General Fiction | Book Chatter

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
By Colleen Oakley
Berkley, 9781984806482, May 25, 2021, 368pp.

The Short of It:

This book was everything I wanted and needed in a story.

The Rest of It:

Piper Parrish lives on a tiny island in the Chesapeake Bay. She is well-loved by the island inhabitants and is overall, a very happy person. She works a few jobs and spends her days going back and forth between those obligations. But no matter how she keeps busy, she is constantly reminded of the one morning her husband Tom went out on his crab boat and never returned. The boat capsized, and his body was not found.

Anders Caldwell is a struggling journalist trying to garner a little bit of a following by hosting his own podcast and writing about local events. One such event takes him to Frick island. Frick is small, less than 100 people call the place home and it’s disappearing. Literally disappearing due to climate change and erosion. Anders decides to spend some time on the island to get the scoop but what he finds if much more interesting.

You see, Piper’s husband never returned but in her mind, he’s never left and is still by her side. The entire island goes along with it and Anders decides that this, THIS is his next big story. The story that will take his podcast to new levels and he’s not wrong.

Oh my word, what a book. I loved this book to pieces. It’s a sweet story about love, loss and moving on with your life. I could SEE these characters so clearly. Their quirkiness, their sense of humor but mostly the love they have for Piper. You could call this story a romance, but it’s so much more. It’s about community and loyalty and watching out for the ones you love. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy. It comes out this week! I highly recommend it.

Source: Review copy sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Husband’s Secret
By Liane Moriarty
Berkley, 9780451490049, 2017, 496pp.

The Short of It:

Liane Moriarty has become one of my favorite authors. I discovered her books during the pandemic. She knows how to grab my attention and The Husband’s Secret delivered just what I needed.

The Rest of It:

As with many of her books, Moriarty’s stories often incorporate many characters and story lines that come together nicely but there is usually a main thread to pull you in and in The Husband’s Secret, Cecilia finds an envelope that is addressed to her, written in her husband’s hand. The instructions on the envelope ask that it be opened in the event of his death. His death? She wants desperately to read it, but when she mentions the letter to her husband John-Paul, who is very much alive, he begs her not to. Inside of that envelope is a secret he’s been keeping that will forever change their lives.

What I really enjoy about these novels is that Moriarty always manages to include the neighborhood in the story. The other characters are neighbors or friends or people you see at the school drop off. Their lives seem on the surface to be pretty perfect, but they are presented with challenges and not-so-pretty moments. Definitely not the shiny, sparkly moments captured on say, Instagram.

In addition to Cecilia’s plight above, we have Tess and Will who are happily married, or so they thought, until Tess’s cousin admits to being in love with her husband. We also have Rachel, a women who has had to deal with the grief of her daughter’s murder. A murder that was never solved and now her only son is taking his wife and son out of the country and Rachel will be without the distraction of her darling grandson, Jacob. How will she cope?

The Husband’s Secret was a satisfying read. The characters are so well-drawn and as a reader, you get the feeling that you are listening to a private moment between two people and I just love that. I think I have about three Moriarty novels left for me to read but so far, this is one of my favorites.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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