The Longest Build Up and Biggest Letdown

    I was recommended the book "The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave. One of my friends had it on her bookshelf, so I decided to give it a try. I also learned after starting that it is in the process of becoming a miniseries. It also stars one of my favorite actresses, Jennifer Gardner!

  

    The blurb on the back of the book says that the story is about the main character, Hannah, whose husband, Owen, goes missing. It is revealed that his company is in legal trouble and he vanishes and leaves a note saying "Protect Her." The only her that he could be referring to is his daughter, Bailey. Hannah is confused by the note and Owen's disappearance because it is not his character. 

  

    As FBI agents and U.S. Marshalls question Hannah, she discovers she knows nothing about Owen or his job. This goes on for the first 100 pages, which I found to be quite excessive. I began to lose interest in the book and felt like readers needed a little more to stay involved. It dragged on for another 20 pages before Hannah started to take action.

    Hannah started researching Owen and following Bailey's young memories when they ran out of leads. Bailey is not Hannah's biggest fan and is constantly making things more difficult with her angsty attitude. 

*SPOILER ALERT* 

    Hannah ultimately finds out that Owen and Bailey were a part of witness protection to escape Bailey's late mother's family. Bailey's grandfather was a lawyer for a crime ring and was killed by a rival gang. Owen ran with Bailey to protect her from that kind of life. As Bailey and Hannah run around Austin, Texas, the buildup grows and the "big reveal" is a bit of a letdown. 

 

    I think if Dave had written the plot twist sooner, I would have liked the book more, but there was just too much rising action to keep the reader invested. The book should have been about 75 pages shorter and gotten to the good stuff a lot quicker. 

  Also, the ending was pretty boring, and didn't feel like it finished. Once the big secret was revealed, the story was over and we started the epilogue.

  I have a really hard time recommending this book because it took so long to get interesting. I feel like 100 pages is a bit too much and a waste of time for the reader. Once we got to the answers, I was somewhat bored with the storyline. 

Rating: 2.3/ 5 Stars