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Review: The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty

12/11/2013

2 Comments

 
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Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Format: Kindle
Pages: 394
Source: Amazon
Genre: Chick Lit
Review Date: December 11, 2013
Rating: 4 bookmarks 

Synopsis: 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.


This book was really good. You'll be thinking about this book for days after you've finished.  Have you read Moriarty's What Alice Forgot? If you did and you enjoyed it then you'll love this as well. If you haven't read Moriarty, I recommend that you do! She's an Australian writer, and to be frank, she's the only Australian writer I've read so far, and I'll keep reading her.  This book has the same writing style, but instead of the POV from only one character and her family, this book is comprised of three different stories of three women whose live intersect in a way you'd never imagine. With the center of this story being Cecilia and her husband's secret, this by the way, is a total shocker. You're set up to think it's going to be one thing, but then it take a complete left turn and that threatens to send Cecilia to a mini visit to Crazy Town.  Ironically, Cecilia can join Rachel, who has been living in Crazy Town for a while. Even though her feelings are warranted, the results of Rachel’s very angry and vengeful actions are unfortunate.
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Here's the appropriate reaction to the reveal of John-Paul's secret!

Let me back track for just a moment. For the first 80 pages or so I was wondering when things would start coming together, but suddenly they did and the story just really took hold from there. It was an emotional roller coaster and I enjoyed every minute!  When there are a multitude of characters and situations it can be a task at first to sort out what's what and who's who, but if you can get through that initial rush of information, it all clicks in. Moriarty does an excellent job of pulling these stories together, yet keeping them separate in their own right.

Cecilia is the center of this story and she has the perfect life, from the outside. She learns something shocking about her husband and their world changes.  Rachel is an older woman feeling the pain from a past heart breaking situation that continues to wear on her. With the new and upcoming changes to her family, she's starting to freak out even more.

Tess flees her home with her son and returns to her mother's home in her hometown after a shocking reveal from her own husband! This change of scenery sets off a series of events that change her life forever.  How does she tie in? Tess enrolls her son in the same school as Cecilia's kids, also where Rachel works. From there their individual stories become intertwined.

I felt that the epilogue was so-so.  We see sort of an alternative ending. Really more like what could have happened had other choices had been made. Instead I would have liked to see a couple years into the future to see if Cecilia and John-Paul stayed together. Or if Tess's husband Will ever finds out about her time when they were apart...Hell or even if Rachel was able to fully move on and stop being so angry.  There are so many possibilities.  During the book club meeting, someone mentioned the possibility of there being a book two. It's unlikely, being that this author has published only stand alone books, but I could see how there could be a second installment. There's definitely more than enough drama to make one more book!

Do you like reading drama? If so, The Husband's Secret is a perfect choice for you. I hope to read The Hypnotist's Love Story in the near future, it sounds really good!  Did you read The Husband's Secret? If so, please share your thoughts, I'd love to know what you thought about it.

Happy Reading,
~Tamara
Check out my review of What Alice Forgot
Get the Kindle version here:
2 Comments
Alexis@Reflections of a Bookaholic link
12/29/2013 06:39:00 am

So do you go the entire book without knowing the secret? I would hate that. This sounds so intriguing but ultimately I just want to know the secret.

Reply
Tamara @ Shelf Addiction
12/30/2013 09:39:41 am

Hey Alexis!

I went back and checked my reading notes. The secret was revealed around the 43% mark.

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