The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

“For my wife Cecelia Fitzpatrick.  To be opened only in the event of my death.”

What would you do if you found this letter addressed to you in a box of tax papers?  What if you found it while your husband was still alive?  Would you open it?  Australian author Liane Moriarty’s latest novel explores this question as she shares the lives of three women–Cecelia, Rachel and Tess–the secrets they discover and the way these secrets weave their lives together.  One big secret is definitely inside the letter and spoiler alert:  she opens it.  The other secrets are revealed as the book progresses. Some I could see coming and others surprised me.

The Husband’s Secret is a good summer read that at first seems light and interesting, but has a very discussable depth (think book group) to its moral.  The storyline isn’t original, but the way Moriarty surprises the reader with the connections between characters, and the way she plays the ‘what if’ and ‘if only she knew this’ game at the end of the book is clever.  Don’t miss the epilogue!

If you have ever been in the right place at the right time, or even if you have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, this book is for you.

The Falmouth Memorial Library owns a copy of The Husband’s Secret.