Book Review: The Husband's Secret

Book Review

 I have not yet been disappointed by a Liane Moriarty book. For those of you that have not heard of her, she is an Australian author that has made a huge breakthrough in the United States with her many compelling pieces. 

        This particular novel (like some of her other books) is written from the point of view of many female characters in the story. Through those accounts the reader is able to piece a complete picture of what the book is about. The story begins with one of the main characters Cecilia finding a mysterious envelope from her husband who is away on a business trip, a letter to be opened only after his death. She calls him and he asks her not to open the envelope as he is embarrassed by what he has written to her. Cecilia puts the envelope away and on the story goes with the other characters. 

        In a different part of Australia Tess finds out that her husband too has a secret. He has fallen in love with her best friend and thus her marriage is ruined. Tess moves with her son to Sydney (where Cecelia and other characters reside) to get away from her problem. 

       In a Catholic school where all of the characters' children attend there is an older secretary Rachel. Rachel has long split with her husband for reasons unknown and has had a daughter that was murdered many years ago. The killer was never found and Rachel's sole purpose is to put her daughter's killer (Who she think's is the gym teacher Tess is now dating) behind bars. 

       The drama unfolds when Cecelia opens the dreaded letter and discovers the secret her husband wanted to take to his grave. In the end the moral of the book is that we never know what paths our lives will take. In the epilogue the author humors the audience with an alternate story the characters' lives would have been had certain circumstances been shifted. 

       This was truly a magnificent read and if you liked this book you must read Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (Now an HBO Series) and What Alice Forgot.