Book Club Questions for The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

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Book club questions for The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave takes an in-depth look at this compelling character study and mystery. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.

I thought this was a dynamic and engaging read. Each chapter was well-crafted and helps peel away the mystery and intrigue. The reader truly gets to know the main characters at play.

The big reveal wasn’t as shocking as expected, but what followed was extremely surprising. But I thought it made sense in the greater context of the story. While yes, we followed a love story, there were big ramifications of it, and this love story caused pain for many people.

In some ways, the end of this love story, allowed the other characters to move forward.

The Synopsis

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death. 

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

With Laura Dave’s trademark combination of soulful suspense and evocative family drama, The Night We Lost Him is a riveting page-turner with a heartbreaking final twist that you will never see coming.

Book Club Questions for The Night We Lost Him

1. The book starts off with a prologue on the night Liam dies. And we know right away that Liam did in fact get pushed to his death. Why was it important to start with this prologue?
2. What were your thoughts about Nora as a protagonist? Why was she so closed off to her loved ones, including her boyfriend, Jack? What was holding her back?
3. Her estranged brother Sam comes to Nora with shocking news—he believes their father’s death was not an accident, but rather he was murdered. Why did Sam go to Nora with this news instead of his twin brother, Tommy?
4. Let’s talk about how the investigation brought Sam and Nora closer together.
5. As we follow the present time, we also revisit the past and the love story between Liam and Cory. What was your impression of their love story?
6. The big question is if they love each other so much, why didn’t they get together officially? Why did they embark on this decades-long affair?
7. On the same token, do you think they would have lasted if they had married? Why or why not?
8. Why did Liam decide to keep his families separate—even the children?
9. Why was Windbreak so significant to Liam? Why did he leave it to Nora?
10. The big reveal is that Cory is actually Grace, who was known as one of Liam’s closest allies at work. But no one suspected they had an affair—until Nora puts all the pieces together. Let’s talk about our thoughts about all these reveals.
11. Grace’s husband, Paul, was the one to push Liam that night he died. He didn’t go there with the intentions of killing him, but he was angry and it became a tragic accident. Do you feel Paul is villain or is he a victim of Cory and Liam’s decisions? Do you feel there is a villain in the story?
12. Why did Nora and Sam decide not to let the authorities know what Paul did? How did this decision give them closure in the end?
13. What lessons did Nora and Sam learn from their discovery about Liam and all his secrets?
14. There were a couple missing threads that may have been included to perhaps throw off the reader. Paul at one point proclaims Grace said to never trust the kids. And Sam’s ex echoed those thoughts to Nora about Sam. Why were these threads included but never followed up on?
15. What happens next for Nora and Sam?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for The Night We Lost Him! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

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.

The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed! Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
 
There’s the well-dressed man in seat 4C who is compulsively checking his watch, desperate not to miss his eleven-year-old daughter’s musical. Further back, a mother of two is frantically trying to keep her toddler entertained and her infant son quiet. How did she ever think being a stay-at-home mom would be easier than being a lawyer? Ethan is lost in thought; he’s flying back from his first funeral. A young couple has just gotten married; she’s still wearing her wedding dress. An emergency room nurse is looking forward to traveling the world once she retires in a few years, it’s going to be so much fun! If they ever get off the tarmac. . . .
 
Suddenly a woman none of them know stands up. She makes predictions about how and when everyone on board will die. Some dismiss her. Others will do everything they can to make sure her prophecies do not come to pass. All of them will be forever changed.

Happy reading!