The Husband's Secret has been on my to-be-read pile for well over a year after I got it at a jumble sale 3 for £1 (bargain!).
For such a book-loving gal who usually roars through novels alongside working full time, since we've went into lockdown and I've had so much free time, I've been finding it so difficult to get into a book. I don't know if it's because right now our brains are constantly distracted by the enormous threat of a pandemic. Anyway, while other folk have been using this time to whittle down their TBR pile, mine has been slogging along almost untouched.
Have you been feeling the same difficulty in settling into reading lately?
I'm a big believer in 'feeling' what to read next. I need to be in the mood for a particular genre or type of book. For every few fiction books I read, I'll throw in a non fiction between to change things up. The diversity is the beauty of reading: having such variety to choose from means I never get bored.
Let's leave all the hard hitting science and canonical literature for later. My brain just can't deal. Right now? I need something light with a great story which hooks me in immediately.
Cue The Husband's Secret.
What's the story?
Cecelia has just found a letter from her husband only to be opened in the event of his death. She is overcome with curiosity but is ambivalent about opening it. Unbeknown to her, the contents will change her perfect family forever.
The story follows three parallel but interconnected women's lives in Sydney, Australia. St Angela's, the local Catholic Primary School, is where their paths converge. There's Cecelia, the perfectionist mother of three, who just has life nailed. Some would call her a control freak. I, quite frankly, was inspired. She is social coordinator come PTA queen come business woman come power mum. Then we have Rachel, the school secretary whose teenage daughter Janie was murdered 20 years ago. The murderer was never found, and Rachel lives a grey life brightened only by her grandson, Jacob, who she looks after twice a week. But Rachel's son Rob and his wife Lauren unexpectedly announce they are moving to New York with Jacob. The news that is debilitating to Rachel. Finally, there's Tess who returns to Sydney when her husband announces he is in love with Felicity; Tess's cousin, confidante, business partner and best friend.
The story is set in the week leading up to Easter. The women's lives change in unforeseen and unbelievable ways as we learn what happened to Janie, why, and the consequences it has for each of them.
What's so great about it?
The story itself is incredibly interesting and within a few pages you're invested in the characters. Each women have their own problems to overcome but it's very satisfying how their journeys through the novel overlap. What's more, Moriarty will sometimes cut from one woman's perspective to another's within a moment which I found very crafty and clever. It allows us to, for example, see Cecelia through Rachel's eyes, then dive into what Cecelia is thinking about how she is portraying herself to Rachel.
The structure makes the book as a whole manageable and digestible. Just over 400 pages are broken into 7 days which are then further broken down into each of the three woman's perspective. This, and the fact we keep leaving each woman on a crucial moment, pushes us through the pages rapidly, determined to find out what happens next. I cannot fault Moriarty's writing style at all.
What I particularly liked was that while the characters weren't necessarily likeable, I really cared for them. I wanted Rachel to find peace in discovering what happened to her daughter. I was as confused as Tess as to why her husband had turned to Felicity. Most of all, I was with Cecelia screaming just open that letter already!!!
The Husband's Secret was exactly what I was looking for, this is a light read that seized my attention and kept it. I had to really negotiate with myself to put the book down and do other things. At one point I was watching a TV series with my brother and reading it sneakily just because I had to know what happened next.
As I prepared to write this review, I was wracking my brains for something other than glowing praise. The only thing I can think of is that unlike many of the other books I read, it hasn't shook me to the core, changed my perspective on life or taught me much. To be honest though, I am totally willing to trade off deep, poignant, plough-through-me books for a story I can really get my teeth into that I profoundly enjoyed.
Overall
- Immediate, immersive and intriguing
- A light read you'll power through with a brilliant story and convincing characters
- I'd rate it 4/5
Get your own copy of The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty - you won't regret it!
If you like 'The Husband's Secret' you will also like:
- Transatlantic by Colum McCann - one of my favourite books of all time which tells the story of four generations of Irish / American women and their experiences on both sides of the Atlantic. It seamlessly weaves the historical with the personal to give us insight into the everyday of profound, profusely documented moments of the past. If you enjoy the multiple perspectives which so furiously drive the story forward in 'The Husband's Secret', you'll appreciate the same narrative style in 'TransAtlantic'.
- Never Greener by Ruth Jones - ok I know I've recommended this before but it is absolutely addictive and immersive. It tells the story of the 'what ifs' of two couples across multiple decades. Very well written and satisfyingly ended.
- The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin - I'm throwing you a lil bit of a curveball here but hey, we wouldn't evolve or develop without being pushed out of our comfort
zonesgenres from time to time. The first in a science fantasy trilogy, 'The Fifth Season' follows the three parallel lives of Essun, Damaya and Syenite in a supercontinent called The Stillness. They try to navigate a society where their extraordinary ability to move mountains by magic is met with brutal intolerance and fear. I found it a little over dramatic at first with the whole 'Welcome to the end of the world' trope and the use of the second person narrative was slightly disconcerting but honestly, persist. It's fascinating and enthralling and wonderful.
I know Liane Moriarty also writes Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers. I think Nine Perfect Strangers was on the WHSmith bestseller shelf every time I've been in an airport in the last year and now I'm even more tempted to pick it up. I'm pleased I started with a lesser known novel by this author so I wasn't affected by the hype.
Discovering The Husband's Secret has allowed me to become excited about reading again. I have accepted the fact that what I need right now is escapism, light reading and great stories.
Have you read The Husband's Secret? What did you think?
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