Maryann Webb loves what she does. As an author of psychological thrillers, she sees her role as to plant clues, hide secrets and create characters who are one thing on the surface, and something else entirely inside. She also loves writing, and penned her first book when she was just a child. Today, the Australia-based novelist is a published author with three books to her name, including her latest, My Husband’s Lies.

Previously published as How Well Do You Know Your Husband?, this riveting domestic thriller has been picked up by Embla Books to reach a much wider audience in print, as an ebook and on audio. My Husband’s Lies is out 24 June 2025 and is the story of a young woman called Aria, who starts to suspect her husband of dark deeds. Ethan’s been acting unusually lately, but that’s nothing compared to what’s down the line. When Aria’s best friend Isla is murdered, she begins to doubt everything… There’s betrayal. There’s deceit. There are twists ahead, but you won’t see them coming!

We wanted to know more, so we invited Maryann to the site to find out more… Her next book is already lined up for September.

What are crime fiction lovers going to love about My Husband’s Lies?
The story really digs into the idea that you might not know the people close to you as well as you think. For crime readers who enjoy that blend of intimate betrayal and a good twist, I think this will feel like home – hopefully with a few surprises they won’t see coming.

Tell us about Aria. Who is she, what’s she like, what inspired her and how have you developed her in the book?
Aria is one of those characters who came to me fully formed – flawed, determined, emotionally raw. At the start of the book, she seems like someone who has it all together: a solid marriage, a stable life, a close circle of friends. But it doesn’t take long to see that there are cracks forming.

What I love about Aria is that she’s not your typical strong female lead. She’s strong because she keeps going when things fall apart. She second-guesses herself, she doubts the people she loves, and she makes mistakes, but she keeps pushing forward, trying to make sense of a world that’s suddenly turned upside down.

I was inspired by the idea of what happens when trust, the foundation of any relationship, starts to slip. Who do you become when you can’t trust your partner, your memories, or even your instincts? Aria’s journey is really about that unraveling. I wanted her to feel real, like someone you might know. She’s thoughtful, loyal, maybe a little too quick to blame herself when things go wrong, but she’s also sharper than people give her credit for.

Throughout the book, I gave her room to grow. She starts out reactive, unsure of what’s real, but as the story builds and the stakes get higher, she learns to rely on herself more. She goes from being someone who’s trying to hold her life together to someone who’s finally ready to fight for the truth, no matter how painful it might be.

And what about Ethan, what’s his background?
Ethan is one of those characters who keeps you guessing– both Aria and the reader. On the surface, he’s successful, charming and reliable. He’s the kind of guy who remembers anniversaries and always looks put together. But underneath that polished exterior, there’s a lot more going on.

He comes from a privileged background, and I think that shapes how he navigates the world. He’s used to being in control, used to presenting a certain version of himself to the outside world – and that can make him hard to read. I wanted him to feel like the kind of man who knows how to play the part of the perfect husband, even if what’s really going on is far more complicated.

What made Ethan interesting to write was that he’s not entirely one thing or the other. He’s not a cartoon villain, but he’s also not the hero Aria once believed he was. His background is filled with secrets, some personal and some deeply connected to the story’s bigger mystery. The question becomes: how much of who Ethan is has been carefully crafted, and how much has Aria simply never seen?

At its core, the book plays with the idea of how well we really know the people we’re closest to – and Ethan is the embodiment of that uncertainty.

Tell us about some of the other characters we’ll meet. Does everyone have something to hide?
Oh yes – everyone in this story is hiding something. That was one of the driving ideas behind the book: that beneath every seemingly normal friendship or marriage, there can be secrets simmering just out of sight.

You’ll meet Isla, Aria’s best friend, who’s vibrant, loyal and just a little reckless. She’s the kind of friend who pushes you out of your comfort zone, but she also has her own unresolved past. Her murder early in the story is the catalyst for everything that follows – and the more Aria digs into what happened, the more she realises how little she really knew about Isla’s life.

Then there’s Ethan’s brother, who plays a quieter role but still adds tension. There’s a shared family history there that’s never really been dealt with, and it casts a shadow over Ethan and Aria’s relationship.

You’ll also meet Detective O’Connell, who’s leading the investigation into Isla’s death. He’s methodical, but he’s not exactly warm – and Aria can’t quite tell whether he sees her as a victim, a witness… or a suspect.

And yes, everyone has their secrets—some small, some devastating. Some of the characters are lying to protect themselves. Others are lying to protect someone they love. And a few are just really, really good at pretending.

The fun part for readers is figuring out which is which. No one in this book is exactly who they seem.

Where’s the book set and what role does that have in the story? There seems to be a few places where Aria is being watched/followed?
Yes, the setting plays a big role in the story’s atmosphere and sense of unease. The book is inspired by places like Greenwich Village, New York, early Autum, still warm enough to be outside but getting colder. Somewhere that feels familiar and modern, but with just enough grit to keep you uneasy. Think narrow alleyways behind trendy bars, leafy suburban streets that feel a little too quiet at night, and public spaces that suddenly feel threatening when you realise someone might be watching you.

That idea of being watched is woven through the whole story. Aria moves through everyday places, a café, a supermarket, a walk to her car after dinner, and there’s always this creeping sense that she’s not alone. That something is just out of frame. The city becomes a kind of character in itself: open, bright, and busy on the surface, but full of hidden corners and shadows that hold danger.

I really wanted to tap into the discomfort of feeling unsafe in familiar places. We tend to trust our environment, our homes, our routines, our neighbourhood, but once that trust breaks down, everywhere starts to feel hostile. That’s the lens Aria sees the world through as the story progresses, and it amplifies her paranoia. Is she really being followed, or is her mind playing tricks on her? The setting helps keep that question alive all the way through.

What is it about domestic thrillers that you enjoy and where do your ideas for all these twists come from?
I’m fascinated by relationships, especially the ones that look perfect on the outside but are unraveling behind closed doors. Domestic thrillers let you explore those emotional fault lines, marriage, friendship, motherhood, and ask, “What if something suddenly cracked?” That’s where the suspense lives for me. It’s not just about solving a crime; it’s about watching characters come apart and decide who they really are when everything’s at stake.

Were there any important themes you wanted to explore and how did you balance that with the suspense and tension?
At its core, My Husband’s Lies? is about trust, how it’s built, how it’s broken, and how we often ignore red flags when we want something to be true. I really wanted to explore that idea of how well we can truly know another person, especially someone we love. What do we choose to see? What do we choose to ignore?

Another big theme is identity, especially Aria’s. She’s built her life around being a good wife, a loyal friend, someone who keeps the peace. But when everything around her starts to unravel, she’s forced to ask herself: Who am I when all the roles I’ve been playing fall away? That emotional journey runs parallel to the murder mystery, and I think that tension, between who Aria was and who she’s becoming, adds an extra layer to the suspense.

Balancing those themes with tension was really about weaving them into the stakes. The emotional stakes arethe suspense. Aria’s fear isn’t just about who killed her best friend, it’s about whether she’s been living a lie, whether she’s next, and whether she can trust herself to uncover the truth. Every time she uncovers a secret, it doesn’t just move the plot forward, it challenges her emotionally, too.

So rather than separating theme from story, I tried to make them inseparable. The psychological tension, the twists, the emotional weight, they’re all pushing in the same direction. That’s what I love most about writing in this genre: you get to explore deep, relatable truths about relationships and identity, all while keeping readers on the edge of their seat.

What are some of the crime books/thrillers and authors that have inspired you, and why?
I’m inspired by authors who blend suspense with emotional depth and a touch of horror. Simone St James (The Sundown Motel) creates haunting atmospheres that linger. Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) shows the power of morally complex characters and razor-sharp twists. Riley Sager (Home Before Dark) plays with memory and fear, while Noelle W Ihli (Ask for Andrea) delivers raw, fast-paced thrillers that hit hard.

What’s next for Maryann Webb?
My next thriller, The Girl in the Cellar, will be released in September. It’s a darker psychological thriller that follows Izzy Blake, a young woman trapped in a dark, isolated cellar. Struggling to hold onto her identity and sanity, Izzy clings to memories of the life she once knew. Then, the door opens, it’s not him. It’s a woman. As the line between ally and enemy blurs, Izzy must make an impossible choice: trust Kady and risk everything or take fate into her own hands and escape, no matter the cost.

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