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.
Reviews with the most likes.
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.
