The Husband's Secret
Ratings110
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings110
Average rating3.5
**At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read**
**My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...**
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.
Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.
Reviews with the most likes.
The wife made me read this one. I was pleasantly surprised (even those this is chick lit).
I enjoyed this light read. It was thought provoking how the separate actions of three different families all intertwined by story's end. I also liked the connection to the daughter's fixation on the Berlin Wall. The epilogue was full of surprises!
There are so many stories going on in this book, but I'll try to sum it up. First, Cecelia is that PTA mom with the perfect life and family. She's a lovely, sweet person, a great wife, and a great mom to her three girls. When she finds an old letter to her from her husband to be read only in the event of his death, she doesn't know whether to open it or not. But then she starts to notice how strange he's acting. In the letter is something that will change their lives forever. Secondly, Tess and Will are in a seemingly happy and comfortable marriage until Tess finds out something close to home that rocks her world. There is a third POV, but I honestly think it gives away the plot so I'm not going to mention it.
What I enjoyed:
I loved that all the characters were connected. There were many, many characters in this book who all had completely different storylines going on, but it was really interesting to see how everyone intertwined. It made me think about cause and effect and how delicate relationships are. Relationships we may not even know are significant can be changed in an instant. All of us are connected somehow, but we don't always see that.
After reading and loving Big Little Lies, I was determined to read Moriarty's other novels. BLL was so fast paced and kept me involved in the story. For the most part, The Husband's Secret was the same way. It was definitely fast paced, and I didn't get bored. Although some POVs were more interesting than others, I thought.
The epilogue. Y'all, the epilogue kind of made the book for me. It's kind of like a Sliding Doors situation. The tiny choices we make can have large consequences. The tiny choices we make can change our life forever. In the epilogue, the author gives us insight into what would have happened to many of the characters had they made different choices. I've never read an ending quite like that, and I loved it. 10/10 epilogue, would recommend. If I had gone home after an exhausting weekend instead of saying yes to meeting some friends for frozen yogurt, I would never have met my husband. I wouldn't be sitting her writing this review today. Thinking about chains of events and the tiny choices that set them off blows my mind.
What I didn't enjoy:
The third POV I didn't mention earlier because it gives away the secret. Honestly. The secret was so easy to guess, it's like I didn't even have to guess it. It was just there for me to take and acknowledge. Literally having the third POV is a straight up spoiler. It's obvious what Cecelia's husband is hiding almost from the very beginning. And although I still enjoyed the plot, I wish it hadn't been so obvious.
I also think the character (third POV) is unlikeable. But that's neither here nor there. I don't need to like every character. Just a side point and opinion.
I wasn't honestly sure I wanted to even say or include this because I'm so torn about it, but by the end, Tess's story felt a little out of place. As I said before, all the characters are intertwined so it wasn't that she didn't belong at all. But it just felt like filler at times. Like maybe it should have had a different novel altogether. I don't know, it just felt strange.
Would I recommend?
I would recommend this book for someone who enjoyed Big Little Lies or books like it. This is a very light mystery with little scandal, but overarching sentiments about choices and secrets.
Couldn't put this book down, read it well into the early hours of the morning to finish.
Vibrant characters, compelling conflicts and real-life dilemmas.
Will be glomming this author.
