Reese Witherspoon’s first book club pick of 2026 is The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave.
Dave’s thriller, published Tuesday by Scribner, is a sequel to her 2021 novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, also a pick for Witherspoon’s book club and the basis for the Apple TV+ series that begins its second season next month. The new book picks up with Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, five years after Hannah’s husband, Owen, disappeared; when Owen unexpectedly reappears, Hannah realizes their lives are in danger. A critic for Kirkus called the novel “an essential sequel that ties up loose threads while providing a thrilling ride across continents.”
Witherspoon announced the selection in an Instagram video featuring Jennifer Garner, who stars in the Last Thing He Told Me adaptation, which Witherspoon co-produces. “It is so good,” Witherspoon says of the new novel, to which Garner replies, “Every single review is just out of this world, and I’m going to add mine: five stars.”
Witherspoon tells Garner, “You were so amazing in the series, and Angourie Rice. Just the relationship between the two of you.”
Dave also took to Instagram to talk about the book, saying, “I hope you love this next chapter of their journey as much as I loved writing it.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
