Carrie and Johan marry on a beach in Thailand only months into their whirlwind romance. Carrie, a British surgical intern, is too happy to care that she’s being impulsive. But as the wedding festivities stretch into the night, a group of armed men suddenly swarm the beach, taking Johan away. She never sees him again.
Twelve years later, Carrie is living in the English countryside with her husband, Robin, and their six-year-old twins, running a holiday cottage rental business on the side. One night, she stumbles across an online post in which she discovers that Johan escaped from Thailand years ago, and has been living in Stockholm ever since. As the memories of their passionate relationship flood her, she becomes obsessed with discovering what happened on their wedding day all those years ago.
But just when Carrie thinks she knows what she must do, a shocking twist tears apart everything Carrie thought she knew. The One Day You Were My Husband asks readers what—and whom—they would give up to return to a first love and to the people they once were.
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Pamela Dorman Books
Price: $14.99
4.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐︎
Carrie Cole and Johann Kullberg have a whirlwind courtship and decide to get married on the beach in Thailand. This is an impulsive decision for Carrie, a surgical intern, but she couldn’t be happier. A storm delays the ceremony until later in the day, which may end up changing their whole lives.
While the couple is celebrating on the beach, armed men arrive and take Johann away. Carrie assumes there is some kind of misunderstanding, but Johann is found guilty and imprisoned, and wants Carrie to move on. Carrie does move on and marries Robin and has twins, putting her career as a surgeon on hold. Then, one click of the mouse while looking for someplace to stay in Sweden for an upcoming conference changes her life again.
This is a romantic suspense/domestic thriller that will keep you guessing. In spite of the dramatic beginning, it took me a little while to become engaged in the story. Frequent changes in time and place interrupt each storyline and make things disjointed at first. Once things stay in the present, the flow of the story smooths out, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
There are a couple of big twists and turns in this story, and I don’t want to say anything that would give them away. I will say I was pleased to see my instincts about one character turned out to be correct, but I didn’t figure out all of the specifics.
I came to relate to Carrie and was rooting for things to turn out well for her. I loved the twists and was very satisfied with the ending, even though some details are left ambiguous. I would definitely read more books by this author.
~ Christine
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