First, I’ll start by saying I am an unabashed fan of the master of the multiple POVs and intertwined story lines, Liane Moriarty. I first became acquainted with her work when I read Big Little Lies last year, which HBO is making into a series. When I heard about the television adaptation, I jumped on board to see what all the fuss was about.
I opted to wait on The Husband’s Secret because the title just seemed too much like bookbait. (Is that the book equivalent of clickbait headlines? If not, it is now.) What would the secret be? Whose husband was the secret keeper? Well, after enjoying BLL, I decided to give it a go via audiobook.
The Husband’s Secret revolves around three women and one private school in Sydney. Cecilia Fitzpatrick is the PTA supermom of three with a booming tupperware sales business. Tess is a recent Sydney transplant looking for a soft place to land with her young son after a rocky patch strikes her marriage. Rachel Crawley is the grieving mother of a murdered daughter facing retirement and the imminent move of her remaining son’s family to New York. Each woman is at a different stage in her life and cross paths in the tight-knit St. Angela’s community.
We begin with Cecilia discovering a letter her husband wrote after the birth of their first daughter to only be opened in the event of his death. It becomes readily apparent that he is the titular husband with a secret. We’re quickly introduced to the other women in the in the midst of two very different life-changing events. We’re also shown small glimpses into the last day of Janie Crawley’s life as seen from her perspective. It has all the required ingredients of a fun beach read from a rekindled romance with an ex to earth-shattering revelations that turn lives upside down.
The Husband’s Secret is really about decisions made in times of transition and how each choice made ripples out and affects those around us. Want to know the secret? Better get reading!
Katherine Laurin 