The Husband's Secret
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Question about Story if you already read the book (Spoiler Alert!)
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I joined Goodreads today because of this thread. It is incredibly refreshing to read such well written, insightful opinions and thoughts. I look forward to contributing to this amazing group!
I have two questions that are haunting me. I was under the impression that a complete autopsy of a homicide victim is a legal requirement. How is it that the family's request for a partial autopsy was allowed, therefore preventing them from discovering Janie's condition and the actual cause of her death? Also, I don't remember if they ever mentioned whether Janie's eyes had signs of petechiae, or tiny bleeds due to the pressure of strangulation. If this was missing, wouldn't that have alerted the ME that something more was going on? (LOL, I watch too much CSI...)
Mary-jo wrote: "I have two questions that are haunting me. I was under the impression that a complete autopsy of a homicide victim is a legal requirement. How is it that the family's request for a partial autopsy ..."Mary-Jo, I can't address your first question as it has been too long since I read the book and don't remember anything about an autopsy or partial autopsy.
Petechiae is not always present in a strangulation and can also indicate other things as well.
I really liked this book and was really surprised to read so many negative reviews! With regard to the story, I felt a little unsure about Will and Tess. For starters, I think she should have told Will about the affair- if he could fall in love with another woman, how could he be upset with Tess for sleeping with another man? I, personally feel, the weight of such a big secret in a marriage is too heavy. I mean, he came clean when he fell in love with Felicity right?
Olivia wrote: "Several times it was mentioned that Cecilia witnessed the little Spider-Man. It was never talked about more than a passing thought. Why were the events of that day not talked about, and why was it ..."Little Spider Man was hit by a vehicle, like her own child.
Tess' mom cheating was never stated, merely implied- I just put it together now w/ everyone's comments. Well done by the writer. There's been WAY too much emphasis on the legalities of JP re: Janie's death in the discussions here. The author intentionally doesn't go into that- the point is to give you the paths not taken.
Laura wrote: "That is interesting because I would think that even if you refused a blood transfusion, the person would still be in trouble because they put you in that predicament. They caused the bleeding and t..."I agree completely.
My biggest question from this book is how JPs mother magically knew that cecilia now knew about JPs murderous past. We know that she knew about the murder because of the rosary beads. We know that JP never discussed it with his mother.Why did the mother suddenly bring it up and unsubtly tell Cecilia to protect the children and not report her son? How did she know that cecilia now knew??
If I recall, there was some dialogue between them when they were in the kitchen that gave it away...also, Cecilia wasn't acting the same way. Or maybe she really couldn't confirm that Cecilia KNEW, but was being a defensive mother protecting her child based on where Cecilia may have been going w/ her conversation.
I found an interesting theme woven through just about all the women characters, what a mother will do/sacrifice for her child. Interesting because for me it raised the question: can the effort to 'protect' the child be as damaging as the husband's secrets? JP's mother knew his secret and kept it.
Tess stays with Will for their child.
Cecilia keeps JP's secret to protect their children.
Rachel holds on to Janies memory (and her grief) so tightly she sort of sacrifices her son.
Felicity's mother excuses and dismisses her daughters behavior (she couldn't help it, it was love).
Rebecca wrote: "I found an interesting theme woven through just about all the women characters, what a mother will do/sacrifice for her child. Interesting because for me it raised the question: can the effort to '..."I found an interesting theme woven through just about all the women characters, what a mother will do/sacrifice for her child. Interesting because for
me it raised the question: can the effort to 'protect' the child be as damaging as the husband's secrets?
JP's mother knew his secret and kept it.
Tess stays with Will for their child.
Cecilia keeps JP's secret to protect their children.
Rachel holds on to Janies memory (and her grief) so tightly she sort of sacrifices her son.
Felicity's mother excuses and dismisses her daughters behavior (she couldn't help it, it was love).
YES! Excellent observation and a great point as well.
It also struck me as odd that Ceclia was a Tupperware queen. Tupperware is such a dated craze! But i think its to symbolize her ability to compatmentalize all the pieces of herself, and tidely pack them away on a pretty and organized shelf.
Is this discussion ongoing? I hope so! Just finished the book and loved it. Not usually a type of book I pick up but the librarian was so excited for me to read it....and she was right!!I really liked the book, sort of a “messy bitch who loves drama” version of crime and punishment. Even if you get away with it, you never get away with it.
One thing that is hard for me to wrap my head around is that there seem to be hints that JP and Janie are soulmates or at least would be really good together. But he strangled her...even if not with enough force and duration to kill a healthy person he still was violent. I thought considering his kind demeanor otherwise it was a tiny bit of a stretch, but not outside the realm of possibility.
My favorite scene is pretty innocuous. It’s from Tess’s perspective when she first meets Cecila. And cecila comes off as this confident, annoying, empty headed, exhausting parrot who just DOESNT. STOP. TALKING. But we’ve already been in Cecilia’s head and we know she is a complicated, thoughtful, kind person well aware of her faults. The author perfectly showed how we only get small snippets of who someone is and really have no idea what is going on in their lives or hearts.
One other small thing, authors love to add little Easter eggs, even just for themselves. The second I read that Polly lost and arm I thought “oh the pirate theme!!” Because you know, Captain Hook. Thought it was a funny little detail.
Chelsea wrote: "I actually found the whole Tess story incomplete. Why was it even in the book? I kept expecting it to tie in more closely with the Celeste/Rachel storyline and it never really did.We discover fai..."
Agree with you about how the Tess story was not integrated with the Cecilia and Rachel. It was a major flaw. Agree with all the points you made.
It's interesting how divided opinion (and ratings) are for this book. I'm one of the readers who really liked it, but I can completely understand why there are so many different reactions to it. I love the author's books, mainly because it explores the lives of people who feel very real. I've enjoyed reading through all the comments, because like another commenter said, it makes you think about what you may have missed/different subplots etc.
What was the yellow pill that Janie took?
The yellow pill that Janie took was a birth control tablet. She was prepared to give up her virginity to the boy she “selected”, and Rachel found the “contraceptive tablets” when she eventually took the bed down in Janie’s room.
I felt this book was incredibly written and I enjoyed it, but I am left feeling empty with this ending! Why was Tess and Will crying during their intimate moment at the end? What happened to JP? What did Rachel do with the information about JP? Did Lauren and Rob decide to stay in Melbourne? Plus Lucy was such a mysterious character I wanted to learn more about, I wanted to learn more about Tess and Lucy.
Amanda wrote: "I felt this book was incredibly written and I enjoyed it, but I am left feeling empty with this ending! Why was Tess and Will crying during their intimatemoment at the end? What happened to JP? What did Rachel do with the information about JP? Did Lauren and Rob decide to stay in Melbourne? Plus Lucy was
such a mysterious character I wanted to learn more about, I wanted to learn more about Tess and Lucy.
It has been a few years since I read the book, so some details, and yes, names, escape me. My opinion, Tess and Will are crying (I don't remember the scene) because they are back together for the sake of their son rather than their love for each other. I think Rachel is Janie's mother, correct? She doesn't know that JP is guilty. She has a dream that helps her with that ghost thing, "closure".
Rob and Lauren-I can't remember.
Lucy-was she Tess's mom? Yes, she was an interesting character.
I confess, I felt disgusted with the book after I read it. My first comment in this thread was that I didn't feel emotional connection with any of the characters, which is ludicrous because I was pretty enraged at almost all of them over their choices. Then I started reading other people's experiences and insights of the book and the dams burst and my experience of the book blossomed.
I think it is time for me to reread and hopefully gain more.
Marie wrote: "well aware of her faults. The author perfectly showed how we only get small snippets of who someone is and really have no idea what is going on in theirlives or hearts.
One other small thing, authors love to add little Easter eggs, even just for themselves. The second I read that Polly lost and arm I thought “oh the pirate
theme!!” Because you know, Captain Hook. Thought it was a funny little detail."
To the first point-that is LM's strong point.
Hmmm, her name is Polly-Polly want a cracker/parrot on a pirate's shoulder? I don't remember the party theme, btw.
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Regarding Janie's death, was there no autopsy to show the cause of death? A post mortem is always done when there is a death under suspicious circumstances.