Review: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret  by Liane Moriarty
Publishers: Amy Einhorn Books/ Putnam
Published: July 30th, 2013
Pages: 394

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 week I read "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty. I noticed it was on the Bestsellers list and it  piqued my interest, I finally decided to give it a try and it payed off. I could not put this book down. However because the book is narrated by three different characters and for this reason it was a bit difficult to follow in the beginning. The setting is in Australia around Easter. The three primary narrators are Tess, a middle aged mother of one and a loving husband, Cecilia who is the prime example of the cookie cutter wife Tupperware parties and all, and there is Rachel an elderly woman who has two children, her son Rob and her daughter Janie who died in the 1980's when she was a high school student. Tess was fond in a nearby park strangled to death. All three women originate from the same little town and at the beginning of the book are lightly acquainted with one another. 

Further in the beginning of the book Tess has just discovered that her husband and her cousin/ like sister have fallen in love with one another. Distraught by this news Tess takes her son and decides to go visit her mother. A little distance away we have Cecilia (tupperware mom) who is ruminating over her husband's odd behavior lately, and wondering exactly what an old unopened letter she found in the attic addressed to her from her husband is  all about. Lastly we have Rachel who works in the primary school nearby and distressed by her daughter in law whom she feels is incompetent as far as daughter in laws go. Moreover later on in the story Rachel finds a video of her daughter, a video which reveals who the killer of her daughter may be. 

Although you cannot tell from the blurb above these women's lives and stories all become intertwined in an unexpected way. I loved the plot line of the story, it kept me enraptured the entire time it wasn't a very long read I would deem it a moderately lengthy book, it may take you longer than a couple of hours but it wont take forever. If you like tragic endings or bittersweet endings then this is the book for you! My most favorite part was the last chapter, it was very unexpected and dramatic, it left you thinking not just about the characters but about yourself and your life, What if? What if things had happened differently? It really hits on the note that the smallest, most trivial decisions can drastically impact our lives.