The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty was a book club pick. I didn’t want to read it because a co-worker told me what Secret was. I wasn’t planning on reading it, just showing up at the club meeting for the camaraderie and to pick next month’s book. I had gone through the motions of putting my name on the hold list at the library but the list was so long, I wasn’t going to get my paws on a copy until after the meeting. Then the moderator asked if I’d substitute for her because she’d be on a business trip. When I revealed that I hadn’t read the book, she offered me hers. Sigh. Guess I had to read it.
This Australian novel of murder intrigue involved characters reminding me of the TV show Desperate Housewives. Female, Catholic, and relationship-centered, three stories are intertwined when one woman finds a letter with the envelope stating that the contents should only be read when her husband is dead. This sets off the mystery and unraveling of the story.
One aspect of the story that I liked was where the mother of the murdered woman would fantasize about what her daughter would have been like in the seventeen years since her death. Thinking about jobs, relationships, and accomplishments, a whole life was fleshed out in the mother’s mind. I do that too.
The epilogue of the book was massive, covering each character well into the future. It also explains how the murder was not really a murder. This epilogue was a divisive point of the book, some hating and others loving this gimmick. The group was also divided on who was surprised and who guessed what the husband’s secret was. “OMG, I was shocked” vs “I could tell as soon as I started the book.” We begin a book with different backgrounds and project our assumptions as we progress. This book was a good example of that.
