IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD PROTECT HER
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, protect her . Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect – his teenage daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As her desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen’s true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again…
Book Info: Print length: 397 pages. Publisher: Viper. Publication Date: 4 May 2021
My Thoughts.
This book has been sitting on my kindle since 2021 and it was only when I saw that Apple TV have made a series starring Jennifer Garner that I bumped it straight to the top of my TBR pile as I HAVE to read the book before watching any TV/Film adaptation…. because we all KNOW the book is ALWAYS better.. or is it?
The Last Thing He Told Me is the first book in a 2 book series. Hannah Hall is a single and successful artist, designing custom wooden pieces as a professional woodturner when she met Owen in her mid 30’s. A charming and handsome man with a teenage daughter, they quickly fall in love and get married.
Three years into their marriage, being a step mother is challenging and despite Hannah’s best intentions and patience, her relationship with Bailey is strained and distant with her step-daughter being openly hostile at every opportunity.
When a stranger turns up at their house-boat one morning with a hand-written note from Owen saying “Protect Her” both Hannah and Bailey’s lives are turned upside down. Owen has disappeared off the face of the earth, people are after them, their lives are in danger and most importantly it appears that Owen isn’t who he claims to be and has being lying to them both.
This is a really fast-paced thriller which was pacy and action filled, however it was the relationship between the 2 female characters that kept me glued to the kindle screen. From open hostility to a gradual level of trust, we follow their journey as they uncover the truth about the man they both love.
It’s very rare that a TV adaptation is as good as the book, but honestly, I loved the Apple TV version. The casting was brilliant and the dialogue was often “word-for-word” from the book.
The ending of the book leaves a really intriguing opening for the follow up book The First Time I Saw Him, which I immediately downloaded and started reading.. which is just as well as the 2nd season of the series had just been released on Apple TV.
