The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave brings the reader on a journey of twist and turns as the main characters race across the globe to end the decades long threat to their safety.
The first book in the series, The Last Thing He Told Me, hooked me and was adapted into an Apple TV+ series. After her husband vanished with nothing but a cryptic note, Hannah was left to uncover the truth of who she was married to.
A Marriage Built on Shadows
Hannah thought she was living her best suburban California life with her husband Owen and his teenage daughter Bailey until the day she found out his tech firm had been raided by the SEC. Left with nothing but a note asking her to protect Bailey, Hannah had more questions than answers. To uncover the truth, she and Bailey flee California—following clues— for Texas where they find out that Owen was actually Ethan, son in law to a notorious defense attorney specializing in keeping members of an organized crime family out of prison. His former father-in-law—Nicholas—had served years in prison after Owen provided evidence in the case against him. This evidence implicated a major crime family leaving Owen to either go into witness protection or run with his daughter, changing their identities and hoping never to be found.
We end The Last Thing He Told Me with Hannah striking a deal with Nicholas to ensure Bailey’s lifelong protection in exchange for likely never seeing Owen again.
When the Past Refuses to Stay Buried
This is where the second book picks up, and, wow, did it pick right up!
After five years of relative normalcy, Hannah and Bailey have built a relationship with Nicholas, settled into a new city and routine and have prepared a contingency plan in case the past catches up to them. Everything seems good, great even, until Owen walks into Hannah’s gallery.
No build up necessary, just a cinematic worthy action sequence as I held my breath while Bailey and Hannah execute an escape plan triggered by mysterious texts and the reappearance of Owen. I am so happy there’s a season 2 of the tv series because this book is so incredibly visual, it was meant to be on the screen.
A Heroine Steady in the Storm
My favorite aspect of these books is our female protagonist who proves in both books that she’s just as, if not more cunning than any of the powerful men in her life. Steady under pressure, Hannah often thinks two steps ahead of the supposed criminal masterminds looking to take her family down. Her instincts lead her to trust the most unlikely people like Nicholas. I can’t say I’d make the same choices as Hannah, but I wish I could operate with her level of steadiness in stressful moments.
These books are so engaging that even the most reluctant thriller readers will be on the edge of their seats page after page. I read this in a single day making it a certified unputdownable story. A credit to the writing, Dave had me—a self-proclaimed contemporary romance lover—thinking about which thriller I should pick up next.
About Laura Dave:
Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have sold more than six million copies and have been translated into forty languages. The Last Thing He Told Me was the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year for 2021 and is now a series on Apple TV+, cocreated by Laura. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their son.
