He Said He Would Be Late is the story of a woman who is trying to understand whether or not there is something wrong with her -- or, if what she sees is for real.

Liz is the mother of a 1 year old child, living comfortably in Wellesley, Massachusetts, an affluent suburb of Boston. Her husband works late quite often, and although she previously had published a successful novel, she finds herself unable to accomplish anything, including care for her child. When she gets it into her head that her husband is cheating with a co-worker, she becomes derailed and unmoored, and fixates on finding out what is happening, going to unimaginable lengths to find out. Liz's therapist is convinced that she is suffering from a mental health crisis, perhaps PPD,. Liz remains fixated on what she feels in her bones -- such that the reader isn't sure if she is an unreliable narrator, or if what she tells us is for real.

When Liz comes to the conclusion that she is imagining things, there is a slight plot twist that is very satisfying, leaving us rather confused at the end of the novel, albeit, no doubt many readers have figured out what has really been going on.

This is a fast paced novel that keeps the reader's attention. For those who know Boston, there are many landmarks, cities and towns mentioned, such that it feels familiar and one can imagine the setting quite well. Liz is an interesting character, who resembles many women who are unsure of their partner's feelings.

I loved this book! The writing is impeccable with so many laugh out loud moments at the expense of someone unraveling in the process. I would say it is a psychological fiction about marriage insecurities. When Liz's husband, Arno, receives a text from a coworker ending it with a kissing face emoji, she assumes he is having an affair. She spends the rest of the book trailing him and his lovely coworker Viv. He stays at work until midnight, parties afterward with his team and seldom shows up for dinner...this would set anyone spiraling into the darkest corners of the mind.

Arno and Liz live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods. She stays at home and has a nanny for their one year daughter, Emma, while she writes her book or goes out with the girls. He appears as one of the best dads to their daughter.

The audio is loaded with character driven moments that end with embarrassment. I would cringe at some of the ideas Liz would reel in her head. She could be characterized as flawed, insecure and sometimes chaotic. Many of her unstable moments are due to losing herself in motherhood instead of taking care of herself. At times these postpartum moments or tropes of it clashed with jealousy of her husband's success. She is a writer feeling underscored with her second book and writer's block. With time on her hands, she carries us on a topsy-turvy ride... while her life unravels spying on her husband.

If you are expecting a thriller, this one is not for you. If you want an entertaining women's fiction, you will definitely find it with her analysis of female body parts, reactions, motherhood and uncomfortable situations... You will laugh!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for this Audio in exchange for my honest review! Kelly Tager did an outstanding job with narrating making each laugh out loud moment even better!

By all accounts, Liz should be happy. She has a gorgeous, wealthy husband, a cute one-year-old daughter, and has published a book. But she finds herself growing dissatisfied with her life, even more so when she sees a text from a coworker on her husband’s phone that includes some kissy-face emojis. Hoping to find the truth, Liz obsessively begins to keep track of her husband and learn everything she can about this coworker. But how far is she willing to go to find the truth?

First things first: DO NOT go into this expecting a thriller, suspense, a “twisty psychological” read (though it could maybe be classified as “slightly bendy”}, or even a mystery. This book should simply be classified as general fiction. That being said, DO go into this work expecting it to be more of a character study, one that delves deep into motherhood, postpartum depression, anxiety, and a general unraveling of one’s self.

This author excelled at writing characters that felt like real people. The amount of personality that was present is what made this read enjoyable. I found Liz to be extremely relatable for the first half of the book, enjoying her sense of humor and inner dialogue. The way the author portrayed her flaws and insecurities made her realistic, and it was interesting to watch her unravel as the book went on. But despite being in her head the whole book, we don’t learn much about her – I would have liked to have a bit more information incorporated about her as a person.

This work is detail-heavy when it comes to Liz’s daily life, so when the book ended so abruptly it was a little jarring. Having an open-ended conclusion for a read this character-oriented was a little unsatisfying. I also felt that there was a glaring inconsistency with the ending, but I can’t say anything about it without major spoilers.

While this read didn’t feel like anything particularly unique, it was enjoyable overall. What did it for me was how relatable Liz was and how much I enjoyed wondering if she was an unreliable narrator or if her husband was actually cheating. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work, which will be published March 14, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Unlikeable characters so didn't care too much about them. Story wasn't sure if it was about infidelity or post-partum depession or both. The twist at the end didn't really shock or surprise me.

This was an interesting story. I kept waiting for the big bang at the end, and I actually felt it was more of a little pop.....but I have been thinking about that little pop for the past twelve hours, so it affected me more than I realized.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

I listened to this novel on audiobook, as I tend to do with all books in the thriller genre. The narrator is excellent and the story works well as an audiobook — I believe the audiobook actually works in favor to make the novel more interesting than it might appear on paper.

Liz Bennet believes her husband is having an affair but lacks any substantial proof — and he’s just such a good husband that she feels guilty for even suspecting him. We follow the trail of her suspicion from beginning to end. One moment Liz will be certain she’s caught him red-handed, and the next she’s convinced of his innocence.

The reader might have their own suspicions but the book does a good job of concealing the truth until the very end.

I did enjoy listening to He Said He Would Be Late. However, I would not describe this novel as fast-paced nor would I label it as a thriller. Mystery with a dash of suspense, and only a psychological debut due to gaslighting. The majority of the novel is Liz’s day-to-day life, suspicion without suspense, and her interactions with her frenemy as well as her daughter’s nanny, Kyle.

Ultimately, I wasn’t on my toes at the end, but the moment that I saw as an indication of how the book would end proving to be true was perfectly foreshadowed. I would recommend listening on audiobook rather than reading a physical copy as I believe the narration adds suspense that the text itself lacks.

I thoroughly enjoyed this character-driven, psychological suspense, which will appeal to fans of Caroline Kepnes. Readers delve deeply into the mind of the incredibly unreliable narrator, a young mother who suspects her husband of cheating. The audio version worked particularly well with this book because the narrator made it so easy to get inside the mind of the main character. Sullivan’s character is masterful and the way she interweaves the narrator’s thoughts with the domestic drama of her life is brilliant and had me hooked for the entirety. I look forward to more from this author.

How gorgeous is this cover?! This psychological domestic novel is the debut of Justine Sullivan. The main character, Liz, is convinced that her husband, Arno, is having an affair after seeing a cryptic text message. The story goes on to describe the lengths that Liz goes to in order to catch Arno in the act of having an affair. This audiobook is well narrated and listening at 1.25 speed made it feel like Liz was speaking directly to you and telling you the story! If you like dramas, then this book is right up your alley!

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

A text on her husband’s phone sends Liz Bennett into a spiral. The seemingly perfect life she shares with her husband, Arno and daughter, Emma now seems to be in danger. Liz decides she’s going to find out exactly what her husband has been up to. The more she digs, the more obsessed she becomes, until the lines between reality and obsession become blurred. Is she losing her grip on reality, or does someone just want her to think she is? I literally could not stop listening, I was the one who was obsessed!

I just can't with this book. I ended up skimming chunks of it. It was boring and dragged out. I'm not sure what else to say outside of that.

This one is a little tough for me to review. I think the author did a great job of developing the characters. I feel like I knew the main character, Liz, very well. She also did a great job of keeping the suspense of the cheating spouse. I wasn’t sure through a good portion of the book whether her husband was really cheating or if Liz was experiencing mental illness. I think the story had great potential but just moved too slowly for me. I found myself wanting to skip towards the end to find out what happens. I felt like the majority of the book was just a long tedious description of Liz’s day. What she was eating, what she was wearing, the way she styles her hair, detailed descriptions of her girls nights with her neighbor. Then after listening to 11 hours of the audiobook about her boring days, it felt like it just ended unfinished. What did Liz decide to do with the information she had at the end? We don’t know because it ends without going into it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the e-ARC audio book in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published on March 14, 2023. LOVED the narration by the reader of the audio book. Intonation, feeling, emotion, and character differentiation was well done!

Liz sees a suspicious text on her husband’s phone one morning and discovers the sender is his co-worker who happens to be a gorgeous, fit, exotic woman. Liz has a whole host of problems including anxiety, abandonment issues from childhood, is a new mom of a toddler, a writer trying to get book #2 out, etc. Liz is suffering from life but based upon this one text, she spends the rest of the book obsessing about her husband cheating on her...based off the one text.

Like other reviewers, I kept wondering when something was going to happen. I never felt like I got to know her as a character, and I really did not like her.

The book is very well written and I did stick with it until the end to see where the story went.
Overall I’m giving this three stars. More action and character development would have been better but it was still a good read.

Liz Bennet is suffering being home with her child and feeling isolated and lonely. Her husband is always working late. This would be enough to cause any wife to wonder what is going on. Then she spies a text on his phone from a co-worker and it has a kissy emoji attached to it. She thinks he is having an affair with her and who wouldn't? All the signs were there she just didn't want to believe her rich, handsome, husband would ever cheat on her.

I loved all the dialog that Liz has going on in her head as it is hilarious. She has one incident and slowly spirals out over it and stalks her husband to find out the truth. She purposely follows Viv from the office to check on her to see if her suspicions were true. The expensive jewelry and flowers should have been a huge red flag to her but she convinces herself she is wrong.

I really enjoyed the narrator as they did a great job of how quickly someone can make a mountain out of a mole hill and even though I knew how it was going to end I still really enjoyed the book. So happy to have gotten this audiobook as it was a delight to listen to. Every woman has probably wondered this a time or two when a husband says he has to work late.

This book was anything but fast-paced and twisty in the first half. It just fell flat for me and I was debating abandoning this one. Thankfully the storyline picked up as more interesting scenarios unfolded. Yet the main character, Liz’s, story just seemed a little too desperate for me.

The narrator, Kelli Tager, did a great job with the varied characters. She helped me get through the slower part of the story. Thankyou to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

First, I am thankful to Justine Sullivan, Henry Holt Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for granting me Advanced Listener Access before it hits shelves on March 14, 2023.

Justine Sullivan knows how to illustrate the pains of paranoia within a relationship. A year and some change after giving birth to their lovely baby daughter, Emma, Liz Bennett fears that her workaholic husband is cheating on her. He's never home on time, always taking business trips, and frequently makes romantic transactions for flowers and jewelry that never get gifted to her.

Under the guidance of her friends and therapist, she's urged to look past it and focus on her inner growth. Still, she ignores their tips and spirals down a rabbit hole as she obsessively stalks his assumed mistress, showing up at her yoga class and arriving unannounced at several work events to lurk from afar. Liz's position in this novel sets her up for failure, assuming she's been stricken with Post-Partum Depression and writing her off as a basket case. I always believe in women, though, and that ideology shines onward in this novel.

A netgalley arc chosen by me completely based on the intriguing title and beautiful cover. I am shallow like that.

On audio, I listened to this nearly 11 hour book over the course of two days - it kept me company. That is huge praise coming from a perimenopausal woman suffering from brain fog with the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel. The characters were interesting, narrator Kelli Tager's voice was soothing and appealing and I LOVED the inner monologue of the protagonist, Liz. She and I have similar neurosis and think alike - which, after you read the book, may have you slightly judging me. Oh well.

I have rounded this one up to a 4 (I'm a harsh critic so my 4 may be your 5). While I enjoyed the whole journey, others might find this a bit slow. It is a long account of a wife's suspicions of a husband's adultery. I cannot say more without potentially spoiling your journey, but do not expect a pulse-pounding, action-packed typical domestic thriller. Macmillan categorizes this one as "general fiction, mystery & thriller", but I struggle to agree with the word thriller. It was a solid read, glad I got to listen in advance of the March 14, 2023 release and I am now checking out author Justine Sullivan for other books. That is great praise from a fickle reader.