The Husband's Secret Paperback – June 27, 2017

A smart, addictive treat! It's not just "The Husband's Secret" we are pining for, it's all the secret's Liane Moriarty dangles in front of us that we want to discover! And it's the fabulous way Liane brings what seems to be three separate stories to a crashing halt together!One of my reading group members chose this book for us to read this month. I assumed that it was going to be a chick lit book, and that the premise of Cecelia Fitzpatrick finding a letter addressed to her, written by her husband and to be read upon his death sounded interesting... especially since her husband was "very much alive" when she found it. It seemed that the story would revolve around the question of whether Cecelia should "open the letter or not" now that she's found it and the results of that decision. Ah, yes, the letter... What deep dark secrets does that hold? But that "secret" is just the beginning! Yes, there is the letter and the "moral" decision, and that delicious dark secret, but the story takes such a turn from there that I absolutely could not put this book down. I was sucked into this story from say page 20 on... EVERYone has secrets! There is a murder, a mystery, jealousy, infidelity, and secrets, secrets, secrets!I don't want to spoil all the fun, so let me just give you a little bit of the layout of the story... There are three "stories" here. First, Cecelia Fitzpatrick, the "perfect" wife, right down to her arrangement of Tupperware in the pantry, who married the wonderful John-Paul, from one of the wealthiest families in town and they have 3 wonderful children. Second, there is Tess, Will and Felicity. Tess and Will are married with a little boy and Felicity is Tess's cousin and closet friend. And lastly, there's Rachel, Grandmother of Jacob, and the mother of Rob who is married to Lauren. All three families have ties to the same town, all three families have an interesting story, and all three of these families are going to experience life altering changes because of one another. And just when you think that the story has reached its' climax, you'll be saying to yourself, "OMG!"Liane Moriarty's writing is kind of light and airy, like you'd find in a good "Chick Lit" book. (I haven't really heard much about 'Chick lit' these days either, does it still exist?!). BUT, just when you think that the story will be a "light" read, the story teasing you along to a place you THINK it's going, Liane pulls the rug right from under you, and she doesn't stop there. This "light" read turns into such a great read with twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. A story much more complex then you'd think at its humble beginning. Definitely a book I would recommend to almost anyone who enjoys their fiction with a mystery and a bit of Tupperware mixed in! I will now be reading more of Liane Moriarty! This book was her debut novel, which became a #1 hit in the UK back in 2013. She now has 6 more books under her belt, one of which, Truly Madly Guilty, was published this year. Just make sure you put The Husband's Secret on your TBR list!!! 5 stars from this Chick!*P.S. Something to keep in mind when reading The Husband's Secret... there are a lot of characters that Liane throws at you right from the start. With out any "formal" introductions, early chapters seem to jump right into the middle of a story that you don't know anything about, or the people that are involved. At first, I found it confusing and was trying to sort out who these people were. Eventually you'll see that there are three separate families and it will not seem confusing any longer. You'll be able to follow these "separate" stories seamlessly. Keep a list of characters if you need to at first, but don't let this "complication" deter you from the story. READ IT!

Liane Moriarty has evolved as a writer over time, and when she wrote "What Alice Forgot" and "The Hypnotist's Love Story," I was sure something clicked for her because they were much better than the previous ones. (I LOVED those books!) I gave both of them five stars because they hooked me from page one, the editing was superb, the storyline tight (no rambling), and the pacing was excellent. Although I didn't give "The Husband's Secret" five stars, I would definitely recommend it. Moriarty has a deep understanding of people's inner thoughts and feelings, and her character development was great. Once I got past a certain point in the book, I couldn't put it down. If I were just rating that factor alone, I would have given it five stars.There were a few reasons, however, that I couldn't. First, the hook wasn't as strong as her previous novels. To her credit, though, I know she's an excellent writer, so I had faith she would pull through later (she did!). Yes, we know at the start that the wife finds a sealed letter, but I didn't quite get the feel that this letter would be all-consuming and life-changing for so many of the characters. It would have helped if she let us know that right from the beginning, but instead she took the approach that it could be anything, and maybe even something insignificant.Unlike in her two previous novels, Moriarty introduces multiple characters right up front, which I found confusing. When authors do this, we know they will somehow all come together, so my "criticism" may have more to do with my own frustration with the technique. It requires a certain degree of reader memory and patience, which I don't have. I preferred the more linear plot of her previous two books.The main issues with this book really occurred early, but were later resolved. For example, Moriarty seemed to struggle with point of view, with a number of "violations" that made me wonder who was thinking what. She would start a chapter inside the thoughts and feelings of one character, then shift randomly into another character's head for a sentence or two. I suspect she didn't have this problem in her previous two books because there were far fewer characters, or she had a different editor.In addition to point of view issues, there are a few other problems an editor normally picks up. Spelling and typos aside (there were only about five), there was a chapter I kept going back to because it completely threw me off. It was from the point of view of the daughter who died at seventeen, and it sounded like she was committing suicide. I am not giving anything away here by saying that she was not suicidal. I never could figure out why the author included that chapter, unless she was trying to mislead us intentionally. It's also possible I misunderstood why the girl took a pill in the first place (because I'm not familiar with pill colors?), but regardless, it didn't work. The book would have been a lot better if she'd merely thrown that chapter out.All the glitches aside, I have to say that this book is definitely worth reading. I am picky, and I was spoiled by her previous two novels, but I would still highly recommend it.

Bloody exceptional...what a read and how beautifully and neatly tied and linked up together.Unbelievably fluid, layered in a complex web but simple and enjoyable to read.

Una historia entretenida, la forma en la que está redactado té adentra a la vida de cada personaje. Muy recomendable.

Ok, esse livro é diferente de tudo o que já li. Eu diria que é um suspense que foca nas relações dos personagens, que vai colocando varia dúvidas na cabeça do leitor e o faz criar diversas teorias durante a leitura.Um livro muito bem escrito e estruturado, de um modo que faz ser impossível parar de ler até se ter todas as respostas.

Un guión bien escrito que te atrapa desde la primera página. La compré sin saber bien de que iba y fue un gusto leerlo.

Intrigue and drama from start to finish! Highly recommended! You will love this book, it’s a fantastic read for sure!