The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

A simple letter, but was it really that simple?  A letter written long ago.  A letter indicating it was not allowed to be opened.  A letter that made John Paul’s wife, Cecelia, quite curious.

What harm would be done by opening the letter?  Cecelia was dying to open it, but the message  John-Paul wrote on the front of the envelope said it could not be opened until his death.  When Cecilia asked her husband about it, he said he had been sentimental when he wrote it, and that she should just put it away.  Obediently Cecilia, the good wife, put it away without opening it. 

Hints about the contents of the letter will peak your curiosity as it did Cecelia’s.  When she did open the letter and found out what John-Paul had written, she couldn't believe it. How could this be true? Cecelia the perfect wife and fixer of everything couldn't fix this. 

Cecelia was the perfect wife, mother, and town citizen.  She knew everyone in town, and she knew everything about the city residents.  She remembered Tess when she came back to her childhood town because her husband didn't love her any more.  Rachel was also part of Cecelia's circle.  Rachel had a few heartbreaking situations in the past.  But…what Cecelia found in that letter was going to be more than a heartbreak for Rachel. 

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET was focused on this letter, Tess, Rachel and Cecilia.  The letter’s secret had to do with an unknown connection between Tess, Cecelia, and Rachel and something that happened in the past that linked them together and something in the present that caused more heartache and pain.  

When the book begins, you will think it is going to be a book about a husband’s affair, but it is more sinister than that.  It actually is a tragic secret. 

THE HUSBAND’S SECRET is about more than keeping secrets,  though.  It deals with a parent’s love for his/her child and about the lengths parents go to in order to protect their children. It deals with right and wrong, and it deals with the thought - do we really know our spouse or significant other?

Don’t be mislead into thinking it is simply a book about secrets between a husband and his wife.  It is far more than that.  It is a book about secrets whether they are large or small and about our decisions to reveal the secret or to not reveal the secret.

THE HUSBAND’S SECRET is an excellent read that will keep you pondering life, pondering the decisions we make, and thinking about the secrets most of us have.  What is your secret?  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.