Thank you for letting me read an early copy of Rosie Walsh’s new book, which I raced through in record time because, once started, putting it down didn’t seem to be an option. The One Day You Were my Husband is, yet again, an absolute barnstormer of a novel, gripping and twisty, fascinating and immaculately researched. The characters are well drawn and entirely believable, the settings immersive. Trust me, once you begin reading this book, you won’t be able to stop.

This made me want to cry so many times. Twists, bittersweet and ultimately satisfying. Amazing read.

This novel centres round the relationship between Carrie and Johan - a chance meeting in the hospital where Carrie works as a medic leads to an intense 5 month relationship and a proposal and wedding in Thailand. Then he is arrested for drug smuggling and Carrie is left with no understanding of what has happened to the man she thought she knew and loved.

Forced to return to rescue her career, Carrie moves on with her life but still has so many unanswered questions.

A chance internet query leads to her finding out that Johan is now living in Sweden having received a royal pardon and is married.

Carrie, also married and with 7 year old twins, needs to understand what happened - however her quest sets up a train of unexpected events which derail her quiet measured existence. She is forced to take charge of her life and move on.

A compelling love story and thriller combined.

One to be recommended.

The One Day You Were My Husband is a really brilliant read from Rosie Walsh. Full of suspense, and twists the book is well paced and Carrie is a likeable lead.
5 stars

A five star read with clearly depicted and relatable characters. Set against equally imaginable settings, the story takes the reader down a path where it’s impossible to see what will happen next as you learn and slowly begin to understand along with the characters where this will all end up.

The One Day You Were My Husband (the title is a little unwieldy) looks like a romance,and I suppose it is in some ways, but it's also got a strong slant towards psychological thriller. Which I love! I've read all of Rosie Walsh's books, I think, and she's a really great storyteller.

This story is about Carrie, a surgeon, who once had a whirlwind romance with Johan and married him on a beach in Thailand, only for him to be immediately arrested by armed police and subsequently imprisoned on drug trafficking charges. She hasn't seen or heard of him since, has never had any real explanation about what happened, and is now happily married to Robin, and the mother of twins, whose very premature birth has derailed her career.

When fate causes her path to cross once again with Johan's, will Carrie finally get some answers?

This was a really fabulous read. I loved Carrie's character (and her twins Raffy and Maeve). Her relationships with her family - her largely absent mother, beloved father who is now almost lost to dementia, temperamental sister Maya - are beautifully drawn, as are her vocation as a surgeon and need to get back to it.

As Carrie gradually learns more about what really happened back then, many aspects of her life - past and present - are suddenly thrown into question.

Brilliant read.

Carrie is a trainee dr when she falls hopelessly in love with Johan. They are separated and their lives go in different directions. Well told and fast paced. A great read

Read in 3 hours and 31 minutes.

What am I supposed to do now?
How am I supposed to go about my day, knowing that this book is yet to be released to the world (hold tight until June 2026 rolls around) and that few readers have been impacted by its blow?

Carrie Cole was a respected surgeon, storming up the ranks of a London hospital, when handsome Swede, Johan Kullberg, sweeps her off her feet with a whirlwind romance.

Their intense, passionate relationship mimics a Hollywood film so it seems perfectly natural to quietly marry on a remote beach when Johan is booked to complete his archeological diving work in Thailand.

During their First Dance as husband and wife, they’re dragged apart by the local police, and Carrie’s life- and heart- is shredded.

Johan has been charged with smuggling illegal drugs into the country and sentenced to 25 years in a Thai prison.

Carrie is stunned when the police reveal this; “I had read about Bang Kwang. It sounded like the darkest place on earth. It housed Thailand's highest-security male prisoners, along with the national death row and execution chamber. I distinctly remember one post on a forum that said the only way out of Bang Kwang was in a box.”

This isn’t happening. It can’t be real. Except that it is. Her loving new husband is a convicted criminal and his actions have left her in shambles.

Eventually, Carrie meets and marries Robin. He’s the antidote to her traumatic past, she thinks; he’s reliable, doting, and always supportive. She’s a protective stay at home mother to their two children and she’s at peace. She’s happy.

So why does her life screech to a halt when she sees a B&B available in the city that she’s scheduled to visit, run by a very-much-free Johan?

How did he escape prison? Why will no one tell her what happened?

Carrie can’t stop herself from scratching at her scars and opening those wounds again.

She needs closure- she needs the truth.

“Shamefully,” she recounts “I've also relapsed into reading and rereading the few things that are available online about Johan. I don't know who I resent more for this wasted time, him or myself.”

Her sister, impulsive, ex-pat Maya, firmly believes that the past should be the past- even though that means siding with their controversial mother.
First love is always going to be rose-tinted; it doesn’t mean that you have to derail your life to rehash history:

“And Carrie. No matter how badly he did you over, no matter how badly he broke your heart, your trust, your career, and, let's face it, your life, for a while - before all of that happened, you loved him like he was the last man on earth. You adored him.”

In many ways, Carrie has only just begin to reclaim her life back. She owes so much to her dedicated husband- can she really risk her marriage over a fruitless reunion with her notorious first husband?

“Robin, my rock.
I think of the agony I suffered over Johan all those years ago; the despair I felt at having failed to recognise who he apparently was. And then the gratitude when the universe sent Robin my way. Solid, kind, generous Robin: a man I could finally trust.”

The more that Carrie learns about the events that led up to that beach arrest, the less that she can trust the people closest to her…

This book was incredible. It’s bitter, vulnerable, hopeful, and loving.
The author writes about a flawed mother who’s desperately trying to find her way back to the original path that she set for herself, and the pain that she feels about being torn between two men; a hero and a villain.

Having read a book by this author before,I knew that this story would be saturated with emotion but I wasn’t prepared for the twists; it was a treasure hunt where every flashback uncovered a new lie, and I was hooked.

Learning about the intricacies of life as a surgeon (trainee and fully fledged), and how the legal system works (both in Thailand and the UK) was fascinating, as was the explanation of a standard charity framework.
The author describes the longing and shame that unresolved trauma generates, and the what-ifs that haunt any special occasions.

At first, I judged the main character for her knowingly seeking out Johan and demanding that he explain dangerous secrets, but I understood why she spiralled.

It’s an intense story- even more gripping because this does happen in real life- and I’m grateful to NetGalley for the chance to read such a vibrant book.

In the end, we have to remember who we really are…

The wait for Rosie Walsh’s return is over - The One Day You Were My Husband is a stunning page-turning mystery, beautifully written and plotted. Set in three starkly different locations which reflect both the tyranny and wonder of emotions and experience, Walsh explores control, motherhood, career and trust. A brilliant brilliant book.

I've always loved Rosie Walsh books, and this one was no exception! It's a really interesting story which makes you think 'what if...?' When Carrie and Johan got married, their lives were suddenly changed... twelve years later, Carrie is now married to someone else, has children with him but... Johan is back in her life.

I was really intrigued from the start. I wondered what would happen, what had happened in Johan and would they find a way to move forward?
There were some moments which seemed a bit extreme and unlikely, however, I enjoyed the story as it was pure escapism.

Review of ‘The One Day You Were My Husband’ by Rosie Walsh, due to be published on 4 June 2026 by Pan Macmillan.

A story of two lives, in two parts - focussed on Carrie and Johan, her first true love and a whirlwind romance which cruelly ends with Johan being arrested on their wedding day in Thailand.

Carrie remarries, has twins and attempts to rebuild her career as a surgeon, when a chance encounter on a business trip to Sweden blows everything she thought she knew apart leading to a quest for answers, reliving her past and discovering that everything she thought she knew, may all be an elaborate lie.

The characters are well developed and scenic locations are well described.  It’s a heart wrenching, beautifully written, compelling thriller that is a highly recommended read.

I had read and enjoyed Rosie Walsh’s previous novel, The Man who didn’t call, and thoroughly enjoyed it, so was intrigued to receive an advance copy of this latest one. Thank you to Net Gally and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
I have to say that I absolutely loved it and it is one of my favourite books of the year.
I particularly enjoyed the varied locations- Thailand, Sweden, the wilds of Wales and London which were very different and all brought to life in a clever way. The protagonist Carrie is a trainee brain surgeon, quite an unusual profession. However she is portrayed in a relatable way, as a mother without all the answers, a young woman in love bewildered by her surroundings in Bangkok and finally a mature woman who finally seems to have her life in order. There are many unexpected twists and turns and I couldn’t put this book down. I highly recommend it!

An enthralling tale across many years that throws back together a couple who had been pulled apart by an arrest on the day of their wedding. It’s good to remember to assume nothing

The title made me read it, but this book blew my mind. It delivered on so many levels, from the thriller element to the love story. I enjoyed the different locations, the impact of parenthood on life choices and the balance of work and family. It's such a different story to many others out there and I found the combination of thriller and love themes, to interweave brilliantly and deliver what is truly an exceptional book. You want something different? Boom, this is it! I must also mention the twist near the end, which I was reading while in a cafe in Hay-on-Wye for the Winter Hay Festival. I had presumed that the story was pretty much going to be sewn up, with a light touch, then I read a certain reveal and I actually swore out loud it was so good! This is not something I think I have ever done before, but it took me by surprise so much (in a good way) it shook me!

Carrie meets and marries her soulmate on a romantic island in Thailand. Within 24 hours, he has been arrested and taken from her.

Life moves on and Carrie marries and has a family but in a chance turn of events, she finds that Johan alive and well. She then feels compelled to get some answers. Where did he go? What was the story? She needs to know so she sets about finding out.
Will she like what she finds?

Written between real time and past time, Rosie Walsh writes a wonderful narrative that keeps the reader completely engrossed with the storyline.
The ending did not disappoint.

Stick with this; the twists when you find out what happened to Johan I just didn’t see coming! This is the story of Johan and Carrie who meet by chance when Carrie is at work and end up falling in love. Josh. Is arrested within four hours of their marriage but it takes us to the end of the book to see what really happened.

Carrie's youthful marriage to Johan - after a whirlwind romance - ended in his tragic death, and left her with emotional damage that took years to get over. Now she is finally happy in her life with Robin and their two children, and is even considering a return to the medical career that she was forced to jettison at one stage.

So the last thing she expects, during a brief visit to Stockholm to meet with her one time mentor and explore the possibility of a surgical internship at a hospital there, is to discover that Johan is alive. And even though she knows that she would be wise to stay away from the possibilities raised by this revelation, Carrie finds herself unable to resist opening Pandora's Box...

Rosie Walsh has delivered an atmospheric, emotional, and utterly unique piece of story telling that lands a number of body blows in the process of delivering it. While I could have wished that the book was not quite so long, it is undoubtedly one of my most memorable recent reads. Don't miss it!

4.5 Stars

This was my first Rosie book and I liked it. I cried A LOT!
It was sweet and sad and mysterious and heartbreaking and adorable and I really enjoyed reading it. I just wished that the first 75% would've been a bit shorter - I wanted more of the last 25%! But I liked it all.
I'm glad I'm not a doctor in England - all those things you have to do to become one and then stop being one and then starting to work again? Jeez! I didn't understand anything when she said all those British doctor things! LOL. There might've been a tiny bit much of that for a non-British, non-Doctor reader.
Oh, and I thought that maybe they should've been a few years younger in the beginning? 27 and 30 seemed a bit old for things.
But the story was really interesting, plottwisty and beautiful ... and I enjoyed it.

This is a brilliant, twisty love story disguised as a thriller, and I loved it. The pacing is impeccable, the twists are excellent, and the story unfolds with ease.

I was totally immersed in this book from the first page. It’s the story of Carrie and Johan - their lives touching, joining, breaking apart and magnetically pulling back together - but the hows and why’s are the real drama. Just when I thought things were resolved, yet another revelation appeared and I was swept back along on a new trajectory. Well written, pacy and a great read - I’m off to look for more books by Rosie Walsh.

A fantastic story, Once started, you have to finish.
Its major strength is the characters.
I loved the love story between Johann and Carrie. Here was a man steeped in charisma, the most attractive fictional man I've encountered in a long time. This made it all the more perplexing when he was accused of a crime. Carrie was also a great character, determined to succeed in surgery but forced to give up her work to look after her premature twins. Her mother, a firebrand who takes part in protests and knows people in high places, is also a fascinating character. Her poor parenting, as she prioritised her own career, impacts the way Carrie reacts to situations.
The twists were dropped gently with incendiary effect. So enjoyable.

Wow! Just wow! Welcome back, Rosie Walsh! This book is phenomenal!!

There are more twists and turns than a roller coaster! The characters are so well developed that it felt like I was actually part of their lives, like I really knew them. When things started unfolding, lies were discovered, and truths were finally told, I literally sat with my mouth open in shock.

This book had me in a complete choir hold from the first page to the last. I couldn't sleep last night until I finished it (3am).

I urge you to pre-order now! This is a psychological thriller you don't want to miss!!

What an amazing read ! This book was full of twists and the perfect mix of thriller and love story combined.

The characters were well written, I felt like I knew them, The plot was brilliant. How our past can shape our future so well explored, also how unexplained events can never really be forgotten until we find out the answers,

Motherhood, career , love, control and trust are all tied up in this page turning book. I highly recommend it .

I absolutely devoured this book. The writing is perfection and so emotional at times. I loved everything about it – the love story, the main characters, the location, the many twists that I didn’t see coming. The ending was a wonderful shock, and I’m now on the lookout for more books from this brilliant author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review. Truly excellent!

I loved this book heart wrenching at time a wonderful read that drew me in & kept me turning the pages totally involved.Rosie Walsh writes so beautifully her characters come alive.#netgalley #panmacmillan.

Rosie Walsh used to write as Lucy Robinson and I loved those books. Rosie Walsh writes more grown up books and I adore them.
This was so good. Starts of as just a normal love story but there were so many twists and surprising turns. I read it so quickly. Now will have to wait ages for her next one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sensational!

I went into this book with absolutely no idea what to expect. From the blurb, I assumed it would be a mix of genres, but nowhere does it warn you that it’s essentially a masterclass in how to write perfection.

Love story? ✔️
Mystery/Thriller? ✔️
Characters? Beautifully crafted, creative, and imperfect in the best, most human ways.
Locations? I want to go everywhere these characters went and see everything they saw.

A complete delight from start to finish.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC of “The One Day You Were My Husband.”

I'm gonna need a quick lie down after this one. Because I don’t read descriptions, I had no idea what to expect. This really is a story about quiet and heavy betrayal, conditional versus unconditional love, and how hard it is to pull yourself back together after being put through the wringer. As frustrated as I felt at times, I couldn’t put it down.

I really enjoyed this. The pacing is quite slow, but it works perfectly to build the atmosphere and kept me intrigued the entire time. It's a gripping mystery about love and loss.
The core emotional journey was well-executed, and the ending was helped tie up any loose ends. Highly recommended.

The one day you were my husband is a cracking novel. I couldn't put it down and I'm certain you won't either. Its insanely well written.

An enjoyable book which developed with many unexpected twists and turns. Slightly slow to start but soon gathers pace with a variety of diverse characters with many complex intertwined relationships. Set in Devon, London, Thailand and Stockholm over a period of 14 years with main characters Carrie and Johan and their love affair.

I have written this unbiased review from a free copy received from netgalley. I absolutely loved, loved this book. I love all of Rosie's books to date, she manages to write books based around romantic relationships but they always have an unexpected twist which keeps you reading and wanting to find out the outcome. The description of places and relationships, you really get a sense that Rosie has lived some of that life herself and is able to draw on her own experience. The book centres on a split second in time and a decision you make which can change your life forever. Would highly recommend this book. 5 stars from me.

I enjoyed this book! It was a bit slow at first but then it really opened up! The characters were believable and throughout I needed the answers, to what actually happened? So it left me guessing! All in all a good solid read.

This book was simply beautiful.

The cover matches the story perfectly.

I loved it. Every single page.

I’m sitting here in the early hours having just finished reading it because I couldn’t put it down.

I’m utterly blown away by the poignant, heart wrenching tale of love and loss.

This book captivated me from the very beginning and has required a lot of will power to not read it in one sitting. Only because I need sleep and have work to do. If I was on holiday I would have finished it in one go.

There are no words to say how powerfully profound this book has felt to me. There have been many moments when tears bubbled up from my eyes.

It’s felt like a therapy, opening me up, there was no choice to resist it. The words written by this author moved me beyond anything I’ve read in a good long while.

As I said at the beginning, this book was simply beautiful.

I haven't read a Rosie Walsh Book in forever so I was glad to see this one come up on Netgalley. It kept me guessing all the way through and I couldn't put it down. Even after I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about it which is the sign of a great read.

What a fantastic read to start the New Year!

This is the story of happily married mother of two Carrie, who had once been a trainee surgeon but readily gave up her career to be a loving mother to twins.

The story takes us back and forwards in time and location, reflecting on a past episode of her life when, young and single, she had had a deep whirlwind relationship with somebody she met through a chance meeting.

The story which is full of mystery and questions that need answering, transports us between the UK, Thailand and Stockholm, and her writing style is fantastically engaging and believable. It touches on topics as diverse as drug smuggling, Alzheimer’s, and family break-up, and with a strong thread of romance.

An absolute page-turner, one by one every member of her family is called into question, and her faith in every family relationship she had ever trusted turns out to be based on falsehoods. She is left with unanswered questions and an impossible decision to make.

My only criticism would be that in my opinion the book title diminishes the literary value of the novel, it comes across as a bit “romance novel” or Chick-Lit which does not at all reflect the fantastic writing style and depth of content.

I had not previously come across this author, but will definitely be looking to read more of her.

I received an advance review copy of The One Day You Were My Husband from Netgalley in late 2025 and this was my first read of 2026. I have to say I absolutely loved it. A great holiday read. Loads of intrigue, some interesting twists and that slight feeling of not knowing who can be trusted that I love in a thriller. As I read it I could see how this book might work on a screen - it has a filmic feel at time. The setting of the beach wedding dragged me back to my twenties in Thailand and contrasted well with the later, harsher realities of parenthood. For this reason, there were elements of the book that felt quite real, although others that felt perhaps a bit more unrealistic. At those points I decided to just suspend disbelief and go with it. Glad I did.

This book is fabulous! Not really a thriller but also not a lovely story in the traditional sense. I would say it's a mash up of both. Very well developed characters and a strong storyline that weaves through many twists and turns. The flashbacks to Thailand tease the reader into thinking something will be revealed before whipping you back to the present. Thoroughly enjoyable.

‘The One Day You Were My Husband’ by Rosie Walsh is an epic tale spanning over a decade of love, loss, heartbreak and deception that is quite unlike anything I’ve read before!

At the beginning of the book, the main character Carrie is marrying Jonah in a gorgeous beach ceremony. However, we learn that moments after her marriage became official, he was taken by armed men and never seen again. We then see her re-married with children and planning to return to her job as a surgeon after recovering from a complicated birth and still bearing the scars of the horrifying experience on her first wedding day in Thailand twelve years ago… scars that are ripped wide open when she comes across Jonah online and living in Sweden!

There are so many twists and turns across the chapters, and a few breathtaking betrayals, but also so much genuine emotion. Aside from the central narrative about Carrie’s heart, the focus on her career and the barriers facing women in the workplace really resonated with me. Ultimately, I highly recommend this novel, which gets 4.5 stars from me!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Oh my goodness, what a book! I loved every page of this one. I finished it a few weeks ago, but the plot has stuck with me. It’s one that is more than worthy of 5 stars and that I would highly recommend it.

Rosie Walsh is doing what she dos best in writing a delightfully addictive book once again.

And with such a great concept. She is also a queen of twits and I certainly didn't see this one coming, I was totally shocked.

I had to keep reading to find out if Carrie would ever discover the truth about the man she married in 2010 in Thailand, only for him to be arrested later that same evening.

I couldn't read this fast enough as I was flying through the pages, and various time lines, determined to know the truth.

And I was definitely not expecting the direction it went in at all, so kudos to the author.

I loved the travel elements in this especially the descriptions of Thailand. I also loved that Carrie is trying to once again get her life back on track, including becoming a surgeon.

There are many fabulous storylines to wrap your head around, each more addictive than each other, and all totally fabulous.

A triumph of a book, one I absolutely was hooked on.

Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Just a sublime five-star read. This one had me on pins for most of the story, there were so many ups and downs, mis-leads and wrong turns that have you thinking the worst and then realising that you had it wrong all along and believing in Carrie all along. If your world was shaken, what would you do to put it back together and what would you risk if it could all come apart again. The detail in this story are sublime, there are so many points that could have been glossed over like some authors would, but you can tell the hours and days of research that has gone into this story, to give the best level of depth that pulls you in and keeps you deep in the story.

This is such a fab book that I felt honoured to be allowed to read & review it.
Kept me guessing.
Rosie Walsh is a fab author!

Thank you to the author Rosie Walsh, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I’m genuinely grateful to have experienced such an emotionally powerful and beautifully written story ahead of publication. It was a compelling and memorable read, and I appreciate being trusted with an early review.

The One Day You Were My Husband is one of those rare novels that grips your heart from the first page and doesn’t let go. It’s bittersweet, haunting, and devastatingly human, a story about love, betrayal, identity, and the kind of unresolved past that refuses to stay buried.

The novel follows Carrie, once a brilliant, ambitious surgeon whose life was derailed by a whirlwind romance with Johan, a charming Swedish diver she meets by chance. Their five-month relationship burns fast and bright, culminating in a quiet wedding on a remote Thai beach, only for Johan to be arrested moments later on drug-smuggling charges and sentenced to twenty-five years in a notorious Thai prison. Carrie is left shattered, heartbroken, and without answers.

Years later, now married to dependable, loving Robin and raising seven-year-old twins, Carrie has carefully rebuilt her life or at least convinced herself she has. But when a chance online search reveals that Johan has been pardoned, freed, and is quietly living in Sweden, married to Carrie, Carrie’s world tilts again. The questions she buried resurface. The scars she thought had healed begin to tear open. And her search for the truth sets off a chain of emotional shockwaves she can no longer outrun.

Rosie Walsh writes with extraordinary emotional depth. Carrie is flawed, fragile, stubborn, and utterly believable. Her relationships with her gentle father, fading into dementia, her distant yet complicated mother, and her fiery sister Maya feel textured and real. The novel captures the sacrifices of motherhood, the ache of lost ambition, and the pull between who we were and who we’ve become. The medical and legal details are woven in beautifully, enriching the story without ever overwhelming it.

This isn’t just a love story; it’s a psychological thriller wrapped inside one. Every flashback reveals another layer, another lie, another devastating truth. The pacing is gripping, and the twist near the end is breathtaking, the kind of reveal that makes you gasp in public and reread the page to process it. It’s raw, emotional, and utterly unforgettable.

At times heartbreaking, at times hopeful, this novel explores the danger of nostalgia, the cost of truth, and what happens when the past finally catches up with the life you built in its shadow. It made me want to cry more than once, but it also left me deeply satisfied.

A compelling, emotionally charged blend of love story and psychological suspense. Truly exceptional and absolutely one to recommend.

WOW. I have spent the past few nights racing through this, staying up way past the time I should have been asleep because just… one… more… chapter. Rosie Walsh has long been a must-read author for me (I adored all her Lucy Robinson books, too!), and she undoubtedly gets better every single time. The One Day You Were My Husband has everything I want from a novel – brilliantly layered and relatably flawed characters, a twisty mystery, and heart-crushing, goosebump-inducing romance. The reveals, when they landed, had me gasping. It's such a skill to weave together a plot this intricate AND make a reader feel deeply, too. I have a feeling this book is going to be the biggest of Rosie's career so far – and I for one will be cheering alongside all the others on those lofty rafters.

Thank you to the publisher for approving my request. I feel extremely privileged to be an early reader.

Oh wow!! if you want a book that keeps you guessing and up into the small hours reading wanting to know what happens next, but at the same time not wanting the story to end then this is the book for you!

Thank you Netgallery for allowing me a copy before publication for an honest review. This is my own opinion.

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh is twisty twisty! While I guessed some of the plot, other bits took me completely by surprise. (This doesn’t happen to me often – so I loved it for that!)
Carrie is a doctor and met Swedish Johan in A&E one day, Over time they fell in love. He is arrested on the day they get married in Thailand and the mystery of why is at the heart of the story. I found Carrie likeable and relatable, and sympathised with her. Although she is happily remarried with children, not knowing what happened to Johan understandably remains with her.
If you like a book that keeps you guessing and keeps you invested – this will work. You’ll need to suspend your disbelief – but it is worth it.

Another fabulous read and well worth the wait since Rosie Walsh’s last book! This story had a particularly strong sense of place, with the beautiful, lyrical descriptions of the Devon countryside. The story was tightly plotted and totally unpredictable - I was shocked by what I thought was the twist, only for the plot to twist again! A thoroughly engaging read and one I’d highly recommend.

Preposterous plot and yet also somehow entirely believable. Characters I longed to spend time with despite all their flaws. And mainly utterly unputdownable. I loved it.

Rosie Walsh is an exquisite storyteller. She had me chomping at the bit throughout. Incredibly gripping with moments of sadness and what-ifs. I loved reading it and can’t wait to see what Rosie can think up next.

I loved this book.
It grabbed hold of me and didn't let go.
Carrie got married 12 years ago on a beautiful beach in Thailand after a whirlwind romance. Hours after he was gone. It took years to rebuild her life, not knowing if he was alive or dead, but now she's happily married with beautiful twins.
Then one day she sees his photograph, he's alive!
Superb writing, this book will draw you right into Carries life.
I will be looking for more books from this author.
#NetGalley #Macmillan 'TheOneDayYouWereMyHusband #RosieWalsh

Ultimately, this is a story of love, passion and betrayal, but there’s one hell of a story to reveal with lies and hidden truths creating a tangled web of mystery.

It’s a very intense narrative from the off, told in the first person by Carrie. The opening chapter is set in Thailand, the day of Carrie and Johan’s wedding on a beach, the perfect romantic setting. Until armed police grab Johan, handcuff him and take him away. In the weeks that follow Carrie is bereft, struggling to understand what has happened to this beautiful man she had fallen in love with.

Skip forward 12 years and Carrie now lives in Devon, a once promising junior doctor who wanted to specialise in gastro surgery, she lives with her husband and two young children – twins. But her children are a little older now and she hopes to return to her career and continue working towards becoming a surgeon. It’s through a previous work colleague/mentor inviting her on to a training placement that by pure chance she stumbles upon Johan where she sees him mentioned online.

The story then takes us back and forth as more detail is revealed as to what happened in the intervening weeks after Johan’s arrest, to the present and back again to the past.

It’s very emotional, very intense and further on into the book there are some huge, surprising, completely unexpected twists adding to the turmoil that Carrie’s life has become, leaving the reader turning the pages with bated breath.

I enjoyed this book very much. It lures you in and doesn’t let go until the very last pages. This will be at the top of my favourite reads of the year as was the last book I read by this author.

The One Day You Were My Husband is a sweeping, emotionally charged book that blends romance, mystery, and long buried secrets. It opens in 2010 with a whirlwind beach wedding in Thailand, where Carrie, a British surgical intern, marries Johan after just five months together. The joy is short lived. Armed men storm the ceremony, arrest Johan, and take him away without explanation. In custody, he refuses to see or speak to Carrie, and she never sees him again.

Fast forward to 2022 and Carrie is living a seemingly settled life in the English countryside with her husband Robin and their six year old twins. After a traumatic start to motherhood, she has stepped away from her medical career and convinced herself that this quieter life is enough. That certainty fractures when she discovers online that Johan has been out of prison for years. The revelation pulls her back into the past and ignites an obsession with uncovering what really happened all those years ago.

As Carrie begins to dig, memories of her intense first love resurface alongside uncomfortable questions. Why was Johan released early. Why did he never contact her. And how has he built an entirely new life without her in it. What starts as a search for closure quickly becomes something far more dangerous as secrets from both timelines collide.

I loved this book. It is quieter at the beginning, carefully laying emotional groundwork, but once it gains momentum it becomes absolutely relentless. The mystery is tightly plotted, the pacing sharpens beautifully, and the character development feels deeply earned. Carrie’s emotional conflict is handled with nuance and empathy, making her choices compelling even when they are risky.

The final act is gripping and satisfying, delivering twists that feel shocking but completely justified. This book asks powerful questions about first love, identity, and whether it is ever possible to fully leave the past behind.

I loved this even more than the author’s previous books. Intelligent, addictive, and emotionally resonant, this is a story that stays with you long after the final page.

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Powerfully profound, full of twists and certainly not the romantic story I was expecting. This book had me gripped from the start.

what a great book! i think i expects a love story but what you get is a whole lot more! I didn’t see the twists (and boy there is a big one!) and it had been hooked! i think this is my favourite book by this author and would recommend!

Having really enjoyed ' The Love of My Life' by Rosie Walsh I was very keen to read her latest offering. 'The One Day You Were My Husband' is part romance, part mystery and part domestic thriller i.e. it has the lot!
Carrie Cole, a junior surgeon, meets the love of her life Johann but things take a sinister turn when he is arrested and thrown into prison on their wedding day in Thailand and Carrie eventually learns he was caught up in a criminal drugs gang. With the aid of her mother, Carrie is persuaded to give up trying to establish the truth about what happened to Johann and returns to England.
Carrie eventually re-marries and has twins but over a decade later she learns Johann has been released from prison and is living back in Sweden. Whilst on surgical re-training programme Carrie crosses paths with the long lost love of her life and establishes all is not as it seems in relation to both the past and the present. Who is telling the truth and how will she navigate the future?
A great bunch of supporting characters add to the depth of the story and so many twists and turns keep you hooked right to the final pages.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this highly recommended book.

A fantastic read. I loved the characters and empathised with Carrie as she struggled to rebuild her world after her one day husband is arrested on a beach, never to be seen again.
The plot thickens in ways you would not predict and the story is compulsive from page 1

Emotional, captivating and heart breaking. Just a few of the words I would use to describe this book. It drew me in from the first to last page. Absolutely the best read of this year. When Carrie and Johan meet they know they are each other’s soul mate. What happens on their wedding day changes the courses of their lives forever. Rosie Walsh tells a compelling story of lust, love, trust and deception. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with a totally unexpected ending. The characters are believable and Rosie’s descriptive writing is so obviously researched.
I would highly recommend this book.

I’m a huge Rosie Walsh fan. I love how when I pick up a Rosie Walsh book I know she’ll deliver not only a gripping storyline, but also one that carries an emotional punch. The One Day You Were My Husband didn’t disappoint. The writing captured me from page one, and the structure of the novel kept me desperately reading on. And the twist! Just brilliantly weaved in and SO clever. Five stars.

I last read a previous Rosie Walsh book a few years ago and knew I’d enjoyed her writing style; direct, pacey and easy to read.

This book did not disappoint. It was an absolute rollercoaster of flawed characters, double crossing, smoke screens and wrong turns.

Just when I thought I had a handle on who was doing what to whom, the story shifted again! If you enjoy psychological thrillers, you’ll enjoy this.

It kept me guessing right to the end.

Carrie is a young woman training to be a surgeon when she meets and falls in love with Johan a Swedish diver. They have an impromptu wedding on a beach in Thailand but before the day is over Johan has been arrested by armed police and is subsequently charged with drug trafficking and sentenced to 25 years in jail. When Johan refuses to have any further contact with her Carrie is forced to return to the UK. She later marries Robin and they have twins. Because of the extremely premature birth of the children, Carrie decides to put her career on hold to care for them. Now 12 years later Carrie is keen to resume her training as a surgeon and is travelling to Sweden to meet her mentor. She is shocked to discover that Johan has been out of prison for some time and has had an extremely successful career change. She can't help but wonder why he hasn't contacted her and what exactly happened all those years ago which resulted in his arrest.
This is an extremely enjoyable read with many twists which I didn't see coming.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity of reading an ARC of this book.

I requested to read this book as the title intrigued me. This is so beautifully written, it captivated me from the beginning right through to the last page. It is the story of newlyweds Carrie and Johan and the awful tragedy that happens on their wedding day, which changes their lives forever, or does it?

Firstly a big thank you for my opportunity to read and review this book..
I’ve been a fan of Rosie even before she was writing as Rosie .
This is an absolute journey of a read !
You think it’s one story then the layers expand d and unravel , revealing the truth .
A fantastic book with exceptional writing so mi h so I read in one evening .
A thought provoking , emotive and captivating story.
Who is telling the truth and are people ever who they say they absolutely loved the characters as they all had their own stories and flaws .
There’s moments where your questioning what is she doing but then asking yourself what would you do ?
A brilliant read and highly recommend to add to your summer list of books to read .

I can't remember the last time I was so immersed in a book than I was reading this. I genuinely felt I was living this story such was the depth and quality of the writing. Easiest 5 stars ever

Wow! Blimey! What a roller-coaster ride this was! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat! Superb book! Fantastic ending!! I highly recommend. Big fat 5 stars from me.

Having read “The man who didn’t call” book years ago, it stayed with me and I was delighted to read this new book by Rosie Walsh.
I enjoyed every moment of this book, the story was great and had twists throughout that I did not see, it’s the sort of book you want to curl up and read all night. Engaging characters, interesting backgrounds and very readable. I would totally recommend this book, you won’t be disappointed.

A very gripping description of a love affair and a mystery.

Carrie and Johan fall for each other and they fall hard. A few months later they marry on the spur of the moment, on a beach in Thailand. Mere hours later Johan is arrested and Carrie has no idea why. She never finds any answers.

Twelve years later, Carrie is happily married to Robin and living in Devon with twin children she adores when a series of coincidences throw everything she thought she knew up in the air again.

It’s hard to say more without spoiling the twists and turns but suffice to say, I didn’t see them all coming.

Mostly very past paced, and successfully jumping between past and present, I did, however, feel this book lost its way a little about two thirds through. The mystery suddenly didn’t seem so mysterious and it seemed like the story was just fizzling out… but that made subsequent revelations all the more surprising.

I enjoyed the detailed medical context of Carrie’s work. I imagine the author must have a medical background… this goes beyond watching every episode of ER and Grey’s Anatomy! Details of London, Devon, Thailand and Sweden could have been researched but felt very realistic as well.

A head-over-heels love affair, a mystery, betrayal, the complexity of family relationships, it’s all here.

Grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in return for an honest review.

What a book. So powerful, emotional and gripping all the way through. I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down. Carrie and Johan's spontaneous wedding ends in his arrest by Thai police. But as we flip from present day to the past in this amazing book, we start to piece together the events of that night and beyond.

It was brilliantly told, a moment towards the end had my heart in my mouth (didn't see it coming!), Just loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.