The Husband I Buried

by Maryann Webb

They say grief does strange things to a person.
When I buried my husband I said my final goodbyes, wondering if I could ever truly let him go.
Four months later, I see him stepping onto a train.
It can't be true but there he is, running a hand through his dark hair, disappearing amongst the commuters before I can reach him.
It's the husband I buried.
No one believes me but I know my husband.
But if he is alive, who did I bury? And why would the man I loved let me believe he was dead?
Either I'm going crazy, or my whole marriage was a lie.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery

Paperback

About the author

Maryann Webb writes psychological thrillers and suspense novels, including the Oscar de la Nuit series. Her books have hit the Amazon best seller chart in the US. She studied psychology but prefers the fictional kind.

Not all secrets stay behind closed doors . . . The Girl in the Cellar is her latest psychological thriller.

Also writes under M.Q. Webb

Reviews

[Jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

➡️ Compelling premise that quickly fizzled.
Four months after burying her husband, a bereaved widow sees her husband stepping onto a train.

Was this man really her deceased husband?

➡️ I was not the right reader for this book.
I prefer fast-paced books with no repetitive text.

Also, I am not a fan of cult books. No mention of a cult was made in the publisher's blurb.

➡️ I listened to the audiobook expertly narrated by Caroline Hewitt, John Pirhalla, and Kelly Burke .
I always enjoy full-cast narrations, and all the narrators gave outstanding performances.

2.5 Stars

[Natalie M · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much repetition!

The premise/blurb did not match the read which was a little strange. The holes in the plot could sink a ship and the puppy - why? I love a curveball but when there are so many unrealistic ones, it all loses credibility. A couple of stars for the full cast narration and the engaging start.

Read at your own discretion.

P.S. I need to know where to find one of these self-trained, leave-alone, ready to go puppies.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Maryann Webb and Embla for this ARC!

I’ve read several of Maryann Webb’s books now, and she continues to deliver. This one was another addictive psychological thriller that had me flying through the pages. It’s twisty and diabolical yet somehow still feels completely believable which makes it even more unsettling.

The layered deception was very well done that I was constantly second guessing what I thought I knew about every single character. Every time I felt like I had things figured out, the story managed to pull the rug right out from under me.

If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and makes you question everyone, this is definitely one to pick up. I’ll absolutely be reading more from Maryann Webb!

[Serrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for giving the option to read this book before release.

I love this from beginning to end , poor Mackenzie was put through it by her dead husband !!!!! The story line had me hooked from beginning to end and at times a bit freaked out, someone accessing her house to leave something !!!!

[꧁ gricelle ꧂ · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

BRO JANE AUSTEN PROLLY ROLLING IN HER GRAVE RN CUZ WHAT IN THE NUTTER BUTTER GUTTER IS THIS?? I deserve a medal for finishing this book. A quarter in and honestly I just started hate-reading. Bro this book was obviously written by AI. The 'author' didn't even try to hide it. There's ZERO humanity in here. Hella fake. So fake even China wouldn't want this book. (Before you come at me, I'm Chinese)

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘵.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 ... 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳."

⠂⠁⠈⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯—
𝘈 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴.
𝘕𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵...𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵."

And that's what makes this book so terrible— It's artificial intelligence material. Artificial. Intelligence. (See what I did there lmao)
Yeah no it was terrible. It's bad enough that it didn't make sense at all but AI SLOP??? Wtf do people gain from writing their books with Chat GPT???? I would rate this zero stars if I could. DON'T read this it's a waste of time. You'd have a better kick of mystery watching Blue's Clues. If you're ever having a bad day, just remember that this author woke up one day and decided it would be holly jolly to feed a script to Gemini or smth and have it published.

[Hazel Pringle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I obtained a free copy of this book from Embla and NetGalley in exchange got an unbiased review.

The Husband I Buried starts with a brilliant hook: Only months after burying her husband, Luis, McKenzie is convinced she sees him alive. She enlists her best friend, and an old friend of Luis' to help her discover the truth.

It's an intriguing premise that immediately drew me in and one that initially had me reluctant to put the book down.

The story moves at a steady pace and there are enough twists to keep the pages turning, although I found some of the revelations a little predictable.

While the story initially held my interest, I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the characters as I'd hoped, which meant some of the dramatic moments lacked impact. The plot became somewhat far fetched for my liking and things did get overly complicated towards the end, which made me have to write down who was who!

Maryann Webb creates plenty of suspense and keeps you questioning what's real, but I was hoping for a more surprising and satisfying conclusion.
Overall, it's an enjoyable psychological thriller with a strong concept, but it didn't quite deliver the wow factor I was expecting.
If you're looking for an easy-to-read thriller with plenty of intrigue and don't mind a few familiar plot turns, it's worth picking up.

One note, I don't know if this is because it's a free copy from the publisher, Embla and NetGalley, but there were a lot of grammatical errors. Some paragraphs started mid sentence, the title and author's name would randomly appear mid sentence and it did make the book difficult to read in places.

[Taylor Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

In the beginning, the story felt familiar, as if I had read it prior. Pretty soon I was hooked. It’s a page turner and I found myself reading it any time I had a few minutes. What I thought would be a predictable twist ended up being a perfect suspense. I really enjoyed the character development. It felt as if you were reading a story of events that could have happened in your hometown. The question is - to what lengths would you go to find the truth?

[Kim McFall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started out good! I was enjoying the mystery aspect & suspense. A grieving wife whose husband died in a tragic accident…

But about halfway through I just was no longer invested & lost interest.

The twist wasn’t twisting and it took a direction that just didn’t interest me at all.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader
Copy, this one just wasn’t for me.

[Becs' reads Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎧 The Husband I Buried by Maryann Webb 🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book starts off strong and I was invested with the idea of successful lawyer Mackenzie burying her husband and being compounded by grief.

After seeing her husband Luis on a train, along with other events, smelling Luis's cologne, Mackenzie is on a mission to find the truth and uncover Luis's background in the military and his secret missions.... along with a cult. The premise is there, but the plot gets more and more unbelievable and complex. By the end of the book I was done with the twists that didn't land and all the holes in the plot. This book had great potential, however the ending was disappointing.

"When I buried my husband I said my final goodbyes, wondering if I could ever truly let him go.

Four months later, I see him stepping onto a train.

It can't be true but there he is, running a hand through his dark hair, disappearing amongst the commuters before I can reach him.

It's the husband I buried.

No one believes me but I know my husband.

But if he is alive, who did I bury? And why would the man I loved let me believe he was dead?

Either I'm going crazy, or my whole marriage was a lie."

#aussiebookreviewer #aussiebookreviews #aussiebookstagram #aussiecrimelover #aussiebookbloger

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟
literally ate this up

[Ash Sichtman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk what to think about this book :|

[Jennifer Pearson · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

This started out so good! So much promise. First 2/3 was great. Then it got so messy and fell apart in the last 1/3. It could be really good if the last 1/3 got cleaned up.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was so good but then it was just a confusing twist-less mess??

[Kendall Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a secret cult

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, at least I finished this one.

[Meiwilli · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

DOA - The most interesting thing about this story is the title. The rest is a jumbled mess vomited onto paper/audio. The title should have been: The Cult.

Boring, repetitive tale about an attorney, Mackenzie Morgan, whose husband, Luis, supposedly died in a car accident. Had this been what the story was really about, it would have been a better story.

Luis faked his death and returned to the cult he is part of, unbeknownst to Mackenzie. Although Luis had a few reasons, e.g., embezzlement and fraud, to disappear, Mackenzie’s hands are dirty since she tried to kill him by tampering with his car because she found out about the embezzlement and fraud, and it involved the law firm she is a partner at. SO, instead of acting like a rational human and divorcing him, her solution is to kill him…

One day Mackenzie spots Luis, and follows him and loses him, of course. Mackenzie tells her best friend Jess that she saw Luis and that he’s alive. Mackenzie continues down the rabbit hole and locates Luis’ ex-girlfriend, Sofia, and asks stupid questions with no apparent answers as to where this stupidity is going. Sofia tells Mackenzie to contact some shady fella named Keith, who later turns out to be Thomas, a long-deserted army buddy of Luis. Mackenzie asks her assistant, Carl, the only person with a brain in this tale, for help via research on some lame card left in her house. Carl is way smarter than Mackenzie and figures out pretty easily that the Institute is a cult; and how could it be anything else when words like “becoming” are thrown around?

TL; SR (too long; shouldn’t read), Mackenzie catches up with Luis at the Institute, confronts him and still loves him, and cry me a river…There, Mackenzie runs into her client Rebecca who was charged with killing her husband, Brad, she takes Keith/Thomas along for support, along with the puppy that she and Luis were going to adopt together before his death…No surprise that everyone in Mackenzie’s life is a member of the Institute and all have been taking her for a ride.

The “Now” and “Then” are unnecessary and confusing. They don’t work for this story and don't move the plot along or make the story any better. The characters are poorly defined, and the devil is in the details, of which there are none. This bunk is unbelievable at every turn. Did I continue reading because I thought it would get better? No. It was a train wreck, and I got maimed in it. Complete waste of time. Without a doubt, this is the most time I’ve wasted reading a book in decades. Dreadfully awful. -0 Stars.

[Mona Sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of *The Husband I Buried* before publication. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

*The Husband I Buried* is a fast-paced psychological thriller built around a wonderfully unsettling question: what would you do if, four months after burying your husband, you saw him alive?

The main character has already endured the devastating loss of her husband and somehow managed to survive the first painful months of grief. She attended his funeral, said goodbye and began the difficult process of accepting that the man she loved was gone. Then, during an ordinary journey, she sees someone stepping onto a train who looks exactly like him.

It is not simply a vague resemblance or a face that reminds her of the past. She recognises his hair, his movements and the familiar details she believes only a wife would notice. Before she can reach him, however, he disappears among the other passengers.

No one believes what she saw. Those around her assume that grief is affecting her mind and that she has mistaken a stranger for the husband she desperately misses. Their explanation is understandable, but she remains certain. She knew her husband intimately, and she is convinced that the man on the platform was him.

That leaves her facing two terrifying possibilities. Either grief has damaged her perception of reality, or her husband is alive and deliberately allowed her to believe that he was dead. If the second possibility is true, an even more disturbing question follows: whose body did she bury?

The opening premise immediately drew me in. It takes an ordinary moment in a crowded public place and turns it into something deeply unsettling. The sighting lasts only briefly, meaning she has no photograph, witness or concrete evidence to support what she knows she saw. From the beginning, she is placed in the frightening position of being completely certain about something nobody else accepts as possible.

The novel makes effective use of grief and uncertainty. Because she is recently bereaved, every concern she raises can be dismissed as part of her emotional state. The more determined she becomes to prove that her husband is alive, the easier it is for other people to suggest that she is struggling to accept his death. This creates an uncomfortable situation in which even reasonable questions begin to make her appear increasingly unreliable.

The story also explores the disturbing idea that a marriage can feel genuine while still containing enormous secrets. She begins looking back at the years she spent with her husband and reconsidering details she previously accepted without question. Conversations, unexplained absences and small inconsistencies take on new meanings once she considers the possibility that he may have maintained a separate life.

I enjoyed watching her understanding of the marriage gradually change. At first, her investigation is driven by hope. If her husband is alive, then perhaps the grief she has endured was unnecessary. However, that hope quickly becomes mixed with anger and fear. A loving husband would not normally allow his wife to arrange his funeral, mourn him and attempt to rebuild her life unless he had an extraordinary reason—or unless the man she loved was never truly who she believed him to be.

The question of the unidentified body is particularly effective. The mystery is not limited to whether her husband survived. Someone died and was buried under his name, which means another family may have lost a person without ever knowing what happened to them. This gives the story a darker dimension and suggests that whatever occurred involved planning rather than a simple misunderstanding.

The main character is sympathetic because her determination grows from both love and betrayal. She needs to know whether she can trust her own memory, but she also needs to understand why the person closest to her might have deceived her so completely. Her search for answers becomes a search for the truth about her own life.

At times, her decisions are understandably emotional rather than sensible. She takes risks, follows suspicions and occasionally withholds information when speaking openly might have protected her. Some of these choices can be frustrating, but they also reflect the impossible position she is in. She does not know whom she can trust, and the people who claim to be helping her may be more interested in persuading her to stop asking questions.

The novel creates tension through isolation. Being disbelieved becomes almost as frightening as the possibility that her husband is alive. Every failed attempt to prove what she saw weakens her credibility, while every new inconsistency strengthens her private conviction. She becomes trapped between doubting herself and fearing that someone else is deliberately manipulating her.

The chapters are short, and the story moves quickly. New clues and questions are introduced regularly, making this an easy book to read in only a few sittings. Most chapters end with enough uncertainty or danger to encourage the reader to continue, and the central mystery remains compelling throughout much of the novel.

There are several possible explanations to consider. Her husband may have planned his disappearance, someone else may have arranged it, or the man at the station may be connected to the dead body in a way she has not yet understood. The novel repeatedly shifts suspicion and encourages the reader to question both the people around her and her own interpretation of events.

The strongest parts of the book are the initial sighting, the uncertainty surrounding the burial and the gradual dismantling of what appeared to be a loving marriage. These elements create genuine psychological tension because they attack the foundations of the protagonist’s identity. She is not merely discovering that her husband kept a secret; she is being forced to consider whether their entire shared life was a performance.

However, parts of the story require considerable suspension of disbelief. The central premise is dramatic by nature, and some of the practical circumstances surrounding the death, identification and funeral are difficult to accept without question. There were moments when I wanted the investigation to deal more thoroughly with how such an extraordinary deception could have been achieved.

Some developments also rely on familiar psychological-thriller conventions, including missing information, suspicious behaviour and characters refusing to communicate openly. These devices keep the story moving, but they occasionally made the plot feel constructed around maintaining the mystery rather than allowing the characters to behave naturally.

The protagonist’s repeated uncertainty can become slightly frustrating as well. Her emotional instability is understandable, but there are moments when the story circles around the same question of whether she imagined the sighting. A little less repetition and a faster progression towards concrete evidence might have strengthened the middle of the novel.

A few supporting characters could also have been developed more fully. Because the story remains so closely focused on the protagonist’s perspective, some people around her seem to exist mainly as potential suspects or as voices telling her that she is mistaken. More depth would have made it harder to determine who could be trusted and given some of the later revelations greater emotional impact.

The final section becomes much faster as the truth begins to emerge. The stakes increase, earlier clues take on new meanings and the protagonist is forced to confront the possibility that the answers she wanted may be more painful than continuing to believe her husband was dead.

There are several twists, and while I anticipated parts of the explanation, the book still kept me interested in discovering how the different secrets would connect. Some revelations are more convincing than others, but the conclusion provides answers to the central mystery and maintains the dark, dramatic tone established at the beginning.

Overall, *The Husband I Buried* is an entertaining and addictive psychological thriller with an immediately gripping premise. The idea of seeing your supposedly dead husband in a crowd is genuinely unsettling, and the questions surrounding the unidentified body and the truth of the marriage kept me turning the pages.

Although some aspects stretched credibility and the story uses several familiar thriller devices, it remained an enjoyable read. It will appeal to readers who like missing husbands, secret identities, unreliable memories, deceptive marriages and protagonists who realise that the person they trusted most may have been living an entirely different life.

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite books for this year. It involved a cult and I don’t usually enjoy stories about that, it was just ok.

[Cassie’s Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine burying your husband, saying your final goodbye, and trying to figure out how to move forward with your life…only to see him four months later stepping onto a train.
That is exactly where this story grabbed me. She knows what she saw. She knows that man is her husband. But no one believes her, leaving her questioning whether grief is playing tricks on her—or whether there is something much darker going on.
And then comes the question that completely hooked me: If her husband is alive, who did she actually bury? 😳
The deeper the story goes, the more unsettling it becomes. Secrets start coming to the surface, and suddenly her entire marriage feels like one giant question mark. Who was the man she loved? What was he hiding? And why would he let her believe he was dead?
I loved the constant feeling of uncertainty throughout this book. Just when I thought I had figured out what was happening, another possibility came along and made me question my theory all over again. The psychological suspense kept me turning pages because I had to know what was really going on.
Twisty, eerie, and completely addictive, this is the kind of thriller that makes you want to shout, “WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” while simultaneously refusing to put the book down.
If you love psychological thrillers packed with secrets, deception, unexpected twists, and a mystery that keeps getting deeper, The Husband I Buried needs to be on your TBR! 🖤📚
A fantastic reminder that sometimes the person you think you know best may be the person you know the least.

[Valerie Vigil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The husband I buried was a fast paced, gripping psychological thriller that had me dying for answers! Short chapters and great trope.

Mackenzie is a busy defense lawyer grieving the loss of her husband Luis whom died in a car accident 4 months ago. She can’t imagine how her life is supposed to move on without him, which in turn means she can’t let go. She hadn’t found peace since his departure. One day, boarding the train, she see’s him. With full conviction she knows the man she saw, and who saw her, is her husband, yet he didn’t react to her as she did to him. Mackenzie uses her skills to dig up anyone who may have answers about her husband’s past and can explain why or how he could possibly leave her thinking he had perished that day.

When a questionable case lands in her lap, Mackenzie has no doubt that Luis is apart of it. She gets many warnings, but will stop at nothing to find the truth. When an invitation makes its way into her house, she knows she was right. What will the past reveal?



Spoilers ‼️






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The biggest plot twist for me was that Mackenzie was the reason for the car accident to begin with. You originally feel sorry for her, but once this is revealed you come to realize she hadn’t found peace or grieved properly because she also held shame and blame for what happened.

When we realize that it wasn’t him, but who was actually buried inside 🤯

I do wish we got more of a background on Luis’s relationship with his father for it to have hit even harder!

The Coterie Institute all together 🤯 and how many people who were associated.

[Andria Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I have purchased another one that is currently on my tbr list.

Mackenzie's husband Luis has died in an accident and been buried. She has suffered from grief for several months, one night she's looking at their photo album and about the time she starts to doze off to sleep, she's suddenly awaken by the sound of a window being opened. She then smells Luis's cologne and she feels like somebody has been in the house. She calls her friend Jess, who offers that maybe she's imagining things due to her grief. Then later on, she sees her husband at the train station and she's certain it's him. No one wants to believe her however because everyone just thinks she's grieving and imagining things due to her grief and sorrow. The whole story revolves around her doubt, is she seeing things and losing reality or is there something more going on and then there's the need for her to figure out that question, is she imagining or is something sinister going on. MacKenzie starts to investigate and what she finds is a web of lies and secrets. This domestic thriller is full of twists and turns, told through a then and now timeline and I thought it was a solid thriller read. There were enough twists and turns to keep me invested from beginning to ending and I would be interested in reading future works by the author.

Thank you Netgalley and Embla Books for the complimentary copy of the story.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your husband dies in a car crash, he is buried, and then four months later you see him... well, that's going to screw with your head!

This is what Mackenzie thought after losing Luis. She is still grieving, and it is a process she needs to go through, at least her therapist and friends tell her. But this isn't a fluke or a lookalike; it is him, the same way of standing, mannerisms, and she would know him. Then there are the other little quirky things, the scent he wore; she keeps smelling it. During this, she is putting together a case for a woman who is being charged with murder. Maybe she is too stressed, maybe she needs time, maybe it is something else entirely.

I have to say this is a fabulous story, and the author weaves a very tangled web. There is not a huge cast, but in a story like this, there doesn't need to be; it is all about the wife and her husband, and a couple of close friends.

As the author builds her characters and the plot, there is a sense of something much more sinister going on in the background. Using the grief of a wife to make her second-guess herself, or wonder what is going on, is a really good idea for a story, and the author dealt with it so well.

All is revealed at the end; it comes fast, and there are several surprises. This is where the real psychological side of the book takes an additional step or two.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, then this is one that you may very well enjoy. It is very addictive, and it is one I would be very happy to recommend.

[Nicole Roccas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes you have to finish a book just to see if it really is as bad as you suspected. Unfortunately yes.

Characters whose actions were inconsistent and unbelievable, their emotional temperament and motivations shifting from paragraph to paragraph simply to shore up a plot that was equally as problematic and unconvincing. So many plot twists, each of them as far fetched as the last, ultimately pulling up to an unsatisfying and baffling conclusion like a bus dropping us off at the end of a route in the middle of a very confusing wasteland. So many small details in this novel just weren't true to life:

-No dental records or DNA tests done on the husband found dead in the first chapter? This is standard practice. The protagonist is a defense lawyer for crying out loud.

- You don't bring a puppy (least of all a beagle!) home then just let it do its own thing, already potty trained and perfectly compliant in every way except cutely picking up a slipper in one scene. It's more akin to having a baby or toddler in those first days.

- A psych eval ordered for a defendant by a lawyer doesn't just magically in an instant get sent to your psychologist best friend for her to do immediately for the plot to proceed more quickly. Those things are mired in bureaucracy.

- So many inconsistencies in every character I can't even.

I read this because other reviewers commented on how the ending took them by surprise. Surprising is one word for it...

[Jaime Pettit · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

The Husband I Buried by Maryann Webb is a fast-paced thriller that pulls you into a story full of secrets, twists, and the kind of relationships that make you question how well you can ever really know another person.

The story follows a woman whose life takes a dark turn as the truth about her husband and their relationship begins to unravel. As secrets come to light, she finds herself caught up in a dangerous situation where figuring out who to trust becomes increasingly difficult. The deeper she gets, the more complicated things become, and the line between what she believes and what is actually happening starts to blur.

I thought this was a decent thriller! It was an easy, quick read that kept things moving, and I enjoyed not having to wait too long for something to happen. The pacing definitely worked in its favor, and I was curious to see how everything would unfold.

My biggest issue was that some parts felt a little too unrealistic for me. There were moments when I had to suspend my disbelief, and certain situations just didn't feel entirely believable. While I enjoy a thriller that keeps me guessing, I also need the events to feel somewhat plausible, and this one pushed that boundary a bit too far at times.

Overall, this was an entertaining, fast-paced thriller that kept me engaged, even if I wasn't completely sold on everything that happened. It wasn't a standout read for me, but it was enjoyable enough, and sometimes that's exactly what I'm looking for!

3.5 stars

[Meg Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Husband I Buried pulled me in from the very beginning and quickly became one of those books I found myself picking up every chance I got.

At first, the premise felt somewhat familiar, and I thought I had a pretty good idea where the story was headed. I was convinced I had the twist figured out—but I couldn't have been more wrong. Just when I thought everything was predictable, Maryann Webb took the story in a direction I didn't see coming, delivering a satisfying and suspenseful payoff.

One of the book's strengths is its character development. The characters felt believable, and the situations unfolded in a way that made it easy to imagine these events happening in an ordinary town. That realism added to the tension, making the mystery all the more compelling as secrets slowly came to light.

The pacing kept me engaged throughout, with enough twists and uncertainty to keep the pages turning. More than anything, the story leaves you wondering just how far someone would go to uncover the truth—and what they might be willing to sacrifice along the way.

If you're looking for an engaging psychological thriller with relatable characters, plenty of suspense, and twists that challenge your assumptions, The Husband I Buried is well worth picking up.

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

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book- I felt that there were too many plot twists and they weren't fleshed out the way that I would hope. The story centers on Mackenzie, a lawyer whose husband Luis recently died. She is not handling the death well when she thinks she sees him- her friends all tell her that she is just grieving but she keeps chasing the path, convinced that there is more to his death than she realized. From there, the story totally changes and goes a way that is not alluded to in the book's description (and I don't want to spoil).

While the story did have some suspense (and action, as we got towards the end), it kind of felt all over the place to me. There were huge plot twists, but they didn't all make sense and Mackenzie's reactions to things that happened just confused me in many cases. The pacing was a little slow to start but did pick up as the book continued. Once it was all said and done and the truth was revealed, I kept feeling like I missed something because the actions that occurred felt like overreactions and I still had many unanswered questions. Also, who gets a brand new puppy and leaves it at home alone all the time with no issues? That is super unrealistic.

Overall, this one really didn't do it for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Suesyn Zellmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mackenzie is still grieving for her husband Luis, who passed away only a few months ago. But when she sees a man who looks exactly like him getting on a train, she knows it's him. How is this possible? No one believes her, of course, telling her that everyone experiences something similar when they lose a loved one. But she knows what she saw, and now all she has to do is prove it.

Another one of these stories where anything said is a spoiler. He's either dead or not dead, and it's all about why it is the one it is. It was a decent story, but one that's not particularly memorable for any reason. I didn't love it or hate it or love to hate it. I wasn't thrilled with the direction the story went; it seemed like a stretch, especially with Mackenzie being a lawyer and apparently having no clue what was going on in her own business for years, even as a partner.

But yet when she started realizing something was off, she did THAT? Oh yeah, that's a normal reaction and made perfect sense. And it's yet another story where the female character interacts with a male character a lot, but don't worry, no underlying sexual tension to get in the way because he's gay. Phew!

My thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for the advanced reading copy of this book.

[Amanda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review | The Husband I Buried by Maryann Webb — thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this

What would you do if you saw the husband you buried… alive?

The Husband I Buried is one of those thrillers that keeps pulling the rug out from under you. The twists and turns come so fast I almost got whiplash—in the best possible way! Every time I thought I’d worked it out, another surprise had me questioning everything.

I usually don’t enjoy stories involving cults, but the way that element is woven into this novel completely changed my mind. It feels natural to the story, adds another layer of suspense, and had me so immersed that I never wanted to put the book down.

One of my favourite things was how every character mattered. Even the people who seem insignificant at first have an important role to play, and watching all the pieces come together was incredibly satisfying.

And that ending… it leaves you desperate for more!

Releasing on Kindle in August, The Husband I Buried is a must-read if you love dark, twisty psychological thrillers packed with shocking reveals and a story that keeps you guessing until the very last page. I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mackenzie is a lawyer grieving the death of her husband, Luis, who died in a car accident four months earlier. She’s trying to put her life back together when she sees a man on a train who looks exactly like her supposedly dead husband. As the story unravels, Mackenzie begins to uncover secrets about Luis’s military past, an institute and a variety of people who may or may not be telling the truth.
I was really into most of this book up until the end. The premise had me hooked and I loved trying to solve the mystery right alongside Mackenzie. But then the ending went right off the rails with reveals, the secret identities.. by the end I was genuinely struggling to figure out what had actually happened. I think this book had a lot of potential but the ending was so convoluted that it ultimately took away from the plot line for me. That being said, if you like books where everything gets flipped upside down and you don’t know right from left, this may be the book for you! It definitely gives Freida McFadden vibes if that is something you’re into.
3/5 stars — intriguing, twisty, and definitely kept me reading… but the ending lost me.
Thank you NetGalley and EmblaBooks for this reading opportunity!

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mackenzie Morgan is a successful attorney and a widow of four months. Her husband, Luis, was killed in a car crash so horrific that it left him unrecognizable. Her grief is enormous and she is struggling to coms to terms with his loss. Some strange things have happened such as a window in her kitchen flies open and she smells Luis’s cologne. She is trying to stay strong.

One day on the train, she sees a man who looks just Luis and she follows him and knows it’s him. But he takes off before she can approach him. Her best friend, Jessica, a psychologist tells her it’s simply grief that has her imagining things that are not there. But she is determined to get to the bottom of this quandary.

Soon clues start to fall into place and Mackenzie is shocked at what she has found. How could this be so deeply constructed?

This was the time that things seemed to go off the rails for me. Without giving away any more of the story, I found this hard to believe. It was all very strange to me. However, I’m sure a lot of readers truly enjoyed the book. So, if you like to read about something unusual, this one is for you.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.