the love story of Liam and Cory over the decades and, to a lesser degree, Jack and Nora's romance. With so much going on there it's easy to forget that this is also a mystery; how did Liam die? Whilst it was interesting to try and pick up clues along the way, the mystery felt almost irrelevant and it's conclusion a bit of a damp squib. For all that I really enjoyed the book and offer my grateful thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my early copy in return for an honest review.

Nora and her half brother, Sam, are drawn together as they start to look into the death of their father.
A really enjoyable read.

Love love love this book, for me the pace was brillant and I loved each and every character. They were very wel developed and the plot line just flowed. I haven’t read a book by Laura Dave before but will defo add her to my list of go to in the furture.

While I didn’t find this as reverting as Laura’s first book, this was still a fun twisty thriller with interesting characters and a cool premise.

I wish this hadn’t have been marketed so much around romance as it takes away slightly from the broken, layered characters I wished the story had centered on a little more.

I really enjoyed this book. I would describe it as more of a romance/mystery than a thriller. It is a slow paced story line, although it did keep me guessing and I never would have got the ending. I liked the way it was written and although there were many different characters involved, it never got confusing. The ending was slightly disappointing in that everything seemed to just get wrapped up in a nice bow. I liked the character development within this book - I felt I had a really good understanding of some of the main characters. I also found myself reading quicker and more hurried when Nora was panicked and desperate, which shows an effective writing style! Overall, an enjoyable read, although definitely not a thriller.

A solid 3 stars. More drama than suspense and not as face paced as I hoped for. Still, a good story with enough intrigue to keep me turning pages even when things were moving a bit too slowly.

Didn’t work for me

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of ‘The Night We Lost Him’ by Laura Dave to review.

This is a solid mystery, which by all accounts I should have enjoyed it more than I did. But somehow, I couldn’t connect to the protagonist and the dual timeline didn’t work for me.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars. In the end, I rounded it down to 3.

A really great story showing the reality of what you don't know about the family and how that can warp the viewpoint of what is going on.

Nora reconnects with her estranged Stepbrother Sam to discover what happened to their father on the night of his death.
This was a fairly quick read for me but sadly I wasn't gripped by the storyline. I would class it more a family drama than a thriller.

A good solid mystery with well written characters that I found myself warming to immensely as the story went on.
A mysterious plot that ended well and interesting lead characters that held my interest.
The novel was fast paced and easy to follow, will read more form this author.

Dnf only read to 12% this did not capture me i really wanted to like it as its different but didnt. I may go back to it but for now not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book to review.

I loved the twists and turns and suspense of this book. Really enjoyed the brother and sister reconnecting throughout.

Would definitely recommend.

I loved this read, it wasn't just a page-turner but a rollercoaster of suspense and emotion that had me hooked from the first chapter to the very last sentence. She seamlessly weaves together the intrigue of a gripping thriller with the tender threads of an unexpected love story, creating a narrative tapestry that is as unpredictable as it is heartwarming. As the layers of the mystery peeled away, I found myself racing towards a conclusion that was as satisfying as it was unexpected. Definitely would recommend to friends and found as much as I loved her last read, this was even better!

I really liked this book. Not a conventional murder story but one bound up in family relationships. I enjoyed the story, the disclosures and the unpicking of the different relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I found this book to be a really well written story focusing on grief, loss and difficult family dynamics. There was an element of mystery which pulled me in and left me eager to find out what really happened. I particularly liked Nora and Sam’s relationship and enjoyed watching it develop into something really rather special. An interesting read that I would definitely recommend. 4 stars.

Not a thriller in the traditional sense, this is a story of grief and heartbreak and trying to get to the bottom of a mystery that seems like it might never reveal its answers. It's a nicely put together story, and has you thinking you know exactly what's going on - until you don't! A very enjoyable soft read.

3.5/5 rounded down to 3.

After successfully reading this whole book (it was a task and it took a while) I really have no clue what to truly say about it.

This was definitely not a thriller, barely a mystery.
More like "dysfunctional relationship vibes", family drama, grief management anonymous and a few dead people.
Which still doesn’t sound bad to me at all but when the whole thing could simply be resolved by someone just being truthful about the whole situation a couple chapters in but we have to read the whole book to find out for some reason, I’m AT THE VERY LEAST irritated.
3 people knew the whole situation and decided that naaah, let those fuckers find out on their own if they care that much otherwise I’m not gonna air out the laundry of the dead.
Just look me straight in the eye and tell me that’s not lazy writing… there’s no excuse to slow pace us this hard for no freaking reason!

That being said.
The dysfunctional relationship.
I stayed for that because I related to a spiritual level.
For the first time in my life someone was perfectly describing what a dysfunctional situationship with a soulmate that you just can’t let go is, feels and looks like and I just couldn’t look away from that train wreck.
Granted I never took it 50 years too far it was too painful to keep it up that long but MY GOD why did Laura Dave had to call me out so hard for??
It was hard and heartbreaking to read about but I also couldn’t stop!

I don’t think most people would even begin to understand that type of thing let alone not find it ridiculous and since it’s so easy to judge the book by its obvious shortcomings I think they’re not gonna look past anything else.
I tried and still couldn’t decide between a 3 or 4 star rating so I’m giving it 3.5 right in the middle.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the digital ARC!

A story about love and loss, family’s reconnecting. A fall/push/jump from a cliff in the grounds of a secluded cottage start an investigation by family into what happened. A brother and sister reconnecting while investigating and sharing insights into their respective lives. A few twists and turns along the way. A good thriller and also a quick read.