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The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Mystery

The Night We Lost Him

by Laura Dave

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Quick take

Combining rich family drama with mystery elements, this novel movingly exposes the dangerous effects of family secrets.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Emotional

    Emotional

  • Illustrated icon, Multiple_Viewpoints

    Multiple viewpoints

  • Illustrated icon, Slow_Build

    Slow build

  • Illustrated icon, Family_Drama

    Family drama

Synopsis

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar—notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

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Get an early look from the first pages of The Night We Lost Him.

The Night We Lost Him

Prologue

He knew any biographer would decide that the story of his life could be summarized by this: When Liam Samuel Noone began accruing his fortune, the first thing he did was buy a piece of land as far away from his hometown as he could possibly get.

Of course, there were places technically farther from Midwood, Brooklyn than the Central California Coast. But Liam felt reborn the first time he arrived in Carpinteria. His pulse quieted, his chest released—a small, yet seismic shift. He drove through the secluded beachside town in a haze—the world around him windy and soulful, cypress trees sweeping every which way, a messy canopy.

Liam was in the early days of taking over the company, and he’d flown out west to meet with a potential investor. They were in discussions to build a boutique hotel together eight miles up the road in Santa Barbara—a hillside retreat, private and luxurious, with forty-eight stand-alone cottages, winding mountain trails, outdoor fireplaces, and cobblestone walkways. A stone-wrapped restaurant.

He was meeting with the investment partner, a former classmate named Ben, at Ben’s oceanfront vacation home on Padaro Lane. They sat outside on the back deck, eating poached eggs and studying blueprints, Liam’s suit no match for the chill coming in off the ocean. He drank extra coffee, refusing Ben’s offer to borrow a coat.

At some point, Liam looked east and spotted a cottage, perched cliffside at Loon Point. It was lit up by the rising sun—the incandescent yellow ricocheting off the bluff front, landing on its white rock and citrus grove. The rose gardens.

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Why I love it

As countless writers and critics have pointed out before, writing a good story is a lot like building a house. The big aspects—the foundation, the roof—matter a lot; so do the small things like how a splash of color creates surprise, or the way light fills a room. The Night We Lost Him is a rich and deftly-plotted story where no detail goes unconsidered. This is a book to walk around in and marvel over. But be forewarned—once you’re inside, not all is as it appears…

When respected hotel magnate Liam Noone tumbles from a cliff to his death near his remote California cottage, his daughter Nora has no reason to suspect anything other than a bourbon-fueled accident. Enter Sam: her brash, estranged half-brother, who adamantly claims foul play. As Nora finds herself drawn into Sam’s quasi-investigation, she can’t help but notice the odd questions building up around her father’s untimely demise. Questions that those closest to Liam can’t seem to answer—or won’t.

It’s one thing to write an incredibly good story. (For the record, Laura Dave has done this several times.) It’s another thing to craft a book as well-constructed as a Frank Lloyd Wright home. This is one of those puzzling stories that will subvert all your expectations, challenging you to take a closer look at the razor-thin edge between a push and fall. Between grief and guilt. Between family and friend. And foe.

Other books by Laura Dave

Member ratings (1,564)

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View all
The Life Impossible
The Women
What the River Knows
The Last Love Note
The God of the Woods
Here One Moment
Intermezzo
The Night We Lost Him
We Solve Murders