The Husband's Secret

This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I was engrossed in the story from start to finish, and the ending was one of the most shocking and heartbreaking endings I have come across, even more than some Agatha Christies I've read (which is saying a lot, she is my favourite author and I've read most of her books).
This is the book that got me into Moriarty and has kept me reading every subsequent book since. I still think about this one whenever I recall my favourite books, even though I read it years ago.

I was not enjoying this - in fact, it made me angry for several reasons. (The fat-shaming, the woman-hating, the really unlikable characters, etc.) So, I skipped ahead to see how some things worked out because I'm curious (and apparently a glutton for punishment) and - thanks, I hated it! I haven't had this visceral a reaction to a book in a long time. I read to be entertained - if a book makes me laugh or inspires warm fuzzies, all the better. What I do not look for in a book is a misery-fest of unlikable characters, no-win situations, and situations that are only included to manipulate me into feeling something (presumably crying, in this case). It's especially off-putting when it all gets tied together semi-nicely at the end. Don't get me wrong, I prefer books with happy endings; this story just didn't deserve one.  

I do have to give the author some credit, however; this book had an enticing premise, the characters all felt realistic (I just didn't want to spend any time with them), and there were several questions I wanted to get the answers to, so I stuck with the book longer than I wanted to, but then the answers and/or the way they were resolved, made me regret I picked this book up to begin with. And now I'm stuck with this in my head, and I know I'll think about it from time to time, which will irritate me again, or worse, I'll wonder what I would have done if I were in these characters' situations. And this story just doesn't deserve the head space it's going to take up.    

That's not to say this is inherently a bad book. Some people might enjoy it. If this is your favorite book, that's great. It just wasn't for me. 

I've been looking for audiobooks to accompany the last few fall walks of the year or to the gym when it's too cold/blustery/rainy outside. Nothing too light his week, I chose another of Liane Moriarty's books because I've found her books kind of fun to read, even if the ending seemed rushed.

And “The Husband's Secret” is no exception. There is some nice character building, but the ending felt off again. Too rushed and not fitting the characters, or maybe too convenient (for the author).

This book focuses on 4 different stories 3 of which connect in some way in the end and we also get little snippets about the Berlin Wall that I felt didn't really do anything for the story. So we are following Racheal, Tess, Cecilia and Janie. We only get a few chapters from Janie's POV the rest is about the other ladies. Tess's story is the one that didn't really seem to connect with the others in any way. I wasn't expecting to have multiple POVs going into this book so I struggled with that all throughout the book because we kept switching back and forth. The author did an amazing job of sucking me in with each of the individual stories even though one of them involved cheating which I hate reading about and I absolutely hated how that particular story ended I was still drawn into all of the drama. This book does have disability rep specifically amputation although it is very minor. I would liked to have seen this elaborated more on in the end. I'm glad I have finally read this one and I will definitely pick up more by this author in the future. 

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.

This book should get 4.5 stars.
The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is that I feel unsatisfied with the ending.
The entire story was leading me somewhere and I feel like I did not get there in the end.
But otherwise I loved it.
The emotions were real, the writing was good and the characters were human...
I need to read more of her books.
NOW

A few women's lives, all connecting in the end. The book is all about female selftalk, families - parents - children and the things we keep secret from one another. One of those books that you like, but keep as a secret from your highly educated friends ;-)

A light read. Nice characters.

Just plain loved it. Clever, thoughtful, entertaining. Wonderfully written and paced exactly to my liking.

This is a page turning book, but not a book that I particularly liked. My mom gave it to me after someone gave it to her. I thought I would read it and pass it along to make room on my shelf.

Here are a few reasons I didn't like it:

1. It's skates on the edge of being made into a Lifetime movie. Not my genre at all.
2. The characters are unlikeable, and I didn't agree with any of their decisions.
3. The author's view of marriage, of men and women, of justice, of God, of life in general I don't agree with. It's bleak and bitter, just like her middle-aged characters, and is basically the reason Peter Pan didn't want to grow up.
4. The writing was confusing. Mostly, the book takes place in the heads of three women, one of whom is irrelevant to the main plot. You mostly are just reading their thoughts. Apparently they are all very reflective people who like to ponder every little thing. Interspersed with that is this “broadcasting” about the Berlin Wall. Oh, and also flash backs to some of the secondary characters' back story. Not cohesive. Plus—
5. Every once in a while the seemingly objective omniscient narrator comes through as ultra-opinionated and ultra-omniscient, which is just weird. The epilogue came out of left field. The rest of the book could have been written to accommodate it or it could have been eliminated at all, but it comes off as odd, as if the author wants to rub in your face how much more she knows than you.

Oh well! It was a quick read and it somehow was a page-turner, despite how quickly and easily you figure out “the husband's secret”.

Another good book from Liane Moriarty! I definitely liked Big Little Lies better but this was still enjoyable.

My favourite thing about thus author is the way she can easily and comfortably weave stories from various characters through the novel to then arrive at the conclusion which involves them all. All of the chapters flow nicely together despite changing POVs, it's not jarring like some books can be.

I will say that I thought this could have been a little shorter. It was a story line which kept my attention but could have still been trimmed down 50 pages or so.

All in all I'm glad I read it and enjoyed it a lot so I'll be looking for others from the author.

I picked up The Husband's Secret because I'd been recommended it by a friend at work. I quite like domestic thrillers (or simply thrillers in general) when I'm in a reading slump. And this book did just the trick!

I enjoyed the story, although the big reveal came altogether too early in the plot I think. The characters were enjoyable and felt real. The ending felt a bit like a cop-out with all the endings neatly tied away. And we're not going to talk about the epilogue, because as far as I'm concerned that ruined the book.

Disappointing

#bookborrowedfromthelibrary

The first part of the book when Cecilia was trying to guess what was in the letter her husband wrote had me interested. But after the huge secret was revealed the book wore me out. I was glad to get to the end but then there was the cutesy epilogue that wasn't. I liked the dead girl's mother, Rachel. I disliked how hard the author tried to weave the Berlin Wall into the story. It didn't work.

I have a new favorite author. Liane Moriarty was incredible. This story has me thinking about all of the ‘what ifs' in life and what could have been. This is definitely one of my new favorites. I am speechless. I really have no idea what to say other than I couldn't get enough of this and I need to read everything Liane Moriarty has ever written. 5 stars, no doubt about that.

Excellent writing, but this is a gut-wrenching book.

I would not recommend it to victims of crime who wrestle with negative emotions toward the perp.

Love the unpredictability of Liane Moriarty's plot!!

3.5

This was my second Liane Moriarty book and while I did enjoy it, I wasn't as wowed as I was after Big Little Lies. I think because there wasn't as much mystery BLL and the whole thing was centered around children. I laughed out a loud a couple of times and I do love how Moriarty is able to craft such vibrant characters.

I enjoyed the book. I thought it was going to be just about Cecilia, the letter and the consequences of reading the letter but it was so much more. Other stories about two other women. Infidelity, revenge and twist at the end made it a great read.

The wife made me read this one. I was pleasantly surprised (even those this is chick lit).

Cecilia is the perfect housewife who finds a sealed envelope in the dusty attic addressed to her with her husband's handwriting “To be opened only in the event of my death”

I loved Moriarity's latest book, Big Little Lies which had the right mix of fun, intrigue and murder. This is the precursor with less fun but much of the same elements including the outwardly perfect and effusive mother, the social anxious single mom with child and a bright Australian suburban neighbourhood of Tupperware parties and school Easter egg hunts that hides a terrible secret.

Everything converges to single climactic point and the stage is abruptly swept clear. Perhaps a little too abruptly, it's like Moriarity wants to sweep the pieces off the board and get it set up for the next game.

3.5 stars. Good read that focuses on several women going through transitions in their lives. Reminds us that we don't know why things happen and how the future changes in unexpected ways based on the choices we make now combined with random events. Entertaining and interesting without being too heavy or deep.

Husband's Secret

I found this novel interesting but not fulfilling. I wanted to know the resolution of the plot but most of the characters frustrated me.

A pleasant read

I still don't know, how I feel about this story. Pretty good story line. However, I cannot get over, Rachel's decision to let John Paul off the hook. It was such a build up to be let down. I understand the situation surrounding Rachel decision, but come on. She was ready to burn Connor at the stake.That left me feeling, unsettled in a sense. However, the other characters storyline was okay.

3.5 stars, really

this was a very different read for me.. I'm more of a paranormal romance and Stephen King fan but I have to say I loved this. I laughed at my friend when she said the last page was her favorite but I must agree.. this is a must read if your looking for something different an easy