The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
I saw that this book made it to many blogger's Top 10 in 2013. I had read her other book, What Alice Forgot (see review here) and liked it okay, thinking it'd be a stronger story if it was shorter.
I have the exact feedback for this book - at almost 400 pages, it was just a bit too long. I do like the story better than What Alice Forgot, as I enjoyed discovering how the three seemingly unrelated characters intertwined in the story. There are also many "what if" questions that made you wonder how you'd react, such as - [POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD] Would you open a letter written by your husband now or later, if you were supposed to open it upon his death? What would you do if your daughter was murdered and the killer was never found? What if your husband and best friend fall in love? [/SPOILER]
This book is still a bit chicklity and once again, it reconfirms that it's not really my genre (I don't know why I keep trying). Not the worst I'd read though. But like most books in this genre, it was a little predictable and I was able to guess the husband's secret early. Thus I think some tighter editing and maybe a little less foreshadowing would turn this into a better read.
3.5 Stars.
Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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I read this recently and almost agree with you. I actually liked the length and found the whole thing gripping, but I agree it was a bit predicable. Our book group had a great discussion about it, but we found that the more we talked about it, the more problems we discovered. It sounds as though I shouldn't bother to read 'What Alice Forgot'
ReplyDeleteI can see this as a good book club choice with all the what-if! What Alice Forgot still got pretty good reviews - I think if you like this one you'd prob like Alice. My bigggest problem with both is the length. I think both can be more concise.
DeleteI couldn't remember if I read What Alice Forgot, but it was Turn of Mind I read instead.
ReplyDeleteWell Husbands Secret was a DNF for me and I was waiting to see what you thought, a touch chicklity, yup, you have confirmed, I won't be trying again, so now I will read the spoiler, lol.
I read both Alice and Turn of Mind around the same time, so it can get confusing (talk about messing up/losing your mind lol). Yeah definitely chicklity - I can give you more spoilers in an email if you want - trying NOT to get too spoily in the reviews since I know some don't like it...
DeleteThis was almost a DNF for me, but ended up with a 2.5/5 rating. I classified it as a few soap opera episodes. Not my thing. I do, however, still look forward to What Alice Forgot.
ReplyDeleteCurious to hear what you think of Alice! I was toying between 3 to 3.5 for this one. I bumped it up to 3.5 just because it made me think what I'd do in any of the situations...
DeleteThe Husband's Secret is a compelling, thought provoking novel, inspired by an article about real life deathbed confessions and their surprising consequences. An intriguing examination of conscience, love, betrayal and forgiveness this novel will stay with you well after the last page has been turned.
ReplyDeleteMica
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