About Books: ‘The Night We Lost Him’ is a family drama about love and grief

Popular best-selling author Laura Dave successfully adapted her last novel, “The Last Thing He Told Me,” to a TV movie. I heard her say on a talk show that she plans to make this book into a TV movie also. This seems to be a growing trend but read the book first.

This story centers around siblings Nora and Sam, who are brought together by the mysterious death of their father, Liam Noone, the successful owner of a hotel empire. Liam’s fall from a cliffside at his home in California is initially ruled accidental, but Nora and Sam suspect that there is more to the story. They begin a journey to uncover the truth about their father’s past and the circumstances of his death.

The narrative alternates between Nora’s perspective in the present day and flashbacks to Liam’s earlier life. He had three ex-wives; Nora from his first wife and twin sons, Sam and Tommy by his second wife. He was loving but distant and maintained separate lives with each of his families. The siblings did not spend time together.

Nora, an architect lives in New York City and in addition to losing her father she has recently lost her mother and is still grieving her loss. Sam,her estranged brother works along with his brother for Liam’s Company. Sam and Nora’s uneasy alliance forces them to confront long buried tensions and resentments. As they delve deeper into Liam’s past they are forced to question everything they know about him. Nora struggles to reconcile her memories of her father with the new information that comes to light.

It is an emotional journey for the siblings and their relationship evolves in a meaningful way as they navigate their shared grief and shocking revelations about their father. They discover he led a secret life for over fifty years which prevented him from building a healthy relationship with his children and resulted in complex family dynamics.

There are mixed reviews about this book. Readers hoping for a thriller will be disappointed. It’s a family drama about love and grief. I especially liked how Nora and Sam grew closer together as they discovered their father’s past and how it affected them growing up. Not only did they learn about their father, but they learned about themselves too. I look forward to the TV movie.