Rosie Walsh, the bestselling author of GHOSTED and THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, delivers her most propulsive novel yet. THE ONE DAY YOU WERE MY HUSBAND is tense, suspenseful and emotionally rich.

“[W]hat might our lives look like now if the storm hadn’t come and we hadn’t been on the beach that evening?” This is the thought that has plagued Carrie Cole ever since the night in 2010 when she and her husband --- who had just gotten married on a Thailand beach in a T-shirt and a plain white dress --- were attacked by a group of gun-wielding men. Carrie was never in danger, though. They were after her husband, Johan Kullberg, who had been leading a double life as a drug trafficker. So it was that Carrie was married to the love of her life for not even one full day, resulting in her being left stranded in Thailand and her husband in police custody, where he told her to leave, forget him and never reach out again.

Twelve years later, Carrie is an accomplished surgeon who has found happiness again thanks to therapy, the closed-door nature of her ex’s arrest, and her new husband, Robin, with whom she now has adorable but medically compromised six-year-old twins. Because of Robin’s recent layoff, Carrie is finally leaving behind the stay-at-home mom life and returning to the workforce, which she once vowed never to do. But now she feels that it’s a necessary journey to help her family and regain her own workaholic identity. Having been accepted to practice again, she is just about to jet off to Stockholm to attend a conference when she spots something unusual online.

"Much like Laura Dave’s THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, THE ONE DAY YOU WERE MY HUSBAND grips readers instantly --- though in a quiet, immersive way --- before racing to its conclusion with a relentless, fast-paced energy."

Browsing rental properties in Stockholm, Carrie spies a gorgeous, homey cabin that instantly catches her eye. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when she reads the host’s bio. The individual who owns and rents out the cottage is none other than Johan --- the man who abandoned her, let her believe he was gone forever, and then returned without so much as a word, accomplishing what even the authorities and his parents believed was impossible. Even worse, he has remarried and has a child, and his life looks perfect.

Carrie doesn’t begrudge her life, but how can she ignore the pull of the man she thought she would live with forever? The happy ending to her love story with Johan may have lasted only hours, but its fracturing has followed her all the way to the present. As deep-seated memories of their passionate affair start to rise to the surface, she cannot help but wonder: What if?

Upon Carrie’s arrival in Sweden, her resolve never to seek out Johan again starts to weaken. When she finally is able to confront him, it turns out that there was much more to his story than she ever realized, even after the arrest. But whatever the truth may be, Carrie cannot avoid that she has a life of her own now, and reuniting with Johan in any way will put all of that at risk. It’s an emotional ambush, to say the least, but she knows that she needs answers and closure no matter what. 

Walsh pairs the long-lost love trope with a truly unputdownable mystery, allowing the tension of each theme to inform the other. Rather than writing Carrie as the scorned or grieving lover, she takes great care to flesh out her character, exposing her as a strong, hardheaded woman who also grapples with insecurities. This makes her willingness to confront the past all the more impactful as we already know she is not looking for an affair or a blowout fight.

All Carrie wants is the necessary closure that will allow her to move on with her life. The fact that what she uncovers makes this nearly impossible is the novel’s crisp, emotionally fraught climax. Much like Laura Dave’s THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, THE ONE DAY YOU WERE MY HUSBAND grips readers instantly --- though in a quiet, immersive way --- before racing to its conclusion with a relentless, fast-paced energy.

Walsh balances the present and the past seamlessly throughout, turning this very real mystery into something more than just a puzzle to be solved. Instead, it’s more of a blueprint of a life lived, upended and rebuilt --- only to find out that the foundation was never right to begin with. Carrie’s grapples with themes of memory, loyalty and autonomy are layered and richly nuanced, as clearly written as if you are experiencing them yourself, and Walsh doesn’t shy away from her uglier or more flawed thoughts. Even better, she raises the question we’ve all asked at one point or another: If I could go back to my first love, would I? And would it be worth it?

If I have a quibble, it’s that there may be a hair too much going on with Carrie. It’s hard to ignore the temptation of a lost lover now returned, and I found myself racing through the book’s passages on Carrie’s relationships with her husband and others to get to “the good stuff.” That’s not to say that these portions are unnecessary; it’s just that Walsh’s cleverly constructed, tightly plotted thriller is such a strong point that the rest can read a bit slowly at times.

But Walsh more than makes up for this with her crushing, jaw-dropping final twist, which is so brilliant that even the most careful reader will never see it coming. (I even decided to go back and revisit earlier chapters just to see how masterfully she set down the breadcrumbs for her ultimate reveal. Believe me, it’s worth the reread!) This multidimensional thriller is a standout barnburner of a novel, populated with characters you won’t soon forget.