Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review He Said He Would Be Late.

Narrated by Kelli Tager
Published: 03/14/23

Nice choice for narrator. She did a great job keeping me focused and looking forward.

This is Sullivan's debut novel, and she is off to a good start. Happily, 3.5 stars from me and I'm not rounding up. Primarily the profanity, while not the cringe-worthy amount that other authors need, she had enough that the mailman was treated with an F word and the Pastor and his aid the next day.

Sullivan has a talent. I like storytelling. This was smart, it wasn't over-the-top, and more mystery than thriller (who picks these genre headings?).

This is the story of a woman who sees a text with an emoji sent to her husband. I was settling in, down for the count, daring anyone to disturb me. Imagine my surprise she was upset by the text, the emoji apparently only bothers me (emojis and exclamation points are overdone, I have no problem making this public service announcement.) There are factors: Her first baby, some depression, and a vivid imagination. Shockingly the author doesn't have me thinking Liz is an idiot and I need a better system picking books. Liz's reactions seem real life like. The decisions she makes put her child first. The author has the path written and we just need to follow along.

Is her husband having an affair or not? The book is about her wanting to know, It's simple chat. Liz has insecurities. She goes about her days with class. The ending is a tad too long, rushed, and too much is introduced in the allotted space.

I don't want to spoil any part. I have high hopes for the author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to listen to a complimentary copy of this bok in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Liz thinks that her husband Arno might be cheating on her. She thinks it is with a awoman he works with. Liz loses herlself to the search of the truth. But is the truth what she thinks it is or is she making too much of it. I enjoyed the storyline but foun it dragged in places. The narrator did a good job and her voice was pleasant.

This is the first book from this author for me, I would definitale ycheck out another book but maybe in paper as opposed to audio. I feel likem I would have enjoyed the book more if I read it.

I wanted to stop reading this book and add it to my DNF pile so many times. Part of me wishes I did because nothing ever really happened. I kept waiting for something…ANYTHING to happen. But alas, it fell flat every time. I wanted to like the book, I really did. But unfortunately, I did not. This one is a hard pass for me.

He Said He Would Be Late

Liz is happily married to her wealthy, successful husband Arno. With a beautiful daughter, life is good. Although, Arno does work long hours and sometimes doesn’t come home till the wee hours of the morning. She thinks that her husband is cheating on her. She starts to follow him to see if he is cheating on her.

This book had some interesting twists in it. For a psychological thriller is was just a middle of the road one for me. I felt like Liz was out of her mind in the way the story portrayed her but without giving anything away she really wasn't but the craziness in her pursuit to find out what her husband is up to.

This wasn't a bad thriller it just lacked something. I just cannot put my finger on it. It is worth the read. Narrated by Kelli Tager who does good giving voice to Liz and her desire to get to the bottom of her husbands late night and all night behavior.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for a free copy of He Said He Would Be Late for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a twisty turny book about a marriage and motherhood. Liz sees a text on her perfect husbands phone. Do the kissy emojis mean something, or is it innocent? Liz tries to find out and you must read (or listen) to what she finds. I did t want to put this book down (or on pause).

This was more psychological than thriller. There was actually no thriller to it. It's about an insecure new mom who let's her imagination get the best of her. Liz is an author and very good at making up stories in her head. Once she get the idea that her husband may be cheating on her, she begins down many, many spirals that lead her to making very unhinged decisions.
While I can understand that her insecurities could pick up on some clues, it was completely frustrating how some of the biggest red flags just went over her head. I questioned her multiple times and while the ending of the book made me roll my eyes just a time bit, I smiled because it was a very clever way to end.

"I fall asleep thinking I know my husband...I commit impulses acts."

He Said He Would Be Late by psychological thriller author Justine Sullivan puts the emphasis on psychological in this is he or isn't he a cheater.

Liz seems to have it all with a successful writing career, a charming handsome husband, and a new baby girl. However, we all know what appears perfect is often flawed and Liz definitely has flaws. When she sees a text from her husband's co-worker Viv that ends in kissy emojis it sends her spiraling to catch Viv and hubby having an affair.

As we live in Liz's whirlwind thoughts narrator Kelli Tager brings the anxiety, the fear, the hurt, the resentment and the anger in her vocal performance. The thing is we know Liz is unraveling but is she wrong about the truth when he said he would be late?

I received a free copy of this audiobook from MacMillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

While personally didn’t love this book, i did like it. I figured out the plot pretty fast. I do read thrillers regularly though. So, I believe the book itself is definitely a four star. It has unreliable narrator and is definitely a character based story. We’re just joining along the ride.

Oh, the tangled web we weave when act to deceive! Described as, "A twisty psychological debut about marriage, motherhood, and the search for truth at all costs," which might live up to that description with scary music. Story was interesting, and often cutesy - and several times nearly unbelievable. Yet with all those loose stitches in the garment the final scene was well worth the wait!

First of all, thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audiobook review copy.

SYNOPSIS: A fast-paced, twisty psychological debut about the complexities of marriage and new motherhood, told through the frenetic lens of a wife seeking the truth about her husband, at all costs, as the validity of the life she once knew unravels page by page.

REVIEW: DNF @ 40%. The narrator was enjoyable, but the story and plot was not. It was a slow-paced, non-enticing suspense thriller. I just was not a fan.

Someone else may like it, but I did not.

With the tension of becoming a first-time mother, Liz is struggling with her day-to-day tasks. A mysterious flirty text on her handsome husband's phone adds an additional stress to Liz's already long anxiety list. Will she be able to navigate her life to become a full-time happy mother, wife, and publisher author?

He Said He Would Be Late goes back and forth in time between the couple's early relationship days and the present time. The author packs a lot into this story: mental health issues, lies, secrets, hysteria, and ambition with a few surprises along the way. Although the novel is full of constant twists and though I was surprised a couple of times, to me it felt as if the story kept turning in circles, and kept going back to ground zero multiple times. I struggled to finish the novel, however, found the ending very satisfying.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of the novel in the exchange for my honest review.

The narration was so good, made the story really come alive for me. I think every woman would want a husband like Arno. Liz was such a different female character. I could see my self in every scene like I was actually there. Emma was so cute!

I really enjoyed listening to this book.

I really liked this audiobook performance of He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan. The premise of the story is a wife who believes her husband may be cheating on her. Or, is she just going crazy? Through the story, we see her talking to a therapist, talking to her husband, following her husband, following someone she thinks he might be cheating with, etc. I was in a marriage where my spouse was cheating and was saying he would be late...I wish I'd had this book to read then...The narrator was excellent. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this audiobook, in return for an honest review.

So let me start with the good - the prose and pacing are great. The author did a fantastic job of describing the main character’s frenzied and unhinged state and I always enjoy short chapters. That being said, it’s more women’s/domestic fiction than a thriller and I’m so over the unreliable narrator trope! There was also so much potential of where the story could’ve gone; I kept feeling like it was building up to some kind of brilliant twist that just never came. You’re then blindsided by the last sentence that honestly left me with more questions than answers. 3.5/5⭐️

Sadly, I did not like this book as much as I'd hoped. I found it very slow and not really a psychological thriller at all. The characters irritated me, especially the main character, Liz Bennett.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an early copy of this.

Relationships are built upon trust. Think about it for a moment. You love and respect the person you've chosen to spend your life with, but there's no way for either of you to know every aspect of their life that hasn't included you. Undoubtedly, there were moments before you entered each other's lives that you simply don't know about. Even the longest relationships between couples who "share everything" are bound to have at least some kind of discrepancy or blind spot. It is the trust that you've established between yourselves that allows you to not have to worry about those unknowns. If trust between a couple can be built, it stands to reason that it can also be broken. In her debut novel He Said He Would Be Late, author Justine Sullivan tells the story of a couple about to face the ultimate test of trust in their relationship.

From the outside looking in, Liz Bennet has a perfect life. She's a published author with a deal for a second book secured. She's the mother to the precocious toddler Emma. Liz's husband Arno is everything she ever dreamed of. He's handsome, wealthy, and the perfect father to their daughter. To top things off, his last name is Bennet, giving Liz the same name as the protagonist from her favorite novel Pride and Prejudice. That has to be some kind of cosmic sign that her relationship is meant to be. Yes, there is no denying that Liz's life is about as perfect as she could dream of. Why then, does it feel as if her life isn't everything it is cracked up to be?

The cracks in Liz's life begin to appear soon after the birth of her daughter. Instead of the bliss and sense of duty that comes with being a mother, Liz can only think of the way this child is negatively impacting her life. Other mothers speak of the way giving birth flipped a switch that turned on motherly instinct. Liz loves her daughter, but that ethereal motherly inclination hasn't come to her. On top of this, spending every waking hour caring for Emma has kept her from writing her second novel. There's just no time to devote to her ever-approaching deadline. Finally, there's her relationship with Arno. He's a great father when he's home, but Liz is noticing him spending longer and longer days at the office. It seems as if he's always running late. Then she stumbles across a text from a female coworker on his phone. At first glance, it seems like an innocent enough message thanking Arno. But there's a kissy face emoji at the end. This simple text begins to sow seeds of doubt in Liz's mind. She'll stop at nothing to find out the truth.

He Said He Would Be Late marks the debut of author Justine Sullivan. She's written about the perils of paranoia in the form of suspenseful domestic fiction. The novel is told entirely from the perspective of the protagonist, giving the reader deep insight into the character and what motivates her. This isn't a thriller in the traditional sense. Instead, Sullivan uses the anxiety of her character to lace each page with a sense of uncertainty. As I read, I became intensely invested in the plight of this character. I wasn't certain that I could trust her instincts around her husband's infidelity, but I equally could not look away as she followed every breadcrumb of potential evidence. This is a tightly plotted read that will have you breathlessly turning the pages. The open-ended ending may frustrate a few readers, but I found that it perfectly capped off this story. I'm thankful to Sullivan's publisher for sharing a copy of the book with me, and I can't wait to read whatever she comes up with next.

Liz Bennett is a wife and mother, living an idyllic life in a posh Boston suburb. Her life is perfect, well basically perfect (she doesn't really like or her one year old daughter) until she accidently reads a flirty text for her husband from a female worker. She is certain he is cheating, and so begins a spiral down paranoia, depression, and alcoholism. She goes through bouts of believing she may be wrong and certain her husband is having an affair. Is he or isn't he... Is she crazy or what she right all along... As a mother, this book made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Liz clearly has so sort of postpartum condition, just based on her thoughts about her daughter. She has no problem seeking help regarding her mental health, but when asked repeatedly if there could be a connection with her child, that area is off limits. As she spins further and further out of control, the entire story made me uncomfortable. The physiological portions of this book all just read like a cry for help to me.

Just finished this one (it came out this past Tuesday) and Lordy. I have never been driven SO insane by a book.

If you like domestic suspense novels with unreliable narrators and mic drop endings, GET THIS BOOK.

If you cherish your sanity, don’t.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was such a great match to the main character, Liz. It was very easy to follow along as well. The plot was fairly simple, which I could see some readers not liking, but it was perfect for my mood. I was also impressed that this was a debut novel!

He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan
Audiobook narrated by Kelli Tager
Macmillan Audio
Publication: 14 March 2023
3⭐️

Synopsis: The main character, Liz, finds a suspicious text from a woman on her husband's phone, and her journey throughout the book to see if there is truth to her suspicions or if it's all in her head.

Characters that felt like real people were a specialty of this author's writing. This read was enjoyable because there was a lot of personality. Throughout the first half of the book, Liz's humor and inner dialogue made her very relatable to me. Her flaws and insecurities were realistically portrayed by the author, and it was interesting to watch her unravel throughout the book. However, despite being in her head throughout the entirety of the book, we do not learn much about her; I would have preferred to have included a little bit more information about her as a person.

The book's abrupt conclusion, which dealt with Liz's day-to-day life in great detail, was a little jarring. For a book about characters this character-focused, having an open-ended conclusion was a little unsatisfying. I also thought that the conclusion was stopped short, as if someone put a period in the middle of a sentence.


Thanks, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

Reviews are also posted to my Instagram blog (bibliophiles_elite).