Book Review: The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

~ Book Club Mom

The Night We Lost Him
by
Laura Dave

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I cannot resist a suspenseful-looking book with a cover like this! This cover style is so popular across a lot of authors and my eyes go right to them.

I read another one of Laura Dave’s books a few years ago, The Last Thing He Told Me, and I liked that it was a fast, light and easy read about families and secrets (read my full review here). I read The Night We Lost Him during Thanksgiving so it was perfect for a busy time.

This one is also about families and secrets and begins with the death of Liam Noone, an exclusive boutique hotel mogul, who falls from a cliff where his getaway cottage is located off the central California coast. Was he suicidal or was he pushed? Liam’s children want to know. The tricky part is that Liam was married three times and his children are from two different marriages. Liam liked to keep his lives separate, so his children did not spend time together growing up. The main character is his oldest daughter, Nora, a successful neuroarchitect. I didn’t know much about neuroarchitecture, but the idea is to design spaces that promote better physical and mental health.

Nora teams up with Sam, one of Liam’s twin sons, and they try to untangle Liam’s complicated personal and business life. Although Nora works independently of the hotel business, the twins both work for Liam’s company. And it turns out there are a lot of both work-related and personal secrets, casting suspicion on Liam’s associates and a former lover. Nora and Sam are glad to focus on something other than their own close-to-disaster personal lives.

The story jumps back to Liam’s teen years and explains how the relationship developed. This format has become a standard way to tell a story, and although I have become tired of this writing style, it works here.

I enjoyed reading about the characters in the story and how they manage their careers and personal lives. And I thought the author did a good job developing the characters and explain their family conflicts. I recommend The Night We Lost Him to readers looking for an easy book to read during a busy season.

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28 thoughts on “Book Review: The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave”

  5. Book covers these days are usually splashy and bold, much like the narrative of this book. I like books about families and secrets. It’s an easy read, you say, so another one for my TBR stack, Barb.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. sounds like a good read, indeed.
    At first I thought neuroarchitect was someone who works in ergonomics (neuroergonomics) that that look at workers performance and brain function in work tasks. So, I looked it up real quick and
    found “neuroarchitecture specifically applies to architecture and design to influence cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being through elements like lighting, color, layout, and natural integration.” What a fun profession to add to a story!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. An easy book to read during a busy season is the perfect review right there. 😛 The book does sound intriguing. I’m curious if you could do examples of covers that work vs covers that don’t work. I remember you would sometimes do cover themes. Those were fun posts. You see so many covers. Your perspective would be interesting to read about, in addition to these reviews. I also enjoy your grammar posts, come to think of it… It’s all good! 🙂

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