The Invisible Husband of Frick Island

By: Colleen Oakley

Narrated by: Sara Sheckells

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

“This is the hopeful book we all need right now. I loved it!” (Emily Giffin, number New York Times best-selling author of The Lies That Bind

As Seen on the Today Show

A Southern Living Best Beach Read * A PopSugar Best Book of May * An Us Weekly Summer Beach Staple * A Frolic Under-the-Radar Book of May * An OK Magazine Best Summer Beach Read * An EW.com Best Book of Spring * A Country Living Can't Miss Beach Read * A LibraryReads Pick for May * An Emily Giffin Book Club pick

Sometimes all you need is one person to really see you.

Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island - a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay - is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?

Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper - but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

USA Today best-selling author Colleen Oakley delivers an unforgettable love story about an eccentric community, a grieving widow, and an outsider who slowly learns that sometimes faith is more important than the facts.

©2020 Colleen Oakley (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An utterly charming story brimming with heart and humanity. This is the hopeful book we all need right now. I loved it!” (Emily Giffin, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Lies That Bind)

"Sweet, quirky, surprising, and altogether lovely, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is everything I long for in a book. I fell in love with Oakley's sparkling prose, charming characters, and quaint island setting. This is a story I can't wait to revisit, again and again. A must read." (Emily Henry, New York Times best-selling author of Beach Read)

"A gently told story of grief, community and ambition, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is imaginative, lovely and full of surprises." (Kristan Higgins, New York Times best-selling author of Always the Last to Know)

Hated the narrating

Hated the narrating. It made the people sound like they were stupid and there was one that sounded like he was a surfer.

Awesome book!!!

I really didn’t even read the synopsis online before purchasing this book, I had just finished reading another novel by the same author that I really enjoyed, so I just downloaded it! It was really good!

Entertaining and sometimes unexpected story

This novel reveals itself little by little, with tragedy, comedy, mystery, travelogue, a little romance, a little global warming, and some strong psychological underpinnings. It kept me guessing and I did enjoy it.

Frick Island was delightful

As a lifelong Marylander who spent days on a sailboat as a teen sailing from Annapolis to Smith (Frick) Island, I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and the perspective that highlighted the true treasure that Smith Island (and their cakes) truly is. The only thing missing was the tent revival that shut down the whole island for at least a few evenings each August. (Something we found out the hard way.) We moored for the night at the public docks which meant we had a front row seat to the comings and going’s of the watermen who are featured in the story. Thanks for shining a light on a majestic place.

Interesting Story Line

While I thought the story line was clever, I felt like it never took off. I think the narration played a major role in this; however, the author is not without blame.

Good reading!

A compelling story with interesting characters. Having been through the grieving situation myself, I can identify with Piper...
Enjoyed this book and would recommend it!

Interesting and different

Enjoyable quick read. It felt a little clunky toward the end but alll in alll I liked it.

Story was fun. Narrator was the worst

I wanted so much to love this book. It was hard to get through the title. This narrator is like a woman doing a comedy bit William Shatner impression. So... many... pauses. Brutal to listen to. Voices were terrible. Being from Maryland, I was confused by the southern and drawling accents. But the pauses... dramatic pauses. Painful. Every second was painful. The story was enjoyable.

Great story !!

Loved the story and the narrator on this story. This is the type of story that where you miss the characters after you finish the book. AKA a great read !!

Great book

Great narration for a great story. Now I have to visit the real Smith Island!