He Said He Would Be Late

By: Justine Sullivan

Narrated by: Kelli Tager

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Liz Bennett knows that she is one of the lucky ones. Wealthy and charming, Arno is a supportive husband to Liz and a doting father to their daughter, Emma. A rising banker at a top firm in the Boston area, he is the picture of perfection, rounding off their idyllic New England life. But when Liz sees a text on Arno's phone with a kissy-face emoji, her anxiety kicks into overdrive and she begins to worry that her luck has run out.

Plagued by persistent skepticism and countless sleepless nights, Liz decides she must uncover the truth about her husband—as any wife would. So she takes a deep breath and dives down the rabbit hole. As Liz peels back layers of deceit and tracks down every lead, a frenzy begins to take over her life. Could Arno really be unfaithful? Or is Liz's imagination getting the best of her? When everyone around her is convinced she's become unhinged, she must prove, if only to herself, that a woman's intuition expands beyond a single cryptic text.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2023 Justine Sullivan (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Frank, funny...a read-in-one-sitting ride that’s crazy, heartfelt, and maybe a little heartbreaking as well."
—Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny

“A sharp debut examining the often-destabilizing identity of new motherhood, as well as postpartum depression, anxiety, and insecurity. Sullivan deftly conveys the overwhelming frustration of maintaining appearances as she leads readers through an emotional journey to an open-ended but deeply satisfying conclusion.”
—Chris Cander, USA Today bestselling author of A Gracious Neighbor

"A pacey, compelling tale of obsession that's also an insightful and intimate look at marriage and the many vulnerabilities of new motherhood, this gorgeous debut truly shines!"
—Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author of The Night Olivia Fell

I have a lot of feelings

This novel was touted as fast paced- it was anything, but that. The character development, was so over the top at some points, as well as the descriptors of very unimportant things that did not even pertain to the story, such as describing every room in the entire house and the decor. The protagonist, Liz, is literally the most negative character I have ever read. She doesn’t like anyone. Not her own child, not any of her friends, not her mother, nor her in-laws. She is very unlikable. All she did was rag on every single character. The only person she liked was the nanny who really was her only friend, yet she still snapped and was short with her for no reason. I feel like not much really happened until the last quarter of the book where the twist occurred which really wasn’t a twist at all because the reader was kind of prepared for what was to come. I also have to say, that I don’t know of one 13 month old, who is able to remember peoples names that are not in their daily lives. This child was so verbal that it was not believable. On a positive note, I did find Liz’s obsession with finding out if her husband was having an affair, extremely realistic. The Internet stalking, the little things she did to be where Viv was, the things she did to find out what her husband was doing, Sounds like it comes from experience.

Overall, I did enjoy the narration, but the story itself was just not for me.

It was just OK

Some chapters just dragged on and on… I really didn’t like how it ended. I feel like the ending should have been portrayed in the middle of the book.

Nothing to it

I kept with it thinking something would happen, nothing. Nothing at all. I don’t understand at all how this could even be rated as do
Eaton thriller.

So much detail!

Impossible to not put yourself right in the middle of the story. Author goes above and beyond to set the stage. And the ending…wow.

Loved it

One of the most addictive domestic suspense stories I’ve read. And the ending nailed it!

Needle in a haystack

The needle is the story line or plot; the haystack is all of the unnecessary details that have nothing to do with the story. And these are painfully endless and irrelevant, by the time you get back to the “needle” you’ve lost your train of thought. If you remove all the fluff, the “story” could be told in a chapter and a half. As for the ending…. I will assume I tuned out during my hay ride and missed something that would have made this credible.