Other People’s Husbands by Elizabeth Noble

Although I’ve been aware of Elizabeth Noble’s writing – not least because I have a friend of the same name – I have never read her until now. Consequently I’m very grateful to Courtney Jefferies at edpr for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Other People’s Husbands.

Published by Penguin’s Michael Joseph on 21st July 2022, Other People’s Husbands is available for purchase through the links here.

Other People’s Husbands

Sometimes friendship crosses a line . . .

A group of close friends, their bonds forged at the nursery gates two decades ago, have celebrated, commiserated and grown together: they thought they all knew each other so well.

Until the affair.

Now a crack appears in everything.

Could one betrayal really destroy it all?

Other People’s Husbands is a story of friendship and love, crossing boundaries and breaking vows, of trying to fix what you believed could never be broken.

My Review of Other People’s Husbands

A group of friends is about to be split apart.

I confess that when I opened Other People’s Husbands and saw there was a cast list my heart sank. I wasn’t going to enjoy the book because I would find it impossible to know who was who. How wrong can you be? I absolutely adored Other People’s Husbands even if (or perhaps, especially because) it did leave me crying on more than one occasion.

Whilst the men, especially Dom, Kit and Will, play a pivotal role in the narrative, it is the women here who are so brilliantly depicted. Each of the six women around whom the story revolves is distinct and real, and I had none of my expected difficulty in knowing who was who, but it is Natalie who is the star of the story. I wanted to hate her for her infidelity, for hurting Kit and for not considering Arlo sufficiently but Elizabeth Noble writes so skilfully that she simply didn’t allow it. Certainly Natalie is selfish, flawed and reckless, but by the end of the story I understood clearly why she behaved as she did and I so wanted her to find resolution and happiness. There are no carboard characters in Other People’s Husbands, but rather real, dynamic and vivid people who could be those living in our own streets.

To some extent the plot of Other People’s Husbands is as old as time, where love and lust become confused and destructive, but this story is so imbued with sensitive understanding, with realism and compassion that it feels quite perfect. I believed in the people, the settings and the situations completely so that I found the story very affecting and emotional. Carefully plotted over a year, Other People’s Husbands would make a fantastic television drama series.

The themes in Other People’s Husbands are exquisitely considered. It’s no plot spoiler to say there is infidelity, but Elizabeth Noble illustrates so beautifully the butterfly effect of a relatively simple decision, giving the reader so much to consider. She also weaves in guilt, grief of many kinds, love, betrayal, anger and hurt, for example, so that all life and its vicissitudes ebb and flow through the story making it a captivating and engrossing read.

I haven’t previously read Elizabeth Noble so I am unsure how typical Other People’s Husbands is of her writing, but I so loved this story that I think I may have discovered a new favourite author. I found Other People’s Husbands surprised me. I expected a pleasant read that might be mildly diverting and instead discovered a narrative of depth, understanding and complete engagement. It’s a cracker and I adored it!

About Elizabeth Noble

Elizabeth Noble lives in Surrey with her husband and two daughters. Her previous Sunday Times bestsellers include: The Reading Group, which reached Number One, The Friendship Test (formerly published as The Tenko Club), Alphabet Weekends, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, The Girl Next Door, The Way We Were, Between a Mother and her Child, Love, Iris and The Family Holiday.