The Night We Lost Him: A Novel

This book has it all. A fall from a cliff right off the bat. A mystery to solve that bonds siblings who weren’t previously close. A crisis of career, romance and adventure that converges in a very short timeframe - but in fact, covers decades, told in the backstory revelations. The pacing was fast-paced and the story was well-told. Realistic human actions and reactions, crisp dialogue, and the plot twists kept me guessing.

This novel reads more as a love story with a mystery focusing on a mysterious girl. Liam Noone has fallen off the cliff at Windbreak, his beloved getaway home. Nora, who recently lost her mother, is now almost running on empty as she goes about her day. Her fiancé and those around her can tell she is going through a lot of pain. Sam, her half-brother, calls and tells her he believes someone pushed their father off the cliff. He wants her to join him at the ‘scene of the crime’ to help determine if he’s right and to get answers from everyone, including the inept sheriff and Uncle Joe. As they speak to many who knew Liam, they discover their father held many secrets. The question arises, ‘How well did they know him? How many secrets had he hid?”

I love the intricate layers of Liam’s character. It pains me to see Nora grappling with the realization that she never truly knew her father. Since her mother’s death, she has distanced herself even further from him. The story can be slow at times, but the ending was a complete surprise—I genuinely didn’t see it coming. The narrative is captivating, especially as I was eager to uncover the mysterious woman’s identity. However, I found Nora’s interactions with Jack quite irritating and couldn’t bring myself to care for her character. I loved that the author went back in time in chronological order as we were able to see the real Liam and how he grew up to be the hotel motel he was before his fall.

That’s what truly drew me in.

Enjoyed this book. Give it a 5. If there are othet books you prefer, add it to your recomendations

This was billed as a "mystery/thriller". It's barely a mystery and not at all a thriller. It's a story about family dynamics and grief. And just an ok one...

What I liked: A plot that explores family dynamics and the extent that people will go to protect the ones they love. What I disliked: Yet another book incorrectly promoted as a mystery/thriller. This was really just a saga about a dysfunctional family with too many secrets.