When I finished What Alice Forgot, I was undecided if I wanted to read more by Liane Moriarty. However, the next day The Husband's Secret popped up on my Overdrive queue. I figured it would be a quick read, and with rumors of a movie in the works, I thought I'd just go ahead and read it. The Husband's Secret tackles the strange tale of Cecelia, a picture-perfect mom who discovers a letter written by her husband years before. He intended for her to read after his death, since it reveals a life-altering secret. As Cecelia's ideal life comes crashing down around her, she tries to piece together her husband's past mistakes and figure out how to keep living life under the burden of the secret.
In the first few chapters, I had figured out what "the secret" was, so all that was left was to find out how Cecelia and her husband would move on with life. Much of the story is extremely contrived and rests on 3 women's lives intersecting at just the right moments. My biggest issue with the story line was the ending, where "the secret" comes out in the open. The resolution seems completely unrealistic given the serious nature of "the secret". I had a hard time believing any real human beings would let it play out that way given the characters' emotions that had been revealed throughout the book.
I'm disappointed this is the one of Moriarty's books that is being made into a movie. It's my least favorite of the 3 I've read. If you didn't love What Alice Forgot, I doubt you'll like this one. If you're just looking for a quick, light beach read, this could be entertaining enough. But don't buy it. This is definitely a library read!
Overall Rating: 2 stars
Content Warning: Like all of Moriarty's books, this one has quite a sprinkling of language, including quite a few f-words. There are some sexually suggestive scenes, but nothing graphic. "The secret" is a bit dark, and the event it refers to is described but isn't graphic.
Target Audience: Women looking for a light read with a bit of intrigue.
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