General Fiction | Book Chatter

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.

Good Company
By Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Ecco, 9780062876003, April 6, 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Marriage for some, is like walking a tightrope without a net.

The Rest of It:

When Julian and Flora first met, they were both struggling artists in the process of finding themselves. Scraping to get by was never enjoyable but there was something to be said for blood, sweat and tears and being able to build something together meant something. Good Company, a small theatre group born out of Julian’s dreams to run his own theatre took center stage for many years but when they each started to have their own successes with acting and then had a beautiful daughter of their own, they moved to Los Angeles and there, the romantic lure of acting wasn’t as shiny as it was when they were newly married yet still an important part of who they were.

The benefit to being in Los Angeles is that Flora is once again close to her dear friends Margo and David. Margo, also an actress but much more recognizable than Flora had ever been, is the friend that always grounds Flora no matter what is going on. Years and years of friendship and Margot’s own challenges with her husband who suffered a stroke, do nothing but bond them tighter together. That’s why Flora finds herself completely lost when a secret comes out and she’s not sure if she can turn to Margot for support.

This is one of those dishy reads that you zip through. There is a lot of mature drama. Marriage difficulties, insecurities, trying to keep up appearances for your adult child, the threat of an empty nest, success and what happens to a relationship when it’s been strained. Flora and Julian’s story is intermingled with that of Margot’s and I found it to be a good balance. This isn’t an “escape” read because it’s too rooted in real life for that feeling to overcome you but I didn’t mind spending time with these characters and felt that the ending was appropriately realistic.

I think I felt the same way about Sweeney’s previous book, The Nest. A good read but probably not one that will stick with me. I would have liked the story to go a bit deeper into Flora’s character. She had a lot going on and was presented with some very difficult choices. I would have appreciated more of her.

I don’t usually give starred ratings here on the blog, but I do on GoodReads and I’d give this one a solid three stars if that helps.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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