‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ written by Laura Dave is a revisit to love and values surrounded by mystery and anticipation. This novel at its core is a gripping story that captivates the journey of a woman on the prow to find the truth about the man she loved dearly along with her stepdaughter. As always there is not much soft relationship between the stepmother and the stepdaughter but the fact they both love the same man dearly and hence sets out to find the hidden truths.
The novel will be very refreshing for those who have been lately reading a lot of dystopian-like content and it will interest the readers with its plot twists and unfolding of the lies.
The Last Thing He Told Me- Overview
The novel main story starts with a letter received by Hannah Hall from her suddenly disappeared husband, Owen Michaels. In the letter, he asks to “Protect her”. Of course, this was an indication to the daughter, Bailey, who is 16 years old. But why will he write something like that? Is he not an ordinary person as Hannah thought? The novel revolves around such questions only.
What makes the case even more grave is the involvement of Owen’s boss, a US marshal, and the arrival of federal agents at her home unannounced. With all those unanswered calls to Owen and the arrests and arrivals, Hannah quickly understands that her husband isn’t what she thought! Thinking of Bailey as the key to find the true identity of her husband and also to find her husband, both the ladies set out on a journey only to realize that they arranging the jigsaw puzzle that they never anticipated.
This novel is capturing and enticing. The mystery of the story keeps the readers turning pages as quickly as possible only to find a heartbreaking end.
Critical Analysis
The novel is a mystery novel and investigates the effects of lies and secrets on personal relationships and the life of people involved. The novel can also be compared to ‘The girl in the train’ and ‘Gone girl’ wherein there is narrator storytelling but with the difference that here we get more reliable pieces of information. The reason being, the novel is told from a proximate point of view of the protagonist, Hannah Hill. The novel is rich in characters, events, and memories of the protagonist to make the audiences understand what’s going on with much confusion. The recurrent flashbacks of Hannah Hill help the readers to believe in her and consider her as a trustworthy leader throughout the novel unraveling the knotty puzzles. The timeline is not very explicit but it is surely a technology-driven era, so most likely present or near present.
The novel is made using the traditional elements of mystery novels like ‘high states for Hannah’, ‘growth of the other protagonist’, and foreshadowing. However, the pace of the novel is not very slow rather fast from the first page to the last page. The writer has excellently used literary devices to engage the audience.
For the dedicated readers, the novel doesn’t really offer something out of the box but definitely, a neat narrative and the revelations at a brisk clip helps in maintaining the balance of the novel. The characters don’t overwhelm the readers and the richness of the need for companionship through Hannah and Bailey is heartwarming. As a matter of fact, this novel is an antithesis of novels like Gone Girl and My Lovely Wife. The construction of the novel is strategic and well-defined. The writer conveys what she wants without making the audience confused. Superficially, everything seems ugly and the circumstances quite disturbing. However, the characters are positive and good underneath it all. The novel is not harsh on its readers but it does leave them in heartbreak at the end. The novel suggests the idea that mysteries can be solved by mutual trust and the stories and memories of loved ones.
This novel is a great read if you want to take a break from the hard-hitting non-fiction or even if if you enjoy little mysteries. One can definitely read the novel for the lovely build-up of relationships.
Know The Writer
Laura Dave is the writer of many enticing novels that often deal with human personal relationships and how lies and circumstances can effectively leave an impact on them. The writer is a resident of Los Angeles and has been the author of many best-selling books. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and MFA from the University of Virginia. She is married to Josh Singer.
Her book ‘London Is The Best City In America’ was optioned as a vehicle by Universal Studio for Reese Witherspoon.
Book List of Laura Dave
- London Is The Best City In America
- The Divorce Party
- The First Husband
- Eight Hundred Grapes
- Hello, Sunshine
- The Last Thing He Told Me
