I haven’t read the first book but the good thing it’s, I didn’t need to. A high octane thriller with an exciting cast of characters who you quickly get to know. California is painted as the beautiful state it is and this book will hold anyone’s interest.

Excellent thriller

This book is a sequel but it works just as well as a standalone. Full of mystery, intrigue and suspense, it makes for a very good read.

NOTE - this is a direct sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me

Unable to put down, thrilling and fast paced, this is a fantastic sequel to a book that was one of my standout reads of 2023. Hannah is back, exactly where we left her at the end of TLTHTM, with TFTISH picking up immediately, and the story flows from there. The book is very fast paced, and takes place over the course of a few days, with flashback chapters from Nicholas, as well as multiple pov's from Hannah, Owen and Bailey. I was held in it's grip, only stopping once to make a fresh cup of coffee, I could NOT put this book down!

The perfect read if you enjoy gripping thrillers, reunions, back story and real fleshed out characters - highly recommended!

This was such an amazing sequel! 5 huge glowing🌟

A text arrives from an unknown number. She knows it's Owen, Hannah's husband, who left her and his daughter Bailey five years ago, without any warning. She saw him the night before, when he passed by her and delivered a vague message and not they have to leave - they have to run. But why has he come back and why are they in danger now? As they navigate their way to safety, Hannah tries to unravel the clues her husband has left and how they can escape this nightmare.

This was full of action, suspense, mystery, drama and some thrills, even from the start. It grabbed me right away and I could not put it down until I finished (aside from a brief food break). This author knows just how to make you care deeply about the characters and have you cheering them on all the way. I loved seeing the way the relationship between Bailey and Hannah had evolved and also hanging on to see how on earth they would get themselves out of this mess! Another sensational novel by the author. This will be an absolute favourite for me this year.

I have not read the prequel “The Last Thing He Told Me” but this book was riveting. Hannah’s husband Owen has been missing for five years. She has spent that time protecting her daughter Bailey. When Owen suddenly turns up Hannah knows that her and Bailey must once again go on the run.
Owen and Baileys’ Grandfather have worked for years to try to put their past mistakes right. So now is the time to put that plan into action to save all of their futures.
A gripping hard to put down read that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Laura Dave returns with a gripping sequel to her bestselling thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, and she does not disappoint. The First Time I Saw Him picks up five years after Owen Michaels vanished, leaving Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey to rebuild their lives in Southern California. Just as they begin to find peace, Owen reappears—unspoken, unacknowledged, but unmistakably present—and the tension reignites2.
🌟 What Makes It Stand Out
Relentless Suspense: From the moment Owen resurfaces, the novel launches into a high-stakes chase that spans the California coast and even Paris. Dave masterfully keeps readers on edge, blending emotional depth with adrenaline-fueled twists.
Emotional Core: At its heart, this is a story about forgiveness, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between Hannah and Bailey. Their relationship evolves beautifully, adding layers of warmth to the thriller’s cold edges.
Cine
🧠 Themes Explored
The cost of secrets and the ripple effects of betrayal
The complexity of family—chosen and inherited
The power of second chances and the courage it takes to seize them
📖 Final Thoughts
If you loved The Last Thing He Told Me, this sequel is a must-read. Dave deepens the mystery while expanding the emotional landscape, delivering a story that’s both thrilling and tender. It’s a page-turner with heart—and one that leaves you wondering what you’d do if the past came knocking

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

This didn’t quite reach the level of the first book or the emotions it managed to evoke.

It kicks off with a wild fast paced frenzy and I’d say the first 40% is easily the strongest part.
From there tho, it gradually declines till around the 70–80% mark where only brief glimpses of the past are not enough to hold interest.
Ultimately, it wraps up in an anticlimactic way leaving things open to interpretation and I’m not a huge fan of that either.

Overall, it’s a short book—I finished it in less than a day—but much of it could have been trimmed or tightened to make space for a more fleshed out and satisfying ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the digital ARC!

4+

This is the much anticipated sequel to the excellent “The Last Thing he Told Me” which has been made into a television series. Sometimes it’s possible to read the follow-up novel but in this case I think it’s best to have read the above.

Nearly 6 years on.
Owen makes a brief reappearance at one of Hannah‘s exhibitions in LA, they don’t speak, make eye contact or attempt to communicate in any way as it’s too dangerous. He does manage to secrete a flash drive for Hannah which she hopes will help what could come next. However, the next day a message arrives on Hannah‘s phone from an unknown number. “Get out of there now”. She doesn’t question it, she and daughter Bailey just run. Why has Owen come back now? Hannah ponders this as she makes her way to an airport and duly arrives in Paris. Who is watching Hannah and Bailey? Are Owen’s enemies poised for revenge? The quickest route to him would be via his loved ones. Will they ever be able to stop looking over their shoulders?

It’s fair to say this hits the ground running at 100 miles an hour from the word go. The pace is quick throughout, there are moments where the action is exciting and exhilarating, with sky high tension and almost constant suspense. The author takes us back-and-forth in time to help explain it all and she does a good job with this as she manages to keep the flow going alongside the light bulb moments.

The relationships between key characters are well done, especially between Hannah and Bailey, that really warms the heart but it’s also good between Bailey’s grandfather on her deceased mother Kate‘s side. He is pivotal to what unfolds.

What is especially enjoyable is that you’re not sure how it will all play out as there are plenty of twists and turns as it builds to a good ending. Is this it or dare we contemplate number three?

Overall, this is a worthy sequel to a smash hit book.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to
Random House UK, Cornerstone for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Will post to social media closer to publication

This book is a sequel to ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’. It was a terrific read, and a whip smart narrative that holds you from page to page! The characters were great, the story itself was very enjoyable and suspenseful as was the previous sequel!

You won’t forget this book in a hurry this is a class above your usual psychological thriller! I was so transfixed to the story I read it within a few hours! The ending had me gasping in awe!

I’d highly recommend everyone to add this book to your reading list, you won’t be disappointed! A truly gripping psychological thriller!

A follow up to The Last Thing He Told Me? Yep, I'm here for it.

Taking up from the end of TLTHTM, we meet Hannah and Bailey again, trying to live their life without Owen. However, one morning Hannah receives a message "Get out the house. Now" Living as she has, Hannah knows who sent this message and what it means, and the danger this spells for her and Bailey.

However, given the deal that was agreed at the end of TLTHTM, Hannah can't help but wonder what has changed.....

I often think sequels can be released unnecessarily, often written to generate sales than actually needing to follow up the previous novel. However, after the end of TLTHTM, I was keen to read what would happen next to Hannah and Bailey and whether there was a 'happy ever after' or at least a 'safety ever after' for the two of them.

This is a relatively short novel at just over 250 pages however I think that is a good thing. The plot starts of quickly and there is no drag at all, all the way through to a great conclusion.....or is it actually concluded? Read on to find out.......

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Century for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will confess I hadn't read the 1st book in the series but I have now! I loved this book so much I went back and read the 1st one. Extremely well written and I'm not surprised it's being televised!

The reflective successor to Laura Dave's runaway The Last Thing He Told Me, TFTISH is slighter and more moody, trading in mystery for suspense and thrills for more complex family dynamics reminiscent of Dave's The Night We Lost Him (minus the whodunit element). It's not quite as deliriously entertaining as The Last Thing... but it does provide closure and resolution and maybe something like redemption for its cast of players, particularly the winning central pairing of Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey.

Five years after her husband Owen abruptly disappears, leaving Hannah and her daughter Bailey high and dry, Hannah receives a frantic warning through a text from an unknown number that takes her and Bailey on an unplanned journey to Paris.

Flight from danger is underway Hannah cannot help wondering what has brought them to this pass, and how bad the situation must be to get Owen to re surface...

A worthy successor to the original novel whose story it continues, this thriller will hold a reader's attention without much effort.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. The story picks up straight from the first book and is a complete non stop thrill ride! Fast and furious is how I will describe it! This book is a fantastic read and I was completely hooked all the way through. Great character developments and I loved how Hannah and Bailey’s relationship has evolved. I would recommend definitely reading the first book before starting this one. A joy to read and I highly recommend it. 5 stars.

The story starts right where we left them in The Last Thing He Told Me .
A few years after Hannah and Bailey went back to Sausalito to live their life without Owen, he suddenly shows up at a furniture expo in Los Angeles - where they now live.
As quickly as he appeared he left again. But later that day a phone call warns them to leave immediately.
And that's what we do. This book is basically the story of Bailey and Hannah running from the bad guys and towards Owen, we hope? But it won't be easy - even with all the planning and preparing that has been done on all sides.
Will we finally get a happy end for the little family?

══════════════════

I was so excited to get a second book for Hannah! And it was beautiful.
We not only get Hannah's POV... we get a lot more!
I loved reading this.
It was way too short, I wanted it to be soo much longer. But it was perfect the way it was.
This time we're not in beautiful Sausalito - we travel to a lot of beautiful places. I loved that!
We get a bit of background info about the past and a lot a excitement and suspense and hope for the future. All wrapped up in Laura's beautiful writing. I loved it!

► THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM was the perfect sequel! Hannah and Bailey fleeing the bad guys from one beautiful place to the next to maybe, finally get that happy end for their whole family! If you loved the first book, you will love this one too!

The First time I saw him by Laura Dave, the second and follow up book by the author after her debut book The Last Thing He Told Me.
I was riveted from start to finish, the story was mesmerising and full of fear and tension throughout the storyline. It is a worthy sequel to her first book as a thriller writer.
Possibly one of the best books I have read this year.
Highly recommended

Laura Dave - brilliant. This is the sequel to The last thing he told me - so read that first. A real page tuner that grips you from page one and holds you to the very last sentence.

So… I got an ARC of this book this week and realised quickly it was a sequel, and I hadn’t read the first one “The Last Thing He Told Me”. So I went off and downloaded that to read. Which took me approximately 4 hours to blaze through and then another 3 hours to read this one in literally one hit.

The First Time I Saw Him is Hannah and Bailey’s story, their life *after* Owen’s disappearance. I loved it, I loved all of it.

Hannah and Bailey’s relationship is now nothing like what it was in the first book, they truly are a family and Nicholas is a huge part of this, back in his granddaughter’s life and loving it. But what is Owen doing? All becomes clear as they discover more about the past.

This book has it all, the suspense, the twists, the emotional rollercoaster. Wholeheartedly recommend reading both books.

What can be said about this book and Laura Dave? Absolutely brilliant. After reading ‘The last thing he told me’ I had very high expectations for this book and once again the author didn’t disappoint. Mysterious, compelling, page turner. One of my fave reads of this year without a doubt.

Is it possible for words to gallop? I swear from page one that Laura Dave's words raced across my kindle screen pulling me behind to keep up.

Wow

It took a second, no more, for Hannah to recognise and ignore her husband who had disappeared five years previously. A morning text message and a gas man had her turning her world upside down and twisting at tornado speed.

At the same time her step daughter, Bailley,is putting into action her part of a plan meticulously thought out to get them both to safety.

My heart was pounding at every stage where something could go wrong; but Hannah had already second guessed all of these and plan part B was actioned.

Friends, colleagues, old university pals all played their parts to perfection. No questions asked.

How the author kept this pace writing with language seldom seen through an entire book goodness only knows. Her talent and desire to give of her best oozes off the pages.

This is a sit in the quiet and read book. Switch off the phone because you won't answer it anyway. Enjoy.