The Husband's Secret in Aussie Readers

May 15, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, contemporary-fiction, mystery, 2013-release, own-read

Cecilia Fitzpatrick was a woman with spectacular organisational skills – she was a successful Tupperware consultant, an active member of the P&C at her daughters’ school, St Angela’s, a devoted mother of three girls and a wife to John-Paul whom she loved and had done so for fifteen years. So when she was searching the attic for a piece of rock from the Berlin Wall for Esther (whose interest had just switched from the Titanic to the knocking down of the Berlin Wall), coming across a sealed envelo Cecilia Fitzpatrick was a woman with spectacular organisational skills – she was a successful Tupperware consultant, an active member of the P&C at her daughters’ school, St Angela’s, a devoted mother of three girls and a wife to John-Paul whom she loved and had done so for fifteen years. So when she was searching the attic for a piece of rock from the Berlin Wall for Esther (whose interest had just switched from the Titanic to the knocking down of the Berlin Wall), coming across a sealed envelope with her name on it in John-Paul’s writing, with To be opened only in the event of my death on the outside, she wasn’t at all sure what to think. But she most certainly didn’t think that opening this seemingly very old envelope would be capable of changing her life forever.

Tess O’Leary and Felicity were cousins – their mothers were twins – and had been as close as sisters all their lives. They did everything together, so when Tess married Will it wasn’t unusual for Felicity to continue to be around most of the time. Liam was six years old, and as adorable as could be – all three of them idolised him, and Felicity was like his second mother. The day Tess’ life fell apart began like any other, but ended with Liam and her on a plane from Melbourne to Sydney to stay with Tess’ mother, Lucy.

Rachel Crowley was an elderly lady, living on her own with her memories of the past to keep her company – she also had her son Rob, daughter-in-law Lauren and adorable two-year-old grandson Jacob visit fairly often; in fact it was Jacob who kept her spirits alive. She worked as secretary at St Angela’s school and enjoyed the interaction with the children most days.

But when the lives of Cecilia, Tess and Rachel collided, the repercussions were great. Secrets that had been hidden for many years were suddenly teetering on the edge of an abyss – would they topple? And if they did, what would happen to them all?

What an amazing book! I thank everyone who recommended this one to me – I’m so glad I’ve read it! The three storylines worked so well together, the linking of each story was great. The plot was intriguing with an incredibly fast pace and the emotions were very real. I have no hesitation in recommending The Husband’s Secret to all.
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Oct 04, 2013 Sheree rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, contemporary-fiction, own, womens-fiction, aussie-author, read-in-2013

The Husband's Secret is an unputdownable look at the human psyche, the complexities of conscience, right and wrong. There's a slow peeling back of layers, puzzle pieces gradually forming a complete picture.

Funny, poignant, shocking, heartbreaking, The Husband's Secret is all this and so much more. Liane Moriarty's characterisation is superb, and likable or not, the characters are relatable in their strength's and flaws.

Three women; Cecelia her ordered life shattered by her husband's devastating ...more

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Nov 21, 2013 Kathryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, audiobooks, recommended-by-people-on-gr, australian-authors, reading-list-2014, 4-5-stars

I've really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the author's way of telling the story from the viewpoints of 3 women, with seemingly un-related lives, but as the story progresses we find out how they are connected. I listened to this as an audiobook, so I'm not sure whether this added to my experience, or whether I'd have enjoyed it just as much reading it normally...

It's interesting that I enjoyed this so much because I couldn't really identify with any of the 3 women and didn't even like them very mu I've really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the author's way of telling the story from the viewpoints of 3 women, with seemingly un-related lives, but as the story progresses we find out how they are connected. I listened to this as an audiobook, so I'm not sure whether this added to my experience, or whether I'd have enjoyed it just as much reading it normally...

It's interesting that I enjoyed this so much because I couldn't really identify with any of the 3 women and didn't even like them very much. I thought it was clever of the author to develop the characters so that we saw different sides of them when seeing the story through their eyes and when seeing them through the other characters' eyes. Cecilia is a highly organised and civic-minded individual who I liked when seeing her from her own perspective. From other people's points of view, she appears bossy and controlling and a bit snobbish. Tess and Rachel I liked when I saw them from the perspective of others, but not when we saw their individual stories unfolding. Rachel seems petty and rude to a daughter-in-law who can't do anything right and I really don't like her very much (although someone in the book commented that she seemed like a nice lady) and Tess appears aloof and tough as nails in her internal monologues, but, like Rachel, she also appears nicer in her interactions with others. Despite (or perhaps, because of?) all this, I felt the character development was well done and very believable.

I won't say anything specific about the plot for fear of giving too much away, but I loved it - there were more dimensions to it than I was expecting which also helped to flesh out the characters and make them believable. My only misgiving was that the characters were always thinking of, or engaging in, sex - some of which was relevant, but some of which could have achieved the same purpose with less descriptive and overt references.

I'm still tossing up whether to make this a 4.5- or 5-star read. I'll go with 4.5 stars at present and see how I feel about it after a while! ...more

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May 04, 2015 Laura Rittenhouse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this piece of contemporary drama. There are 3 main female characters whose stories are told as they intertwine and interplay. Tess, a woman whose husband falls in love with her cousin - a tryst complicated by the fact that the 3 of them own their own business; Rachael, a grandmother of a darling boy who has become her life - more so as her daughter died in her teens, a tragedy from which Rachael has never recovered; Cecelia, a loving mother, mad-keen Tupperware distributor and the devote ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Robin rated it liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book, but there were some things about it that also annoyed me. The positives: humour,believable characters (the author has relationships down pat) and an engrossing story. The negatives: The protagtonist, Cecilia, takes far too long to open the letter - who would have waited that long in real life? Not me, that's for sure. I wanted to scream, 'Open the goddamn letter already!'
To my mind, the opening of the letter was being dragged out deliberately to maintain an unrealistic sense ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Renee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

review to come. definately a fan now.

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Mar 11, 2017 Tango rated it liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed the characters and plot but found the ending was a bit too contrived, particularly the epilogue.

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Dec 12, 2017 Dzintra aka Ingrid rated it it was amazing

What a read! My friend gave me this book after she had finished it and it took all my might to NOT turn the pages to see what was happening! Many twists and turns in this one!

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