The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

 

My thoughts

I can't believe this is my first Laura Dave book. It certainly won't be my last. This book was SO GOOD. From the very start to the tearful ending I was hooked. 

This is a love story and a mystery. It's about the love between Liam and Cory. They met in school. Liam's cousin Joe introduced them. In a way. 

Nora and Sam are two of Liam's three children. Sam is convinced that Liam's fall was not an accident. He believes someone pushed him. He enlists his sisters help to find out exactly what happened that rainy night. You hear a lot about them and their lives. Or at least Nora's life. She is in a relationship that is somewhat rocky and takes off with Sam across the country to try and figure out what happened. To see if they can get any information. It seems no one wants to say anything. Or maybe they don't really know about the accident but know other things that they can't share. Or won't share. 

This story can get confusing if you don't pay attention to the details. To the things going on around the characters. And each chapter has a heading that helps. It's told in two timelines. One before the accident and one back when Liam was young and in love. His love story spans many years. Through his three marriages and three children. His lifelong love with the woman who truly has and always had his heart. Both married to others. 

You'll get to know these characters and they will give you lots of feelings. At least they did me. I wanted things to work out for Liam and Cory. For their love story to come full circle. I also wanted Sam and Nora to find out what happened and finally be able to move on with their lives. 

The mystery of how Liam died was one that kept me guessing. I did guess but only after someone's other identity was revealed. I have to admit this one had me scratching my head. I thought it was one person and I was so wrong. 

A very complex story about love, loss, family, marriage(s). One you don't want to miss. I absolutely loved this book. The love story was perfect. The mystery was revealed. All of my questions were answered and then some. Perfection is what I found.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SimonElement/S&S/MarySueRucciBooks, for this ARC. This is my true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars. I look forward to reading more by this author.

About

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal...

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.   

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

With Laura Dave’s trademark combination of soulful suspense and evocative family drama, The Night We Lost Him is a riveting page-turner with a heartbreaking final twist you’ll never see coming.