Mystery · Free kit
The Last Thing He Told Me
Hannah Hall is a Sausalito woodturner, one year into marriage with Owen Michaels, when a neighborhood kid hands her a two-word note: Protect her. Owen is gone. His privacy-software company is being raided. His sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, wants nothing to do with her stepmother — until a duffel bag of cash and a trail that leads to Austin force them to work as a team. A page-turner about what you owe a person you love, and how much of their past you are allowed not to know.
“Gotta pick a piece of wood. It all starts with picking a good piece of wood. If that's no good, you have nowhere good to go.”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
The Last Thing He Told Me Hosting Guide
A free, printable-minded plan for hosting The Last Thing He Told Me.
Invite hook
“A Sausalito woodturner gets a two-word note, a missing husband, and a teenager who does not want her. Then Austin starts answering questions nobody asked.”
The question you’re arguing about: If the person you love left you one instruction — protect her — how much of their past would you still need to know?
Shopping list
- □Pad Thai (or a simple Thai noodle takeout) — Owen would live on it, given the choice
- □Breakfast-taco fixings: eggs, potatoes, cheese, salsa — Austin energy, no fancy cooking
- □Iced tea and lemonade in pitchers
- □Coffee, plus sparkling water and orange juice
- □Wooden bowls or boards for serving (Hannah's workshop, on a budget: thrifted is perfect)
- □Small envelopes or folded note cards for the surprise touch
- □A Sausalito/marina postcard or a cheap Texas map as a table runner moment
- □Printed bingo cards, trivia slips, and extra pens
Day-of timeline
- 0–10 minWelcome & icebreakers (trust, secrets, blended family — no plot)
- 10–20 minTrivia warm-up; save Ethan/Kristin and the ending questions for after discussion
- 20–55 minMain discussion: the note, Jules's tip, Austin, Hannah's deal with Nicholas, the showcase
- 55–70 minSpeed debate: Was Owen right to disappear? or Would You Rather
- 70–80 minBingo, 1–5 star ratings, one word each, vote on next month
Surprise touch
Leave a tiny sealed envelope at each seat. Inside: a scrap of paper with two words — Protect her. It is the same kind of message a kid handed Hannah at the door, it costs almost nothing, and it puts the room in the book before anyone has to argue about Owen.
Wrap-up
- □Group photo with the two-word notes or a wooden bowl in the frame
- □Quick rating round: 1–5 stars and one word each (expect "twist," "stepmom," or "the ring")
- □Vote on next month's book; if anyone watched the Apple TV+ series, keep book-vs-show for after the rating, not instead of it