Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty



When the most important person to you in the world asks you not to do something, would you do it anyway? Would you trust that person enough? Evidently Cecelia Fitzpatrick couldn't, and it took just a little odd behavior by her husband, John-Paul, to open up his "in the event of my death letter" over his objections, and thus seal her family's fate.

This engaging story by Liane Moriarty brings together three families. The Crowleys lost their daughter Janie to a murderer when she was just 17 years old. Years later, Rachel, her mother, is still mired in depression and guilt. Tess Curtis, whose best friend in the world is her cousin Felicity, and Tess' husband Will, are caught in a love and life triangle that shows signs of ripping apart their entire family. Caught up in this is Connor Whitby, Tess' ex-boyfriend and a key player in the Crowley family saga. And then we have the Fitzpatricks with their three daughters, and Cecelia, their perfect mother, torn by her desire to do the right thing, yet finding out that the doing right thing will change her life forever.

An especially intriguing part of the book was the epilogue, filled with what ifs and glimpses of a future that never will be that leaves the reader with  a sense of the road not traveled. It's an excellent plot device.

A tangled story of lives in a North Sydney suburb, The Husband's Secret tests the loyalty and trust between husbands and wives,  mothers and their children, friends and relatives and asks the ultimate question. How far would you go to protect everything you hold dear?