The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty

Author: Liane Moriarty
Publisher: The Berkley Publishing Group
Published Date: March 2015
464 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780425267721

Book Blurb:
At the heart of The Husband's Secret is a letter that is not meant to be read...

My darling Cecilia,
If you're reading this, then I've died...

Imagine 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 only the life you have built together, but the lives of others as well.  And then imagine 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, 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.  There are other women who barely know Cecilia--or each other--but they, too, are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's secret.

MY THOUGHTS:
Three women, each with a secret.  Cecilia Fitzpatrick is the go-getter.  When she has a plan, she always executes it.  Her life with her husband, John-Paul, and three daughters, Isabelle, Esther and Polly, is run like a tight ship.  Everything has its place--and it doesn't hurt that she runs a successful Tupperware business which helps keep things organized.  Until she finds a letter from her husband John-Paul that turns everything upside down.  Tess O'Leary is part of successful marketing company with her husband, Will, and cousin, Felicity.  Everything is going well or so she thinks until they both sit her down and tell her their secret.  Little do they know that she has a secret of her own.  Rachel Crowley is a middle school secretary.  She enjoys her job very much, but there is one downfall--she believes someone who works there may be her daughter's murderer.

In The Husband's Secret, the lives of Cecilia, Rachel and Tess are haunted by secrets.  In Cecilia's case it wasn't her secret but her husband's, John-Paul.  Initially she had no intention of reading the letter until her daughters mentioned some strange behavior from their father, for instance, crying in the shower and looking sadly at Isabelle.  Plus due to their lack of a sex life started making her think he might be gay.  However, it wasn't until his frantic search for the letter which led her to finally read what he wrote.  She was not prepared for the impact it would have on her, her marriage and her kids.  Cecilia had no prior complaints about her marriage but now everything has changed.  Knowing John-Paul's secret has now become her secret and she doesn't know how to handle it.  She's always been type of person that has to have everything figured out or just deal with the situation she's been dealt.  Prime example is when her middle daughter, Esther, becomes very involved with the history of the Berlin Wall and when Cecilia read some of the stories she couldn't understand why some families risked their lives to go to the other side of the wall.  She figured they should just make due with the situation.  Cecilia has always been a self-assured woman, but this made her question whether she keeps the secret to herself, leave John-Paul or divulge it but she didn't get to make the decision, karma did.  

​This is the third book I've read from Liane Moriarty and I'm finding I'm enjoying her as an author.  She throws twists in her stories which drives the reader to want to read and find out who, how and why.  In comparison to Big Little Lies, this book has a much slower pace and I initially found it difficult keeping track of the characters.  Mainly, I found myself trying to figure out what the tie between all of them is which is why I gave it a four book rating.  I understood the tie between Cecilia and Rachel but it seemed like Tess was the odd man out.  Besides the fact that all the women had brief contact with each other in the past the only two that have a current connection are Cecilia and Rachel.  Tess's story line felt like filler.  It didn't really add anything to what felt was the main story.  Although the book is titled The Husband's Secret the husband's aren't the only one with the secrets.  Similar to Big Little Lies, Moriarty at the end of the book divulges the consequences and in this case, what the initial lies had on all the characters.  Overall, I did enjoy the book just wished the pace hadn't dragged as much for me.  Other than that I thought it was well written and Moriarty found her niche.

Did you read The Husband's Secret?  What did you think of the book?  Did you like any of the characters? What would you have done in Cecilia, Tess and/or Rachel's place?  Do you think the secrets they kept are justified?  Have you read any other books written by Moriarty?  

"None of us ever know all the possible courses our lives could have and maybe should have taken.  It's probably just as well. Some secrets are meant to stay secret forever.  Just ask Pandora."
​
~The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty