At 40, woodworker Hannah Hall has not yet met anyone until Owen Michaels walks into her shop. It is nearly love at first sight. Before a year has passed, she and Owen are happily married. Owen’s teenaged daughter Bailey is not as happy about the whole thing as are Owen and Hannah.

And then one day, Owen disappears. He doesn’t come home from work, and a bit later, a stranger — a student whom Hannah doesn’t know — appears at her door to deliver a message from Owen. Two words: Protect her.

Hannah doesn’t even have to think twice to know exactly who he means. He is undoubtedly talking about his daughter Bailey, who lost her mother to a car accident when she was a mere child. She doesn’t remember her, or frankly, much about her life before she and her father moved to Sausalito.

With the news of Owen’s company being caught in a financial atrocity, and Owen missing, Hannah knows she has to protect Bailey, despite her stepdaughter’s distrust of her. It’s what Owen would want.

As the two try to figure out what’s going on, they learn that Owen was not who he purported to be, and frankly, neither one of them know who he really is. But Hannah is determined to figure it out, and to protect Bailey at all costs.

I will tell you that the last time I read an entire book in a day was probably when I was 10 or 11 years old. I simply couldn’t put The Last Thing He Ever Told Me, by Laura Dave, down. The writing was terrific, but more importantly, the driving story kept me glued to the book. A chapter would end, and I would tell myself, I will only read one more chapter. Before I knew it, the day had passed and the book had ended.

I loved this book.

Here is a link to this book.