The Husband's Secret

A smart, addictive treat! It's not just "The Husband's Secret" we are pining for, it's all the secret's Liane Moriarty dangles in front of us that we want to discover! And it's the fabulous way Liane brings what seems to be three separate stories to a crashing halt together! One of my reading group members chose this book for us to read this month. I assumed that it was going to be a chick lit book, and that the premise of Cecelia Fitzpatrick finding a letter addressed to her, written by her husband and to be read upon his death sounded interesting... especially since her husband was "very much alive" when she found it. It seemed that the story would revolve around the question of whether Cecelia should "open the letter or not" now that she's found it and the results of that decision. Ah, yes, the letter... What deep dark secrets does that hold? But that "secret" is just the beginning! Yes, there is the letter and the "moral" decision, and that delicious dark secret, but the story takes such a turn from there that I absolutely could not put this book down. I was sucked into this story from say page 20 on... EVERYone has secrets! There is a murder, a mystery, jealousy, infidelity, and secrets, secrets, secrets! I don't want to spoil all the fun, so let me just give you a little bit of the layout of the story... There are three "stories" here. First, Cecelia Fitzpatrick, the "perfect" wife, right down to her arrangement of Tupperware in the pantry, who married the wonderful John-Paul, from one of the wealthiest families in town and they have 3 wonderful children. Second, there is Tess, Will and Felicity. Tess and Will are married with a little boy and Felicity is Tess's cousin and closet friend. And lastly, there's Rachel, Grandmother of Jacob, and the mother of Rob who is married to Lauren. All three families have ties to the same town, all three families have an interesting story, and all three of these families are going to experience life altering changes because of one another. And just when you think that the story has reached its' climax, you'll be saying to yourself, "OMG!" Liane Moriarty's writing is kind of light and airy, like you'd find in a good "Chick Lit" book. (I haven't really heard much about 'Chick lit' these days either, does it still exist?!). BUT, just when you think that the story will be a "light" read, the story teasing you along to a place you THINK it's going, Liane pulls the rug right from under you, and she doesn't stop there. This "light" read turns into such a great read with twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. A story much more complex then you'd think at its humble beginning. Definitely a book I would recommend to almost anyone who enjoys their fiction with a mystery and a bit of Tupperware mixed in! I will now be reading more of Liane Moriarty! This book was her debut novel, which became a #1 hit in the UK back in 2013. She now has 6 more books under her belt, one of which, Truly Madly Guilty, was published this year. Just make sure you put The Husband's Secret on your TBR list!!! 5 stars from this Chick! *P.S. Something to keep in mind when reading The Husband's Secret... there are a lot of characters that Liane throws at you right from the start. With out any "formal" introductions, early chapters seem to jump right into the middle of a story that you don't know anything about, or the people that are involved. At first, I found it confusing and was trying to sort out who these people were. Eventually you'll see that there are three separate families and it will not seem confusing any longer. You'll be able to follow these "separate" stories seamlessly. Keep a list of characters if you need to at first, but don't let this "complication" deter you from the story. READ IT!

Although, initially I had difficulty getting to know and understand the characters of this story as they were first presented, once I became accustomed to the author's writing style, I was completely drawn in to this deep and intriguing story. The story weaves through the everyday lives of several people who live in, or are part of, a small community in Australia. They are all connected to each other, in some way, through the Catholic school that they either attended as children, work for or volunteer in as adults, or currently have children attending. The author developed her characters so well, that the reader ultimately begins to know each one intimately and in a way, becomes part of their inner thinking processes, thereby, understanding the motives for the things each character says, and does. The story's plot revolves around a letter written by Cecelia's husband that was to be opened in the event of his death. She accidentally finds the letter while looking for information pertaining to the Berlin Wall for her daughter. When she asks her husband about the letter, it is clear that he does not want her to read it; however, because of that, she decides to read it anyway... A pivotal character in the story is the PE teacher, who once was a student at the school himself, during which, in his high school years, was romantically involved with two girls; one, now a married, but separated woman, and the other, was murdered by an unknown assailant during the time he was dating her. The case was never solved, prior to this time. All of the characters are intrinsically linked, in some way, to this event. A symbolic reference to the Berlin Wall is mentioned throughout the book, which, in itself, seems to be an underlying theme and references the divisions that many of the characters have to others, and/or to many of the events that have occurred in their lives. The concept of the school links them together as a whole, but the events of their lives becomes the "wall" that separates them. The book is well written, exciting, well developed, and most definitely keeps the reader interested and intrigued throughout. This book is highly recommended and is currently on the NYTimes best seller list.

This book I could not put down, I could not wait to get back to it to carry on reading. Writing at its best, the different relationships woven into each other, each character so brilliantly described one feels one knows them personally. I was totally submerged into the story. Very thought provoking, and yes, we do have choices in life. Superb Book! Happy to say, for me this was the first book of that author and I already ordered two more...

Si dice che il minimo battito d’ali di una farfalla sia in grado di provocare un uragano dall’altra parte del mondo. Questa è la magia dell'effetto farfalla, la stessa magia che si apprezza sulla copertina e all'interno di questo libro di Liane Moriarty in cui tre donne si trovano di punto in bianco ad affrontare una vita che non corrisponde affatto ai canoni che si erano imposte, ai valori fondamentali e alle credenze su cui avevano fondato il proprio mondo. La storia si sviluppa dapprima lentamente ma ben presto, come l'effetto farfalla, il dipanarsi dell'intreccio costringe le protagoniste ad affrontare una serie di eventi che sconvolgeranno la loro vita. Viene inevitabile pensare a come le azioni di ogni personaggio, fossero state diverse, avrebbero influenzato il corso della storia. Mistero, bugie e verità indicibili sono gli ingredienti di questo libro che scorre come un fiume in piena, dalla trama sempre credibile, dallo stile letterario ricco ma mai pedante. Il finale è pieno di tensione. Niente è come sembra. E' il primo libro di Lianne Moriarty che leggo ma non sarà certo l'ultimo.

I absolutely loved this story - it is a real page turner and I ended up having a couple of late nights because I wanted to find out more. It is well-written, has interesting characters and has a good storyline. Cecelia Fitzpatrick is happily married to John-Paul so when she discovers a letter for her to only be opened in the event of his death, she is torn whether to open the letter. Also central to the story are Tess O'Leary, whose marriage has just broken up, and Rachel Crowley who is still grieving the loss of her only daughter after 28 years. I felt that it was important to mention Tess and Rachel as I did wonder at the start whether I was reading a different book to what I thought I had purchased, but it soon becomes apparent that they are linked; they just don't realise it at the start of the story. You can really feel for the characters throughout the story - Cecelia who does not know what to do for the best when it comes to John-Paul's letter, Tess who is trying to come to terms with her own husband's revelation and Rachel who is still angry at the circumstances of her daughter's death. There is someone to relate to. The story does a good job of creating suspense and making you feel sympathetic towards the main characters. I will admit that I had suspected the twist (as in, it was one of a few possibilities I had considered once I was getting into the story), but it did not make it any less shocking and the twist is established about halfway through so there are plenty of things happening before the story's climax. A great read which only took a few days to read and was extremely difficult to put down. I recommend this to anyone who likes something a bit intriguing but not especially complicated. I will be looking to see what else the author has to offer.

最近こちらで評価の高い本、一般的に売れている本を何冊か読んで「。。。。」と思ったことが数度。 どうも読書が楽しめなかったのですが。 これはもう最初から入り込めました。 同じくらいの年代の4人の主婦の、ありそうな日常（でもありそうで、実はなさそうなんですが） それが微妙に交錯しつつ話は展開してゆきます。 子供のこと、夫婦のこと、自分自身のこと、 なんかわかる～。（孫の話題にはさすがについていけなかったんですけど） やっぱりその年代その年代にあった本ってあるんですね。 あとは文章のリズムとか展開が中だるみがない。 4人登場人物がいるので、誰かしらに何かが起こるところが中だるみをなくす効果があるような。 終わり方も最近読んだ本の中では一番「ありがち」でもなく「そんな突飛なおわりかた？」でもなく。 英語も難しい言い回しとか文章の美しさを追求しているというわけでもないので 読みやすかったです。

Until last month, I had never heard of Liane Moriarty. Her book, "the husband's secret", was on a list of the best books for 2015 . The idea seemed original so I bought it and couldn't put it down until the end. When Cecilia finds in her attic a closed envelope addressed to her by her husband with the specific demand that she doesn't open it until his death, it's like she has found the Pandora's box. From this moment, things are going to evolve in a way which would have been different otherwise... I love the way Liane Moriarty described the thoughts of each character, as if we were in their minds . I found it very well built and deeply interesting. I also loved the fact that it's situated in Australia, as Liane Moriarty is Australian, which was a change from what I usually read and made me discover new ways of life. I recommend it and bought two other books by this same writer.