The Last Thing He Told Me: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Hannah married Owen and fourteen months later, he disappeared. He left her behind, along with his 16-year-old daughter and lots of questions. This book is the story of the search for his whereabouts and the backstory regarding what they think they know about his past. His business partner, Avett Thompson, heads up a tech firm that is busted on charges regarding the improper handling of an IPO involving millions of dollars belonging to them and their clients. As a principal in the firm, Owen is closely implicated in the charges. The heat is on. US marshals and FBI agents appear at Hannah's doorstep, looking for answers. She has none. Owen's daughter Bailey, is a typical, snarky teenager who never liked Hannah to begin with, but is stuck on this journey with her, to try and find her father. They live in a houseboat in Sausalito. She works as a wood turner. Her best friend, Jules, works for the San Francisco Chronicle so she has an inside track on investigative journalism. Acting on a hunch, Hannah and Bailey travel to Austin, Texas, a place which Owen often spoke about. There they turn up other clues and meet people who also have a vested interest in finding her husband. The relationship between Owen and Hannah is told with flashbacks in various time frames preceding his disappearance. But the reader doesn't get to know enough about Owen to care about his whereabouts. Hannah's relationship with Bailey is rather shallow and slow moving. It is only at the end of the story that there is any warmth between them. With only one main storyline, this was an easy, suspenseful read. Since the main characters did not connect well with the others, this reader felt ambivalent about their circumstances. It's a good fill-in book, or one to bring to the beach. Read from: Jun 08, 2021 - Jun 10, 2021