The Last Thing He Said

 

By Laura Dave

Hannah had only been married to Owen for a year when he vanished, leaving behind a cryptic note that only said, "Protect her." Namely his teenage daughter, Bailey.

Bailey and her dad had been just the two of them for years. So it's not surprising that Bailey regarded Hannah as an unnecessary intruder in their life. But despite Bailey's gentle displeasure, Hannah keeps trying to build rapport with her husband's daughter.

But now he has disappeared. And Bailey has come home with a bag of money her father left in her school locker along with a note asking Bailey to help Hannah and do what she asks her to do. Not only that, but there is some kind of trouble at Owen's place of work. His boss was claiming advancement in new software that did not actually exist. A fraud that that will cost investors millions in losses and now the police are at Hannah's door, wanting to know where Owen is and suspecting her of being in the thick of it.

Hannah can't help but wonder if Owen is part of the funny business at his job. And she thinks she might be able to figure out where he has gone into hiding if she gets in touch with his family and friends. But as she and Bailey dig deeper into Owen's  past, she eventually figures out that Owen Michaels is not a real person. But why did he change his name and walk away from his past with only his daughter to tie him to it? Since Bailey only knows her dad as Owen Michaels, she can't shed any light on it. Except maybe somewhere is her childhood memories is the key to uncovering whatever happened in the past that led Owen Michaels to run away from his former life.

I really enjoyed this mystery story. Of course, as the reader, you have to expect that Owen is a bad dude and that he is involved in something really bad. At first it seemed like it has to do with his boss's shady business practices but as Hannah digs deeper it begins to look like Owen was hiding from something terrible in his past. The question is, was it something Owen did? Or was it something he witnessed? And will Hannah ever be reunited with her vanished husband?

Check out the review of the book by Kirkus.