The Night We Lost Him

Estranged half-siblings reunite to investigate the death of their father, self-made hotel magnate Liam Noone, in this soapy family saga from Dave (The Last Thing He Told Me). Brooklyn-based architect Nora is surprised, after years of fighting to maintain her independence from her father, by the depth of her grief following his fatal fall from the cliff outside his California home. Nora is further blindsided when Sam, the younger half-brother she barely knows from the second of Liam’s three marriages, reaches out to share his suspicion that the tragedy was no accident. Nora and Sam—who began working at the family firm after an accident derailed his promising baseball career—start squabbling almost instantly, but stonewalling from Liam’s cousin and business partner, Joe, and from the California cops whose probe of Liam’s death was perfunctory at best, convince the pair there’s a mystery to solve. Whether Liam was murdered is a question Dave dangles tantalizingly as the siblings press for answers from the family and friends who he kept almost compulsively compartmentalized. Unfortunately, save for Nora, the inconsistent characters often feel less considered than Dave’s descriptions of decor and dining. It’s a mixed bag. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME. (Sept.)