The most popular of the Laura Dave books in order is her 2021 novel The Last Thing He Told Me. This book also features a shift in Dave’s writing with the inclusion of a mystery thriller element.
All of Laura Dave’s books focus heavily on different relationship dynamics, both romantic and familial. But her earlier novels fall within the genre of general or women’s fiction. While this means they have a slightly different tone from her biggest novel, they do share a similar exploration of family and partners that makes them all entertaining reads.
About Laura Dave
The Last Thing He Told Me was Laura Dave’s sixth book, but it is the one that has brought her the most acclaim. It has sold more than two million copies and collectively her books have been published in 38 countries.
In 2021, The Last Thing He Told Me was chosen as the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year. There was then an Apple TV adaptation in the spring of 2023.
Dave co-created and was an executive producer on the adaptation with her husband Josh Singer, who is a screenwriter and producer. Reese Witherspoon was also an executive producer on the project, and the book was part of Witherspoon’s incredibly popular Reese’s Book Club.
Jennifer Garner stars as the main character, Hannah, and she vied heavily for the role by writing letters to Dave. Garner read the book with her middle child and loved it. She was also an executive producer on the project.
The ending of the adaptation does differ from the ending of the book. Dave made this decision intentionally and it creates the opportunity for a possible sequel. She says that she initially had no intention of writing a sequel, but the way readers have reacted to the ending prompted her to question what comes next and explore the possibility.
Dave lives in Santa Monica, California. It was announced in January 2023 that she was moving publishers to Penguin Random House’s Century with a deal for two new novels. The first of which will have the title The Night We Lost Him and is scheduled for publication in 2024.
Laura Dave Books in Order
Since her books are all standalones, you can read them in whatever order you choose depending on your interest. However, if you do decide to read her books in order of publication, you will be able to witness the growth in her writing and the themes she uses.
- London is the Best City in America (2006)
- The Divorce Party (2007)
- The First Husband (2011)
- Eight Hundred Grapes (2015)
- Hello, Sunshine (2017)
- The Last Thing He Told Me (2021)
- The Night We Lost Him (Expected: October 1, 2024)
Anthology
Laura Dave has also contributed to one anthology throughout her career. The below collection features essays from 26 authors and is all about their recipes for a meal for one.
What to read after The Last Thing He Told Me?
If you have already read The Last Thing He Told Me, then you may have come searching for the Laura Dave books in order to read something similar. If what really drew you into Dave’s writing was the compelling mystery hook, then you may be looking for more mystery thrillers, rather than her earlier contemporary fiction.
You should check out our article with 17 Books like The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides if that’s the case. The Last Thing He Told Me features on that list, but including The Silent Patient, you’ll still have 17 more book recommendations.
Similar to The Last Thing He Told Me, The Silent Patient questions perspective and how well we can truly know someone, albeit with very different takeaways. Dave was inspired to write The Last Thing He Told Me by the Enron scandal as she watched a wife steadfastly defend her husband despite the evidence in front of her.
The books on our list of recommendations are mystery thrillers with a focus on psychological thrillers that depict stories of murder, love, and revenge.
A Summary of Laura Dave Books in Order
Below you will find the summaries of the books by Laura Dave that are currently available. This will help provide more context so you can understand the setting and premise for each of her books. This will help you decide which book to read first if you don’t wish to read them in order.
1. London is the Best City in America
Three years ago, Emmy Everett called off her engagement and fled New York City. Since then, she has been living in a fishing town in Rhode Island. But the time is nearing for Emmy to finally return to New York City for her brother Josh’s wedding.
On her way to his bachelor party, however, he confesses that he is second-guessing his decision to get married. He thinks he may even be in love with another woman.
Emmy wants to help her brother reach his own decision, so they embark on a road trip to find his mystery woman with seventy-two hours before the wedding is to take place. But along the way Emmy will embrace her own lessons about romance, commitment, and letting go.
2. The Divorce Party
Dave continues her portrayal of relationships in her second book which focuses on two women at very different stages of marriage.
The first woman is throwing a divorce party, while the second is newly engaged. But both members of Hamptons high society are asking themselves the same question: When should you fight to save a relationship, and when should you let go?
This novel also has the added layer of being a multi-generational story.
3. The First Husband
Annie Adams is about to turn 32 but believes she has found some happiness. She travels the world for her syndicated column and is happily living with her movie director boyfriend in Los Angeles. But then Nick comes home one day after a therapy session and announces he’s taking a break from their relationship so he can pursue a woman from his past.
Annie’s world shatters and she stumbles into a nearby bar. There she meets Griffin who is a grounded, charming chef. He is everything that Annie didn’t know she was looking for.
Within three months Griffin is Annie’s husband and she finds herself trying to restart her life in rural Massachusetts.
4. Eight Hundred Grapes
Just a week before her wedding, Georgia Ford discovers that her beloved fiancé has been keeping a life-changing secret from her. She hops in her car and drives through the night, from Los Angeles to Sonoma, to her safe haven.
More than anything she needs to be in the company of those who know her best and who she truly knows too. But when she arrives home, there is nothing at all that is familiar.
Her parents, her brothers, and the family business are all unrecognizable. It seems her fiancé isn’t the only one who’s been keeping secrets.
5. Hello, Sunshine
Sunshine Mackenzie has it all. She is a culinary star with millions of fans, has a line of bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband who supports her every endeavor. But then she gets hacked and all her secrets come to light.
Sunshine’s fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses her husband, her show, her fans, and her apartment.
As a result, she must return to her childhood home and the estranged sister she’s tried to forget. But what Sunshine decides to do amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life.
6. The Last Thing He Told Me
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his 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 FBI 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, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.
Final thoughts on Laura Dave books in order
With half a dozen Laura Dave books in order, she has shown herself to be a great writer with an emphasis on relationships. From the exploration of mother-daughter relationships in The Last Thing He Told Me to her earlier books exploring sibling relationships as well as romantic partnerships, Dave shows an intimate understanding of people in her books.