The Last Thing He Told Me BooK Club Kit
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave is the official January 2023 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.
Every January I love to kickstart our new year of book club with a popular blockbuster book.
This year’s title has been highly recommended by many in our group and looks to be a heart-pounding way to start the year strong.
If you want to rediscover your love of reading in the new year, this is a great place to start!
P.S. Just joining us? Don’t miss the full 2023 line-up for our book club picks.
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Peanut Blossom Book Club
This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our ninth year of book club.
We’re still going strong! Want to join us?
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What is The Last Thing He Told Me About?
“Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey.
Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was.
And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.
With its breakneck pacing, dizzying plot twists, and evocative family drama, The Last Thing He Told Me is a riveting mystery, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn.”
The Last Thing He Told Me Discussion Questions
I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.
You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!
Question 1:
Discuss the message Owen sends Hannah before he disappears. What did he mean by “Protect her”? What would you have written in the note if you were Owen?
Question 2:
Hannah and Bailey’s relationship transforms as the story progresses. What are the major pivotal moments you can pick out that show this transformation?
Question 3:
Owen’s note to Bailey says: “You know what matters about me.” What are 3 things you hope your family would know about you if you disappeared right now?
Question 4:
Hannah tries to protect Bailey by hiding some of the truths of the situation. When is it more important to be clear with children, when is it the right choice to hide the truth?
Question 5:
What were your guesses about what Owen was running from?
Question 6:
If you had to start over with a new life in witness protection, what life would you request? What would your new name be, where would you live, what would your job be?
Question 7:
How would you feel if you were suddenly left as primary parent for someone else’s child? What kind of challenges do you think you and the child would face?
Question 8:
How do you feel about the ending of the book? Would you have changed it in any way?
Host a Watch Party
The Last Thing He Told Me has been turned into a tv mini series starring Jennifer Garner for Apple TV+.
Get your book club together for a fun watch party for the first episode after you read the book:
Book Club Party Menu
For your book club party menu, use the plot from the book and the San Francisco setting to plan your feast.
My simple browned butter frosting would be delicious over a simple cake mix and could reference the browned butter pasta dish Hannah recreates for Bailey at the beginning of the book.
Pick up a bag of San Francisco’s famous Ghirardelli chocolate chips to make my chocolate chip walnut cookies recipe.
San Francisco is known for their sourdough bread bakeries. You can make a fresh and warm sourdough bread using my garlic parmesan sourdough recipe. Serve it with butter and a simple charcuterie board like my cheddar snack board.
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