Laura Dave continues Hannah Hall’s pulse-pounding journey in the riveting and deeply moving sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster The Last Thing He Told Me.
Five years after her husband Owen disappeared, Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas, and are putting the past behind them.
But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, Hannah knows that she and Bailey are in danger.
Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and finds there just might be a way back to Owen.
Book Info: Print length: 244 pages. Publisher: Penguin. Publication Date: 15th Jan 2026
My Thoughts.
The First Time I Saw Him is the sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me.. so if you haven’t read book 1 then STOP reading this review and grab yourself a copy NOW.
As I mentioned in my review for the first book, Apple TV have adapted BOTH books into a 2 season TV series featuring Jennifer Garner and I thought the first series was truly brilliant and very faithful to the book.
Book Two continues the story 5 years on from when we last saw Hannah and Bailey. I don’t want to give ANYTHING away because just in case you are still reading this review and haven’t read the first book this could contain spoilers.
I can say I really enjoyed catching up with the characters, seeing how they had moved on without Owen, growing closer and united as a family now.
We know from the blurb above that Owen is back and this has once again plunged the women into danger forcing them to flee their homes in order to escape a deadly threat.
Again, this book is fast-paced and action packed and kept me thoroughly gripped throughout. There are also some clever little twists which I didn’t see coming.
Overall, this is a great follow-up to the first book, finally revealing all the family secrets and answering all the readers questions which left me feeling thoroughly entertained.
PS. I did watch S2 on Apple TV and it really DIDN’T work for me especially as it veered away from the book storyline and left me rather disappointed. So, in this case the book is definitely BETTER than the TV adaptation.
