I received this copy of The Last Thing He Told Me through a GoodReads giveaway; I am uncertain if it came from Marysue Rucci Books/Simon & Schuster, but that’s my guess. I don’t read where these books are coming from when I enlist in these raffles. I mean, free books. No brainer.
It’s not often when a book sucks me into the story immediately. It’s definitely one of those moments when reading outside my comfort zone really pays off. As it turned out, The Last Thing He Told Me wasn’t outside my lane; I just figured it would be. I figured it was a love story in the vein of Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember or The Notebook, where our narrator meets a guy, falls in love, and tragically loses him.
In many ways, it is just like a Nicholas Sparks love story. In so many other ways, however, it is multitudes better.
Laura Dave doesn’t start at the beginning of Hannah and Owen’s love story. Instead, she places us at the beginning of its end. We see the events through Hannah’s eyes as they happen; we learn new details and remember old as she does. We are not merely onlookers or listeners of a story that has already happened; we are part of the story, taken through the winding paths, not truly knowing where they’ll lead.
I am in awe of Dave’s writing, how she weaves the narrative through present and past, that we do get a full understanding of Hannah’s relationship with Owen: from the meet-cute to the moments where she suspects something is wrong. And instead of giving us the slow-burn, tragic love story, we are treated to a fast paced mystery that keeps us gripping our seats, trying to solve how it will end, and whether the two will be reunited by the ending.
I am cautious about watching the series adaptation on Apple TV+, but I’m nothing if not a glutton for book-to-series adaptations.
Until next time, keep on huntin’.
Chapin City Blues 