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Someone Else's Husband
New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight delivers a tour de force of character-driven suspense: the story of two women whose secrets and desires entrap them in a deadly love triangle.
You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart.
It was paper-thin ice on which to stake your survival.
Gretchen Falk, a Park Avenue sophisticate born into great wealth and blessed with a storybook marriage, knows she lives a charmed life, and she’s not about to risk losing any part of it. That’s why she tried to convince Richard, her devoted husband and father to their three children, not to join his old college friends on an expedition almost eight thousand miles away, to the imposing peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Little did she know the beautiful artist climbing alongside him might prove the far greater danger.
Frankie Callahan’s dream of artistic success is within reach, with her career-making exhibition at a celebrated New York gallery only weeks away. If all goes well, the show will leave her financially independent, free of the tainted money that ties her to a past—and a man—she’s desperate to escape. To mark the end of this chapter, she is going to climb Kilimanjaro. But when she learns she’s the sole female accompanying a group of male friends, Frankie realizes that nothing about the trip will be as she expected. She certainly hasn’t counted on meeting anyone like the very charismatic, very rich, very married Richard Falk. By the time the group descends—with one fewer than when they began—they have lost more than they ever could have imagined.
Now, just two weeks after returning to New York, Frankie is dead, her East Village loft a blood-soaked crime scene. When Richard is charged in Frankie’s death, it falls to Gretchen to piece together how the life she so carefully constructed could have imploded so completely. There are only two things Gretchen knows for she’s the only woman Richard has ever loved, and he would never hurt anyone.
Someone Else’s Husband is the sweeping and suspenseful story of two women on a collision course with love—and with each other—in which no one is right and everyone is very, very wrong.
You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart.
It was paper-thin ice on which to stake your survival.
Gretchen Falk, a Park Avenue sophisticate born into great wealth and blessed with a storybook marriage, knows she lives a charmed life, and she’s not about to risk losing any part of it. That’s why she tried to convince Richard, her devoted husband and father to their three children, not to join his old college friends on an expedition almost eight thousand miles away, to the imposing peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Little did she know the beautiful artist climbing alongside him might prove the far greater danger.
Frankie Callahan’s dream of artistic success is within reach, with her career-making exhibition at a celebrated New York gallery only weeks away. If all goes well, the show will leave her financially independent, free of the tainted money that ties her to a past—and a man—she’s desperate to escape. To mark the end of this chapter, she is going to climb Kilimanjaro. But when she learns she’s the sole female accompanying a group of male friends, Frankie realizes that nothing about the trip will be as she expected. She certainly hasn’t counted on meeting anyone like the very charismatic, very rich, very married Richard Falk. By the time the group descends—with one fewer than when they began—they have lost more than they ever could have imagined.
Now, just two weeks after returning to New York, Frankie is dead, her East Village loft a blood-soaked crime scene. When Richard is charged in Frankie’s death, it falls to Gretchen to piece together how the life she so carefully constructed could have imploded so completely. There are only two things Gretchen knows for she’s the only woman Richard has ever loved, and he would never hurt anyone.
Someone Else’s Husband is the sweeping and suspenseful story of two women on a collision course with love—and with each other—in which no one is right and everyone is very, very wrong.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2026
About the author
Kimberly McCreight
14 books5,005 followersKimberly McCreight is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels including RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, A GOOD MARRIAGE and LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER. SOMEONE ELSE'S HUSBAND is forthcoming from Knopf June 16, 2026. She has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Alex awards and her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and optioned for film and television. She attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She lives in Brooklyn. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook and at kimberlymccreight.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 979 reviews
June 16, 2026
A fantastic character driven mystery that once got going was impossible to put down!
Gretchen’s husband, Richard, has just been arrested for another woman’s murder. Gretchen is completely blindsided and refuses to believe that her husband would have an affair, much less murder somebody. She begins to dig into Richard’s relationship with the victim. The victim, Frankie, had met Richard when they both were assigned to the same tour group to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The details of this trip are shown from Frankie‘s point of view.
The novel explores the relationship between Gretchen and her husband as well as Frankie and “someone else’s husband”. The crime itself, while prevalent, takes a backseat and focuses more on the character aspect.
This was a slow-burn, character-driven mystery. I think with so many books, there is a reliance upon jaw dropping twists and OTT endings. This did not rely on any of that and made for just a really good, realistic read. I didn’t realize I missed those kinds of novels until I read this one.
I have read the other previously and enjoyed her novels, and this one is no exception.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Gretchen’s husband, Richard, has just been arrested for another woman’s murder. Gretchen is completely blindsided and refuses to believe that her husband would have an affair, much less murder somebody. She begins to dig into Richard’s relationship with the victim. The victim, Frankie, had met Richard when they both were assigned to the same tour group to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The details of this trip are shown from Frankie‘s point of view.
The novel explores the relationship between Gretchen and her husband as well as Frankie and “someone else’s husband”. The crime itself, while prevalent, takes a backseat and focuses more on the character aspect.
This was a slow-burn, character-driven mystery. I think with so many books, there is a reliance upon jaw dropping twists and OTT endings. This did not rely on any of that and made for just a really good, realistic read. I didn’t realize I missed those kinds of novels until I read this one.
I have read the other previously and enjoyed her novels, and this one is no exception.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 1, 2026
➡️ This sleek, razor-sharp domestic thriller kicks into high gear when a husband is accused of murder after returning from a climbing trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Is he guilty or innocent?
➡️ What elevated this novel above standard legal thrillers and neighborhood noir?
The characterizations of the author's deeply flawed protagonists were stellar. All had complex motivations that drove the narrative forward and kept me guessing, from start to finish.
Shifting perspectives were handled masterfully, making every voice feel distinct, authentic, and untrustworthy as the scandalous murder investigation unraveled.
🔷 The final twist made this book a standout.
(I dare you to guess the ending!) Just when you think you've mapped out the web of secrets and lies surrounding the murder investigation, the rug is pulled out in a final twist that lands perfectly.
🔷 ATTENTION AUDIOBOOK LOVERS:
This audiobook has 13 narrators!
Multicast narrations are always a treat, and all 13 narrators gave Oscar-worthy performances. Kudos to narrators Elena Rey, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Todd Ross, Dan Bittner, Will Damron, Leanne Woodward, Chris Andrew Ciulla, George Newbern, Giordan Diaz, Max Meyers, Jane Oppenheimer, and Kristen DiMercurio for their superb performances.
Before this book's release, the author wowed me with "A Good Marriage" (2020), but her subsequent releases fell short—UNTIL NOW.
4.5 Stars
July 7, 2026
"New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight delivers a tour de force of character-driven suspense: the story of two women whose secrets and desires entrap them in a deadly love triangle.
You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart. It was paper-thin ice on which to stake your survival."
Gretchen and Richard live highly in their Park Avenue property. Once, a beautiful love story with 3 children, that is about to change.
When Richard goes on a climbing outing with his friends to Mount Kilimanjaro, he meets the beautiful and talented Frankie. She is the only woman on the adventure and finds herself getting closer to Richard even when she knows he is married. When the trip ended, the friendship did not. Gretchen and Richard were woken in the middle of the night to police arresting Richard for the murder of Frankie. Gretchen is stunned and throughout the book she weighs what could have gone wrong and is hoping to find him innocence. The lies keep spewing and the police are a step ahead of all of them until that final twist. There are so many things that begin to add up in Gretchen's head alerting to what was in front of her all along.
I found it hard to stop listening to the audio. The suspense is time worth reading. It has an outstanding cast of narrators: Elena Rey, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Todd Ross, Dan Bittner, Will Damron, Leanne Woodward, Chris Andrew Ciulla, George Newbern, Giordan Diaz, Max Meyers, Jane Oppenheimer, and Kristen DiMercurio.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this incredible ARC in exchange for my review.
You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart. It was paper-thin ice on which to stake your survival."
Gretchen and Richard live highly in their Park Avenue property. Once, a beautiful love story with 3 children, that is about to change.
When Richard goes on a climbing outing with his friends to Mount Kilimanjaro, he meets the beautiful and talented Frankie. She is the only woman on the adventure and finds herself getting closer to Richard even when she knows he is married. When the trip ended, the friendship did not. Gretchen and Richard were woken in the middle of the night to police arresting Richard for the murder of Frankie. Gretchen is stunned and throughout the book she weighs what could have gone wrong and is hoping to find him innocence. The lies keep spewing and the police are a step ahead of all of them until that final twist. There are so many things that begin to add up in Gretchen's head alerting to what was in front of her all along.
I found it hard to stop listening to the audio. The suspense is time worth reading. It has an outstanding cast of narrators: Elena Rey, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Todd Ross, Dan Bittner, Will Damron, Leanne Woodward, Chris Andrew Ciulla, George Newbern, Giordan Diaz, Max Meyers, Jane Oppenheimer, and Kristen DiMercurio.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this incredible ARC in exchange for my review.
July 27, 2026
Twisty book! I normally really dislike cheating but this was a unique spin
Gretchen's husband Richard has been arrested for the murder of Frankie, a woman he met while climbing Kilimanjaro with a group of his friends. Gretchen cannot believe he would do such a thing--either have an affair or commit murder--but the more she discovers the more surprised she is about everything that has happened.
This is a really slow burn story, but I loved that the book had transcripts of the various police interviews, Grand Jury testimony, and other more mysterious sections that add questions and doubt to what the characters are communicating. We learn about the past and the Kilimanjaro expedition through Frankie's past account and the present day through Gretchen's eyes. It provides a kind of "both sides of the story" that kept my interest.
The ultimate reveal towards the end was quite surprising and I thought it was a very clever way to resolve all of the loose threads. I generally enjoy this author's books and this one was another winner.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Gretchen's husband Richard has been arrested for the murder of Frankie, a woman he met while climbing Kilimanjaro with a group of his friends. Gretchen cannot believe he would do such a thing--either have an affair or commit murder--but the more she discovers the more surprised she is about everything that has happened.
This is a really slow burn story, but I loved that the book had transcripts of the various police interviews, Grand Jury testimony, and other more mysterious sections that add questions and doubt to what the characters are communicating. We learn about the past and the Kilimanjaro expedition through Frankie's past account and the present day through Gretchen's eyes. It provides a kind of "both sides of the story" that kept my interest.
The ultimate reveal towards the end was quite surprising and I thought it was a very clever way to resolve all of the loose threads. I generally enjoy this author's books and this one was another winner.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Solid 4 ⭐️
Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight is a slow-burn, twisty mystery that had me constantly shifting my suspicions.
The story revolves around two total opposites: Gretchen, a meticulously composed Park Avenue elite, and Frankie, a free-spirited artist. Their worlds collide when Frankie ends up as the only woman on a guys' trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Gretchen’s husband, Richard. When Frankie is later found murdered and Richard is arrested for the crime, both women's hidden secrets are forced into the light.
Because it's told through dual POVs, you get a closer look at both women. They are both deeply flawed, but McCreight makes them so easy to empathize with that it makes their messy drama incredibly compelling to read. Plus, with the story interspersed with police interviews, grand jury transcripts and anonymous journal entries you are constantly sorting through the puzzle pieces. Frankie is guarding plenty of her own past secrets, and this mixed-media structure ensures you never really know who to trust or what actually happened.
The tension builds perfectly, leading to a final showdown where all the secrets crash together flawlessly and watching all of those puzzle pieces finally click into place is incredibly satisfying. Anyone who loves messy domestic drama will definitely want to pick this up.
Available now! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight is a slow-burn, twisty mystery that had me constantly shifting my suspicions.
The story revolves around two total opposites: Gretchen, a meticulously composed Park Avenue elite, and Frankie, a free-spirited artist. Their worlds collide when Frankie ends up as the only woman on a guys' trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Gretchen’s husband, Richard. When Frankie is later found murdered and Richard is arrested for the crime, both women's hidden secrets are forced into the light.
Because it's told through dual POVs, you get a closer look at both women. They are both deeply flawed, but McCreight makes them so easy to empathize with that it makes their messy drama incredibly compelling to read. Plus, with the story interspersed with police interviews, grand jury transcripts and anonymous journal entries you are constantly sorting through the puzzle pieces. Frankie is guarding plenty of her own past secrets, and this mixed-media structure ensures you never really know who to trust or what actually happened.
The tension builds perfectly, leading to a final showdown where all the secrets crash together flawlessly and watching all of those puzzle pieces finally click into place is incredibly satisfying. Anyone who loves messy domestic drama will definitely want to pick this up.
Available now! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 4, 2026
I received this as an Arc because I liked another of her books. But this story did not catch my attention. It was so drawn out and so many unnecessary details. I feel like if the author just went with the Kilimanjaro story, it would have been much better. Way too long and the chapters were extremely long winded.
July 12, 2026
Till death - or Kilimanjaro - do us part.
When wealthy Manhattan socialite Gretchen Falk's husband, Richard, leaves for a long-planned expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of old college friends, she worries about the risks of the climb. She never imagines that the real danger will come in the form of Frankie Callahan, a talented artist desperate to free herself from the shadows of her past. By the time the group returns to New York, the expedition has already claimed one life, and soon thereafter Richard finds himself accused of murder. As Gretchen's carefully curated life begins to unravel, she is forced to confront the possibility that she may not know her husband - or her marriage - quite as well as she thought.
With Someone Else's Husband , Kimberly McCreight delivers another deliciously messy, character-driven thriller that proves once again that ordinary people can make extraordinarily terrible decisions. Yes, there are a few procedural conveniences and the occasional moment where reality bends slightly in service of the plot, but honestly, I was having far too much fun to care.
Told through dual timelines - Frankie's account of the increasingly fraught Kilimanjaro expedition and Gretchen's perspective in the aftermath of Richard's arrest - the novel slowly but expertly tightens the screws. Both women are compelling in very different ways, and the characters' moral ambiguity gives the novel much of its bite. This is very much a slow-burn thriller, relying less on shocking twists (well, except maybe for that ending...) and more on psychological tension and shifting loyalties.
Razor-sharp, twisty, and utterly addictive, Someone Else's Husband is a story about marriage, obsession, privilege, and the dangerous stories we tell ourselves about the people closest to us. It may take its time getting there, but the payoff is more than worth the climb. I tore through this one and enjoyed every deliciously dysfunctional minute of it.
Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Someone Else's Husband" was published on June 16, 2026, and is available now.
When wealthy Manhattan socialite Gretchen Falk's husband, Richard, leaves for a long-planned expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of old college friends, she worries about the risks of the climb. She never imagines that the real danger will come in the form of Frankie Callahan, a talented artist desperate to free herself from the shadows of her past. By the time the group returns to New York, the expedition has already claimed one life, and soon thereafter Richard finds himself accused of murder. As Gretchen's carefully curated life begins to unravel, she is forced to confront the possibility that she may not know her husband - or her marriage - quite as well as she thought.
With Someone Else's Husband , Kimberly McCreight delivers another deliciously messy, character-driven thriller that proves once again that ordinary people can make extraordinarily terrible decisions. Yes, there are a few procedural conveniences and the occasional moment where reality bends slightly in service of the plot, but honestly, I was having far too much fun to care.
Told through dual timelines - Frankie's account of the increasingly fraught Kilimanjaro expedition and Gretchen's perspective in the aftermath of Richard's arrest - the novel slowly but expertly tightens the screws. Both women are compelling in very different ways, and the characters' moral ambiguity gives the novel much of its bite. This is very much a slow-burn thriller, relying less on shocking twists (well, except maybe for that ending...) and more on psychological tension and shifting loyalties.
Razor-sharp, twisty, and utterly addictive, Someone Else's Husband is a story about marriage, obsession, privilege, and the dangerous stories we tell ourselves about the people closest to us. It may take its time getting there, but the payoff is more than worth the climb. I tore through this one and enjoyed every deliciously dysfunctional minute of it.
Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Someone Else's Husband" was published on June 16, 2026, and is available now.
July 6, 2026
I loved this book.
Exciting Kilimanjaro climb.
Unique and wonderful format.
Excellent writing.
I highly recommend Someone Else’s Husband!
Exciting Kilimanjaro climb.
Unique and wonderful format.
Excellent writing.
I highly recommend Someone Else’s Husband!
July 28, 2026
🎙Narrated by All-Star Full Cast
⏰️Duration 11 hours 57 minutes
🎁 #Gifted by @prhaudio #PRHAudioPartner Thank you!
From the peaks of Kilamanjaro to the streets of New York City, this pulse-pounding and thriller involves a love triangle and a questionable husband. Riveting and engaging. The full cast makes the characters leap off the page. Atmospheric and immersive. Highly recommend!
⏰️Duration 11 hours 57 minutes
🎁 #Gifted by @prhaudio #PRHAudioPartner Thank you!
From the peaks of Kilamanjaro to the streets of New York City, this pulse-pounding and thriller involves a love triangle and a questionable husband. Riveting and engaging. The full cast makes the characters leap off the page. Atmospheric and immersive. Highly recommend!
August 9, 2026
This story should be titled How to Commit a crime and get away with it. Three crimes were committed in this story, two ended up dead and they all got away with it. The innocent was accused and sat in jail for a short time.
This story was a lot of bits and pieces. The story followed Gretchen. Born into wealth but decided to marry a poor boy in college who eventually made himself into one of those rags to riches man. He and his wealthy buddies like to climb mountains. They went on this Kilimanjaro expedition together and there, Richard became infatuated with Frankie.
Frankie is another mystery with baggage. She went on this expedition and was put into this group of friends. She has this past she was afraid of, that stem from when she was 17. She called her past raper as the Senator and well because he is currently a Senator. Her life seems unstable because of the men she dated and her upbringing and how she's being stalked and threatened. Richard who is successful and surrounded by wealth and social niceties but decided to stray just to feel alive.
The mystery stalker stalking the lady he wants.. it's off putting to me I feel. Why not do that when they were younger. Now they're both with family and grandparents age. She's a grandma! He's deciding now is the time to get together lol
It's odd how Gretchen considered Richard like a little boy needed taken care of. He's a managing director at Goldman Sachs but the way she talks about him is irritating to me.
Gretchen dealt with problems by pretending it isn't there. She bottled up inside her for years and exploded many years later. Then again, she's not innocent either. She did hired someone to do something for her.
That goes to show.. no one is perfect. Everyone has problems.. rich with problems or poor with problems..
Thank you PRHAudio and Knopf for the opportunity to read, listen, and review.
This story was a lot of bits and pieces. The story followed Gretchen. Born into wealth but decided to marry a poor boy in college who eventually made himself into one of those rags to riches man. He and his wealthy buddies like to climb mountains. They went on this Kilimanjaro expedition together and there, Richard became infatuated with Frankie.
Frankie is another mystery with baggage. She went on this expedition and was put into this group of friends. She has this past she was afraid of, that stem from when she was 17. She called her past raper as the Senator and well because he is currently a Senator. Her life seems unstable because of the men she dated and her upbringing and how she's being stalked and threatened. Richard who is successful and surrounded by wealth and social niceties but decided to stray just to feel alive.
The mystery stalker stalking the lady he wants.. it's off putting to me I feel. Why not do that when they were younger. Now they're both with family and grandparents age. She's a grandma! He's deciding now is the time to get together lol
It's odd how Gretchen considered Richard like a little boy needed taken care of. He's a managing director at Goldman Sachs but the way she talks about him is irritating to me.
Gretchen dealt with problems by pretending it isn't there. She bottled up inside her for years and exploded many years later. Then again, she's not innocent either. She did hired someone to do something for her.
That goes to show.. no one is perfect. Everyone has problems.. rich with problems or poor with problems..
Thank you PRHAudio and Knopf for the opportunity to read, listen, and review.
June 8, 2026
🎧Audiobook Review🎧
Let’s talk about the audiobook first. This cast put on an excellent performance! The two main female characters performed as actors and it was as if I was listening to a movie play out. Bravo 👏👏👏👏. If you have both options to listen and read, I highly recommend the audiobook. However, I don’t recommend you speeding it up due to the fact there’s many players and lots going on. I listened at 1.6x and never missed a beat.
After Richard returns from an expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro, he is charged with murdering Frankie Callahan. She, too, was on that expedition with a group of men. Richard’s wife, Gretchen can’t believe he’s capable of hurting anyone.
The story is told from Gretchen’s after the murder and Frankie’s before. I kept trying to put the pieces together and couldn’t stop listening to the story. It’s highly suspenseful and will keep you entertained.
Out next Tuesday and I definitely recommend it to thriller fans. I really enjoyed it.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date 6/16
Let’s talk about the audiobook first. This cast put on an excellent performance! The two main female characters performed as actors and it was as if I was listening to a movie play out. Bravo 👏👏👏👏. If you have both options to listen and read, I highly recommend the audiobook. However, I don’t recommend you speeding it up due to the fact there’s many players and lots going on. I listened at 1.6x and never missed a beat.
After Richard returns from an expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro, he is charged with murdering Frankie Callahan. She, too, was on that expedition with a group of men. Richard’s wife, Gretchen can’t believe he’s capable of hurting anyone.
The story is told from Gretchen’s after the murder and Frankie’s before. I kept trying to put the pieces together and couldn’t stop listening to the story. It’s highly suspenseful and will keep you entertained.
Out next Tuesday and I definitely recommend it to thriller fans. I really enjoyed it.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date 6/16
June 14, 2026
Give Kimberly McCreight a complex marriage to dissect and she’ll give you a five-star thriller every single time. No questions asked. It’s what she does best.
I loved seeing her tackle the “rich people behaving badly” trope in her latest character driven, slow burn banger of a summer novel, SOMEONE ELSE’S HUSBAND.
When the impossibly wealthy Falk family is jolted awake in the middle of the night by police arriving with a warrant to search their property following the death of a “new friend” the husband had just climbed Kilimanjaro with, the stage is set for an utterly addictive mystery. Told through multiple POVs and a carefully layered timeline of before and after, you’ll constantly be asking yourself, Did he do it… or didn’t he?
Kimberly McCreight’s fiction is firing on all cylinders here, and that ending? She got me. Completely.
SOMEONE ELSE’S HUSBAND is going to make a phenomenal book club pick this summer. The conversations, the theories, the debates… this is the kind of thriller that keeps people talking long after they turn the final page.
I loved seeing her tackle the “rich people behaving badly” trope in her latest character driven, slow burn banger of a summer novel, SOMEONE ELSE’S HUSBAND.
When the impossibly wealthy Falk family is jolted awake in the middle of the night by police arriving with a warrant to search their property following the death of a “new friend” the husband had just climbed Kilimanjaro with, the stage is set for an utterly addictive mystery. Told through multiple POVs and a carefully layered timeline of before and after, you’ll constantly be asking yourself, Did he do it… or didn’t he?
Kimberly McCreight’s fiction is firing on all cylinders here, and that ending? She got me. Completely.
SOMEONE ELSE’S HUSBAND is going to make a phenomenal book club pick this summer. The conversations, the theories, the debates… this is the kind of thriller that keeps people talking long after they turn the final page.
July 24, 2026
3.5 Stars
I like the unique storyline in this book.
It starts with Richard being charged with the murder of Frankie. A girl he'd met on while hiking with a group up Mt. Kilimangaro.
Richard had gone on the trip with his work colleagues and Frankie had joined the group of men. One of the men didn't make it off the mountain.
Richard had kept in touch with Frankie when they were back in New York without telling his wife Gretchen.
While Richard is being held in custody Gretchen is doing her own investigating while also having her own secrets.
The story was captivating and suspenseful with many characters but the ending fell short for me.
I did however like the past storyline of climbing Mt Kilimangaro. Sounded very grueling but interesting.
I like the unique storyline in this book.
It starts with Richard being charged with the murder of Frankie. A girl he'd met on while hiking with a group up Mt. Kilimangaro.
Richard had gone on the trip with his work colleagues and Frankie had joined the group of men. One of the men didn't make it off the mountain.
Richard had kept in touch with Frankie when they were back in New York without telling his wife Gretchen.
While Richard is being held in custody Gretchen is doing her own investigating while also having her own secrets.
The story was captivating and suspenseful with many characters but the ending fell short for me.
I did however like the past storyline of climbing Mt Kilimangaro. Sounded very grueling but interesting.
August 4, 2026
Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for my arc of Someone Else’s Husband. All opinions are my own. What a twisty and satisfying ride this one was!
This is my first Kimberly McCreight book and now I cannot wait to read her entire backlist!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one! A domestic thriller done right. There are so many books and plots in this genre but I felt this one was very unique. I had a concrete theory I was not budging on and ended up being wrong! I love when that happens.
A solid domestic thriller that will keep you on your toes until the very last page.
This is my first Kimberly McCreight book and now I cannot wait to read her entire backlist!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one! A domestic thriller done right. There are so many books and plots in this genre but I felt this one was very unique. I had a concrete theory I was not budging on and ended up being wrong! I love when that happens.
A solid domestic thriller that will keep you on your toes until the very last page.
June 23, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ | This is definitely a slow burn mystery that wraps up amazingly quickly at the very end. I enjoyed the journey but I’m still am pondering the ending.
June 19, 2026
This is very much a character first psychological suspense, not a high octane twist machine—and that’s what makes it stand out.
The storytelling is structured in a way that slowly peels back truth through shifting perspectives. Gretchen’s present day narrative carries a sense of disbelief and denial, while Frankie’s earlier timeline adds emotional depth and context that steadily reframes everything you think you know.
The police interview elements also add a grounded, procedural texture without taking over the emotional core of the story.
What works really well here is the controlled pacing. It doesn’t rush toward shock value. Instead, it builds unease through contradiction—what people say versus what they remember, what they believe versus what actually happened. It also avoids the over the top thriller trap. The tension comes from human decisions, emotional blind spots, and the slow realization that every character is filtering the truth through their own needs.
By the time everything clicks into place, the ending feels less like a twist for effect and more like a carefully constructed inevitability. Even when surprising, it feels earned. If there’s one thing to note, it’s that the pacing might feel deliberate or even restrained if you’re expecting constant escalation, but that restraint is intentional and part of the book’s strength.
Overall, this is a smart, layered domestic suspense novel that prioritizes psychology over spectacle.
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
* Slow burn psychological suspense
* Multiple POV domestic thrillers
* Unreliable perception narratives
* Character driven mysteries
* Realistic, grounded crime fiction
* Books like The Wife Between Us or The Last Thing He Told Me
The storytelling is structured in a way that slowly peels back truth through shifting perspectives. Gretchen’s present day narrative carries a sense of disbelief and denial, while Frankie’s earlier timeline adds emotional depth and context that steadily reframes everything you think you know.
The police interview elements also add a grounded, procedural texture without taking over the emotional core of the story.
What works really well here is the controlled pacing. It doesn’t rush toward shock value. Instead, it builds unease through contradiction—what people say versus what they remember, what they believe versus what actually happened. It also avoids the over the top thriller trap. The tension comes from human decisions, emotional blind spots, and the slow realization that every character is filtering the truth through their own needs.
By the time everything clicks into place, the ending feels less like a twist for effect and more like a carefully constructed inevitability. Even when surprising, it feels earned. If there’s one thing to note, it’s that the pacing might feel deliberate or even restrained if you’re expecting constant escalation, but that restraint is intentional and part of the book’s strength.
Overall, this is a smart, layered domestic suspense novel that prioritizes psychology over spectacle.
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
* Slow burn psychological suspense
* Multiple POV domestic thrillers
* Unreliable perception narratives
* Character driven mysteries
* Realistic, grounded crime fiction
* Books like The Wife Between Us or The Last Thing He Told Me
June 18, 2026
The audiobook is great but the plot twist was weak imo
June 22, 2026
I pretty much went into this blind and I loved it!
It hooked me from the beginning.
A knock on your door in the middle of the night is never good. When Gretchen’s husband is arrested for murder, her entire world is turned upside down. As they investigate, secrets start to unfold and it seems like everyone is hiding something. I loved the dual timelines, I was so invested in figuring out what happened before and connecting it to now.
A smart and twisty domestic thriller that kept me guessing til the end!! You’ll definitely want to pick this one up.
It hooked me from the beginning.
A knock on your door in the middle of the night is never good. When Gretchen’s husband is arrested for murder, her entire world is turned upside down. As they investigate, secrets start to unfold and it seems like everyone is hiding something. I loved the dual timelines, I was so invested in figuring out what happened before and connecting it to now.
A smart and twisty domestic thriller that kept me guessing til the end!! You’ll definitely want to pick this one up.
August 6, 2026
Not a bad book, but Gretchen's elitist attitude got on my nerves.
August 10, 2026
I liked the climbing Mount Kilimanjaro part, but not much else.
August 18, 2026
A sudden police visit in the middle of the night - a women found murdered has ties to your husband and they'd like to take you both in for questioning. It's a jaw dropping start and an interesting introspective look at a marriage and whether we really know each other. Layered in is the mystery of what's happened and where each person was when it happened.
I loved the steady flow of this one - I was drawn into the before and after and the view of it from the wife's perspective. The POV does just around and the audio has a large cast which really kept me sucked in and curious with each turn. There were so many surprises here and the ending was so well done. I really enjoyed this one.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
I loved the steady flow of this one - I was drawn into the before and after and the view of it from the wife's perspective. The POV does just around and the audio has a large cast which really kept me sucked in and curious with each turn. There were so many surprises here and the ending was so well done. I really enjoyed this one.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
March 27, 2026
2.75 stars
This one didn’t suck me in and the subject matter didn't interest me like I thought it would. I also found the plot and "whodunnit" of it all to be predictable. The details of the ending seemed pretty far fetched… and I didn’t find myself caring about the characters at all (Gretchen was especially insufferable to me).
I think that Kimberly McCreight is a great author and her books are well written- this one just turned out to be a miss for me!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this arc!
This one didn’t suck me in and the subject matter didn't interest me like I thought it would. I also found the plot and "whodunnit" of it all to be predictable. The details of the ending seemed pretty far fetched… and I didn’t find myself caring about the characters at all (Gretchen was especially insufferable to me).
I think that Kimberly McCreight is a great author and her books are well written- this one just turned out to be a miss for me!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this arc!
June 19, 2026
Gretchen Falk has spent thirty-four years building something close to perfect. A Fifth Avenue co-op across from the Guggenheim, a husband who still looks at her the way he did in their college art history lecture, three grown children, and the kind of money that makes most problems disappear before breakfast. Then the doorbell rings at three in the morning, the police are crowding the hallway with a search warrant, and there is a dead woman's name printed on it. Frankie Callahan, an artist Richard Falk met while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro only weeks earlier. By sunrise, Gretchen is shivering in her Natori pajamas on a precinct bench, and the life she arranged as carefully as a gallery wall is sliding sideways.
That is the engine of Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight, and it runs hot from the opening pages. The hook is sturdy, the question underneath it sharper than the marketing suggests: not simply did he do it, but how much of a marriage is faith, and how much is a story two people agree to keep telling.
Two Women, One Mountain, and Nobody Wearing a Halo
The novel splits its loyalties between two women who are nothing alike and uncomfortably similar. Gretchen narrates the "After," a wealthy wife who has learned to weaponize the low expectations men have of her, sipping iced contempt at a detective while her world burns. Frankie narrates the "Before" in first person, a Colorado-raised painter on the cusp of the gallery show that could finally cut her loose from tainted money and a man she has been running from since she was seventeen.
McCreight refuses to hand you a heroine. Gretchen can be a snob, brittle and cosseted, yet her fierceness is magnetic. Frankie is raw and self-aware, funny about her own bad decisions even as she keeps making them. Both are clever. Both are lying, to themselves more than to anyone else. The promise in the blurb that "no one is right and everyone is very, very wrong" is one the author actually delivers.
The Men on the Mountain
The Dartmouth crew who drag Richard up Kilimanjaro are drawn quickly but well. There is the affable lawyer Scotty, the wellness entrepreneur Van protecting his brand, the trust-fund golden boy whose fortunes have curdled. The expedition chapters are some of the strongest in the book, all thin air and thinner pretenses, where altitude strips away the polish men spend their lives applying.
Built Like a Case File: Structure and Suspense
The cleverest thing about Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight is its architecture. The two timelines, present-day fallout and the long fuse leading up to it, are braided with police interview transcripts, grand jury testimony, and brief second-person interludes from a narrator circling a terrible night. It reads like assembling a case while the crime is still rearranging itself in front of you.
McCreight, a Penn Law graduate, knows her way around a deposition, and the legal documents do real work. They drip-feed information, undercut what a character just told you in a glossy monologue, and let you catch people in the gap between what they say under oath and what they confess in their own heads. When the structure clicks, the suspense is genuinely earned rather than manufactured by withholding.
What McCreight Gets Exactly Right
There is a lot to admire here, and the praise is specific rather than polite:
Voice. Gretchen's chapters crackle with social comedy. McCreight skewers Park Avenue (the Cartier panther watch, the Pilates instructor, the prenup her father insisted on) with an eye so precise it stings.
The marriage at the center. The flashback to Richard hitting on Gretchen in a Sonic Youth T-shirt with a pencil box is so disarming you understand the whole thirty-four years in one scene.
Moral murk. Nobody here is a victim or a villain in any clean way, which keeps you guessing about loyalties as much as facts.
Pacing in the back half. Once the documents and timelines start colliding, the story tightens its grip and refuses to loosen it.
Where the Climb Gets Thin
The four-star consensus feels right, because the book is very good without being flawless, and the flaws are worth naming:
A crowded middle. Several of the male climbers blur together early on, and a reader can lose track of who is who before the mountain sorts them out.
Coincidence doing heavy lifting. A couple of plot hinges depend on timing and chance that strain belief if you stop to poke at them, and the back half asks you to poke less.
The villainy tips its hand. Attentive thriller readers may sense the shape of certain reveals before the characters do, which dulls a few intended shocks.
Gretchen's privilege as comedy and obstacle. Her obliviousness is funny, but it occasionally keeps the emotional stakes at arm's length when the story wants you closer.
None of these sink the book. They are the difference between a thriller that satisfies and one that haunts.
The Verdict Without the Stars
Smart, slippery, and unafraid of women who behave badly, this is a thriller that respects your intelligence even when it withholds. It asks how well anyone can know the person sleeping beside them, and answers in a way that lingers past the final page. A few coincidences and a slightly muddled cast keep it from greatness, but the writing is too sharp and the structure too inventive to dismiss. For readers who like their suspense braided with social bite, McCreight has delivered a strong, satisfying night under the covers with the flashlight on.
That is the engine of Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight, and it runs hot from the opening pages. The hook is sturdy, the question underneath it sharper than the marketing suggests: not simply did he do it, but how much of a marriage is faith, and how much is a story two people agree to keep telling.
Two Women, One Mountain, and Nobody Wearing a Halo
The novel splits its loyalties between two women who are nothing alike and uncomfortably similar. Gretchen narrates the "After," a wealthy wife who has learned to weaponize the low expectations men have of her, sipping iced contempt at a detective while her world burns. Frankie narrates the "Before" in first person, a Colorado-raised painter on the cusp of the gallery show that could finally cut her loose from tainted money and a man she has been running from since she was seventeen.
McCreight refuses to hand you a heroine. Gretchen can be a snob, brittle and cosseted, yet her fierceness is magnetic. Frankie is raw and self-aware, funny about her own bad decisions even as she keeps making them. Both are clever. Both are lying, to themselves more than to anyone else. The promise in the blurb that "no one is right and everyone is very, very wrong" is one the author actually delivers.
The Men on the Mountain
The Dartmouth crew who drag Richard up Kilimanjaro are drawn quickly but well. There is the affable lawyer Scotty, the wellness entrepreneur Van protecting his brand, the trust-fund golden boy whose fortunes have curdled. The expedition chapters are some of the strongest in the book, all thin air and thinner pretenses, where altitude strips away the polish men spend their lives applying.
Built Like a Case File: Structure and Suspense
The cleverest thing about Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight is its architecture. The two timelines, present-day fallout and the long fuse leading up to it, are braided with police interview transcripts, grand jury testimony, and brief second-person interludes from a narrator circling a terrible night. It reads like assembling a case while the crime is still rearranging itself in front of you.
McCreight, a Penn Law graduate, knows her way around a deposition, and the legal documents do real work. They drip-feed information, undercut what a character just told you in a glossy monologue, and let you catch people in the gap between what they say under oath and what they confess in their own heads. When the structure clicks, the suspense is genuinely earned rather than manufactured by withholding.
What McCreight Gets Exactly Right
There is a lot to admire here, and the praise is specific rather than polite:
Voice. Gretchen's chapters crackle with social comedy. McCreight skewers Park Avenue (the Cartier panther watch, the Pilates instructor, the prenup her father insisted on) with an eye so precise it stings.
The marriage at the center. The flashback to Richard hitting on Gretchen in a Sonic Youth T-shirt with a pencil box is so disarming you understand the whole thirty-four years in one scene.
Moral murk. Nobody here is a victim or a villain in any clean way, which keeps you guessing about loyalties as much as facts.
Pacing in the back half. Once the documents and timelines start colliding, the story tightens its grip and refuses to loosen it.
Where the Climb Gets Thin
The four-star consensus feels right, because the book is very good without being flawless, and the flaws are worth naming:
A crowded middle. Several of the male climbers blur together early on, and a reader can lose track of who is who before the mountain sorts them out.
Coincidence doing heavy lifting. A couple of plot hinges depend on timing and chance that strain belief if you stop to poke at them, and the back half asks you to poke less.
The villainy tips its hand. Attentive thriller readers may sense the shape of certain reveals before the characters do, which dulls a few intended shocks.
Gretchen's privilege as comedy and obstacle. Her obliviousness is funny, but it occasionally keeps the emotional stakes at arm's length when the story wants you closer.
None of these sink the book. They are the difference between a thriller that satisfies and one that haunts.
The Verdict Without the Stars
Smart, slippery, and unafraid of women who behave badly, this is a thriller that respects your intelligence even when it withholds. It asks how well anyone can know the person sleeping beside them, and answers in a way that lingers past the final page. A few coincidences and a slightly muddled cast keep it from greatness, but the writing is too sharp and the structure too inventive to dismiss. For readers who like their suspense braided with social bite, McCreight has delivered a strong, satisfying night under the covers with the flashlight on.
June 20, 2026
Richard and Gretchen are a wealthy couple blessed with a seemingly perfect long standing marriage. 5 weeks ago Richard joined his male college friends and a female newcomer, Frankie, on a mountain climbing expedition where one of the men "accidentally" died after a fall. Shortly after the trip Frankie is brutally murdered and Richard is arrested for the crime. Gretchen is a person who dismisses anything she doesn't want to believe and she doesn't want to believe that there was an affair between Richard and Frankie nor that Richard murdered the woman. This was a delicious puzzle to solve with many fascinating characters and all of them have secrets and sinister motivations. Kimberly McCreight has created a fast paced and suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. I have enjoyed KM's previous books but this one is my favorite and I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.
August 15, 2026
This multi-layered novel was highly engaging. Focusing on the main perspectives of Gretchen and Frankie, it shifts away from a traditional whodunnit structure to deliver a deep dive into the characters' states of mind. There are no purely evil figures here—only deeply flawed individuals.
Read
June 25, 2026Read my full review of Someone Else's Husband, with Jen's Quick Take to help you decide if the book is for you AND protected spoilers on Jen Ryland Reviews
I'm a big fan of Kimberly McCreight's books. I love the NYC settings, the messy family dynamics, and the legal elements. I have mixed feelings about Someone Else's Husband.
This book had a narrative structure that ranged from complex to confusing, with a lot of time jumping and many narrative POVs. The twist is made possible by a LOT of information withheld from the reader, so I'm recommending this to suspense readers and advising that readers that want a book that plays fair and lays out all the information may be infuriated by this.
I did enjoy it, because in some ways the book DOES play very fair, doling out clues that made it possible for me to guess a lot of the ending. Always a fan of books that make me think hard, and this author always writes books that are smart and interesting.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
I'm a big fan of Kimberly McCreight's books. I love the NYC settings, the messy family dynamics, and the legal elements. I have mixed feelings about Someone Else's Husband.
This book had a narrative structure that ranged from complex to confusing, with a lot of time jumping and many narrative POVs. The twist is made possible by a LOT of information withheld from the reader, so I'm recommending this to suspense readers and advising that readers that want a book that plays fair and lays out all the information may be infuriated by this.
I did enjoy it, because in some ways the book DOES play very fair, doling out clues that made it possible for me to guess a lot of the ending. Always a fan of books that make me think hard, and this author always writes books that are smart and interesting.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
May 3, 2026
Lots of twists & turns and red herrings scatterred throughtout that kept me guessing. This was a slow burn character-driven story where you had a lot of characters to keep up with. When one of those characters is murdered, we get a whodunnit. It starts right off the bat with a knock on the door of Richard & Gretchen’s NYC apartment in the middle of the night with a warrant to search their home. Both are totally caught off-guard and have no clue as to what’s going on. Midway through the book, I found it to drag a bit, but it was overall an entertaining read. If you like whodunnits, wealthy people drama, then this one’s for you.
Thank you to NetGalley & Knopf for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
Thank you to NetGalley & Knopf for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
June 23, 2026
Kimberly McCreight is an automatic author who I love to read. It doesn’t matter what it’s about, I know I’m going to love it! Richard is married to Gretchen but he’s been arrested for another woman’s murder. Part of it took place hiking up to Kilimanjaro and I swear I felt like I was on the hike myself!!!!! Holy cow, the ending was not what I was expecting and a total shocker!!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. Looking forward to her next thriller. She’s great!
June 29, 2026
I love this author! This book is well written with great descriptions and dialogue. I didn’t see the twist and that’s the best part of any book.
July 28, 2026
It was okay, but too much going on to keep me interested. Some of it was totally implausible. Like a witness who consistently pleads the 5th should have been a red flag for SOMEBODY. Also, one of the crimes here looked like straight-up self-defense to me. But maybe I was checked out by then. Didn’t like any of the characters, either. Still waiting to read something great this summer.
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