This is a very unusual book, which made it very satisfying. I started it believing it would be “Ho-hum”.wife finds text and believes her husband is cheating, but this book is certainly not predictable.

When Liz believes her husband Arno is cheating, she obsesses over the meaning and implications for her life. She questions her own sanity! But, in a series of unexpected twists, the reader takes a very interesting journey with Liz. The author did a marvelous job of pulling me along, giving me two paths to explore, then pulling a really exciting ending out of her literary hat. The best part is it all makes sense. I have to admire Sullivan’s ability to bring a very satisfying and sympathetic ending.

I know my readers will enjoy this book. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

This one really disappointed me. I requested He Said He Would Be Late because I was hoping it had a unique story, a twist I haven't seen before in this overdone genre…
Sadly, I was not impressed. I was bored.
Liz Bennet is the picture of all the women who have come before her. Married to a handsome, and very rich man, Arno- She's a writer, but has (naturally) forsaken her identity and talents to be a wife and mother. Basically, she's lost. We know nothing about her, what she likes or dislikes, her hobbies. She's got writer's block and drinks a lot. She also sees a flirty text on her husband's cell phone, she becomes obsessed with the fact that he's cheating. The entire book is Liz trying to prove Arno is really cheating on her. The storyline itself had some pretty humorous parts, I laughed quite a few times but the end fell very very flat. Trust me when I say this has been done so many times already and this one was no different than the others you gave read. The cover is lovely- storyline is boring.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for giving me an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle Arc. Justine Sullivan has written a story of a new mom, Liz, with a husband she loves but she is in the grips of anxiety and fear that her husband, Arno, is cheating on her. Liz is attempting to work on her second novel but isn't able to focus due to her fears about Arno. The couple hires a nanny so that Liz can work from home on her book. Liz tries to settle into writing but she can't keep her mind off what Arno might be doing. While some may not know what it's like to be concerned about a cheating spouse right after the birth of a child someone who's been in that position can relate. The story is suspenseful and fraught with tense moments for Liz and a twist at the very end.

This book promises much but delivers little. With a plot that’s been used too many times, most times successfully, a wife finds an incriminating text on her husbands phone. This time not successfully at all. Arno and Liz live a life of high luxury with a 13mo old baby, but Arno is forever working very late, and Liz has lost her way in motherhood
Liz starts to unravel over the text, trying to find out of Arno is cheating.
The style of writing is too detailed with many scenes that should have been heavily edited. The only likable character is the nanny and I couldn’t begin to care what happened to Liz and Arno. The plot fell completely flat and this didn't read like a suspense novel at all. There were no real twist or turns at least none fully explained. The entire book reads flat.

What is wrong with Liz Bennett? She has a drop dead gorgeous husband, a beautiful baby girl and a nanny to help her so she can work on her second book. Oh, and her husband is wealthy, with a promising career and even wants to buy her a new house in a charming Boston suburb. So what’s wrong? Why is Liz convinced that handsome Arno is having an affair? The more suspicious Liz becomes, the kinder, more caring Arno becomes. Even Liz’ therapist thinks she’s delusional. But is she?

This is a hard review to write without spoilers. Please trust me and read this 5 star domestic thriller. This is a new author for me but I know that in a short period of time, readers who are now saying “for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware’ will be saying “for fans of Justine Sullivan” instead. He Said He Would Be Late is perfectly paced. Sullivan makes you feel the drag of long days with a baby, the anxious overreactions that Liz is prone to and the desperation that drives her impetuous acts. You believe Liz, then you don’t. And you will not see the conclusion coming. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Company and Justine Sullivan for this ARC.

Liz is a published author, new mom to a baby girl named Emma, and married to the handsome, successful, and sweet Arno. One day she sees a text on his phone from a co-worker with a kissing face emoji. After this, her anxiety sets in and she begins to suspect that Arno is cheating on her. She looks up the co-worker, named Vivienne, and she is a stunning beauty! This just makes Liz more frazzled and she decides to explore further to see what her husband is up to. Is he cheating or is Liz just imagining things?

This was a great book! I had a hard time putting it down and became highly invested in the story line. I loved the idea of this book and the ending left me speechless. I would love to read more from author Justine Sullivan in the future. If you like suspenseful dramas, I would say this is one for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Henry Holt & Company and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Thriller that’s full of suspense, twists and turns. The characters are perfectly drawn for the story.

#HeSaidHeWouldBeLate #NetGalley
Exceptional 5 ⭐
Liz Bennet is fortunate with love and she knows it. She’s married to a wealthy, handsome, bright, all-around charming man. Arno, a wonderful husband and adoring father to their daughter, Emma, is the outward picture of perfection. But when Liz sees a text on Arno’s phone with a couple of kissy faces attached, she starts to worry. And worry. And worry. As any respectable wife would, Liz must find out exactly what’s going on. And so she takes a deep dive down the rabbit hole, peeling back layers of deceit, following every lead on what she increasingly believes is an extramarital affair. Could her husband really be cheating on her? Or is he just as perfect as he looks? Liz wants the truth, at all costs, but as life teaches us, not everything is as it seems.
I loved this book so much. Engaging and exceptional one.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for giving me an advance copy.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Liz is married to a wealthy, handsome man who is a wonderful husband and father so when she sees a text on his phone with a kissy face - why doesn’t she trust him? Liz tumbles in her effort to find out the truth but what she finds out isn’t what she thinks, Has she really found out the truth or is she actually driving herself crazy?

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Not quite the domestic thriller I was expecting, more like dark Women’s Fiction, if that’s a thing. But I enjoyed it and would definitely read more books like this

This thriller is going to leave you on the edge of your seat. Missing person leads to intrigue for all of the characters. This book starts off running from the first page. The story was engrossing and the characters were even better.

Thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. In the text, we meet Liz, an author and new mom to toddler Emma with her successful but often absent husband, Arno. When Liz becomes convinced Arno’s being unfaithful after seeing a suspicious text on his phone, she grows increasingly concerned, even moreso when he keeps staying at work late. Part of the story, told from Liz’s perspective, details her obsession, and her attempts to confirm or deny her suspicions. Another is spent delving into who Liz is, and how her identity has shifted since she became a mother. The author masterfully takes us on Liz’s journey, and the prose is clear and effective. I am waiting for a sequel already!

Every single character in this book was terrible, except for the nanny Kyle.

There was no suspense or tension --- just pure bad behavior on all sides.

Cover was the best part! Just not for me, unfortunately.

The cover on this book, "He Said He Would be Late," is gorgeous. While I don't fault the author for her writing (a pet peeve of mine is when the writing doesn't flow;) I do wonder if the plot was imagined to be something more. I started out excited, then started waiting for something, anything to happen. Then, I became irritated with Liz, a mother of a young daughter with a husband who often works late. Honestly, it was about then that I was skipping pages, trying to get somewhere with it. While I didn't guess the ending, it seemed like it was hanging in thin air.
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of He Said He Would Be Late.

Full disclosure: I read a lost of suspense, especially domestic suspense.

I requested He Said He Would Be Late because I hope the author had an unique story, a twist I haven't seen in so many books of this very tired genre.

Sadly, I was not impressed. I was bored. Terribly, horribly bored.

Liz Bennet is a caricature of all the women who have come before her.

Married to a (naturally) hot, handsome, and very rich man. She's a writer, but has (naturally) forsaken her identity and talents to be a wife and mother.

Basically, she's boring. We know nothing about her, what she likes or dislikes, her hobbies. She's got writer's block and when she seems a flirty text on her husband's cell phone, she becomes obsessed with the fact that he's cheating,

And down the boring, tedious, rabbit hole of nothingness we go.

We get dull recaps of her mommy makeovers, gabbing and hanging out with her neighbors, enduring insufferable office parties with the privileged and elite, people her husband work for and she can't stand, stalking the woman she's sure her husband is sleeping with.

Liz's repetitive thoughts about her husband cheating, her downward spiral into obsessing about her husband and the colleague he's hooking up (naturally, she's gorgeous and super smart and a yogi, too).

The narrative is monotonous, repetitive and just plain dull.

There's no urgency, no suspense, no tension, nothing remotely dramatic, not even when Liz flies out to Vegas to try to 'catch' her husband in the act.

The revelation at the end is no shocker. I already guessed the identity of the homewrecker, which makes no sense.

When would Liz's child ever see the other woman?

Liz's child is always with the nanny or with Liz.