Laura Dave’s sequel to ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ reveals all

By ALICIA RANCILIO
Associated Press

Those who read “The Last Thing He Told Me” and wondered what happens next for the characters will get their wish.

Writer Laura Dave has penned its sequel called “The First Time I Saw Him,” out now. A second season of the TV adaptation starring Jennifer Garner and Angourie Rice debuts on Apple TV next month.

“After the book came out, I started getting so many questions, people saying, ‘Well, what happens next?’ I had really imagined it as a standalone book, but I was surprised that I had an answer to what happened.”

“The Last Thing He Told Me” follows Hannah Hall, who has recently married Owen, a widowed man with a teen daughter named Bailey who is less than thrilled by this addition to her family. One day Owen disappears and leaves a note instructing Hannah to protect Bailey. The two are left to figure out what happened.

The book spent 65 weeks as a New York Times Best Seller. It was chosen by Reese Witherspoon for her Reese’s Book Club. Dave co-created the TV series with her husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter Josh Singer. She wasn’t a writer of Season 2 because she was busy writing the novel.

“The First Time I Saw Him” picks up after the events of “The Last Thing He Told Me” but also fleshes out details from the past.

“If the first (book) is asking the question, what are we willing to do for the people we love? I think the second book is asking, what are we willing to do to be forgiven? And what are willing to for a second chance? And so, to me, that was the journey back to Hannah and Owen’s love story.”

In an interview with the AP, Dave talks about her writing, being married to a fellow writer and how “The Last Thing He Told Me” helped to name a baby boy. Responses have been shortened for clarity and brevity.

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AP: “The Last Thing He Told Me” was the beginning of a new direction with your writing because it was a suspenseful drama. (Dave has also published novels like “Divorce Party” and “Eight Hundred Grapes.”) Was that intentional?

DAVE: It really wasn’t. As much as these last couple books have been suspense books, there’s been a huge love story at the center of both of them. My editor describes them as suspense novels rooted in hope which is sort of the opposite of what a suspense novel normally is. Normally, you find out that the person sleeping next to you is not who you thought they were. It’s sort of rooted in revenge or vengeance or retaliation. I’m really interested in finding the good even underneath very dangerous behavior.

AP: What’s it like seeing one of your books in the wild?

DAVE: I was on a plane when we were shooting the first season of the show. We all had “The Last Thing He Told Me” crew hats. I was walking down the aisle on the plane, and there was this young mom holding a beautiful baby boy, and she stopped me and said, “Is this like the book ‘The Last Thing He Told Me?’ And I said yes. I didn’t say I was the author. She said, “Oh, this is Owen. I named him after Owen. I love the name Owen that I saw in the book, do you remember Owen?” I broke down.

AP: What’s next for you?

DAVE: My husband and I are writing the screenplay for “The Night We Lost Him” for Netflix. I know what my next two books will be. One, I’ve already started.

AP: What’s it like being married to another writer?

DAVE: We’re so different in our process. He’ll show me things immediately while he’s writing them. He will show me new scenes because especially with screenwriting, and certainly with TV writing, there’s so much collaboration. So, you do it that way. I’m more like, I have to sort of be in my hole and get to the end and then get feedback. He’s my best reader and my first reader. I love talking about story with him and character. I’m a really big fan of his writing. I don’t know that I could be married to a writer if I didn’t feel like they’re the best writer around, and that’s how I feel about him.