The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty Audiobook Review

the husband's secretBook: The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty, Penguin Audio, July 30, 2013

Book Info: Contemporary Fiction, Audiobook purchase. Running time: 13 hrs. 44 mins. Read by: Caroline Lee. Also available in HC, 416 pages from Amy Einhorn/Putnam.

More Info:  Goodreads | Audible | Amazon

In The Husband’s Secret we see how fragile life’s relationships are, and how the secrets we keep can tear a family apart. In this book, we follow three women in emotional upheaval whose lives intersect in surprising ways.

Cecilia Fitzpatrick is the stereotypical perfect wife and mother. She runs a successful Tupperware business, has an enviable marriage and 3 lovely daughters, and is the PTA president at her children’s school, St. Angela’s. One day she finds a letter addressed to her from her husband, to be opened upon his death. The catch is he’s still very much alive, and the contents of that letter will shatter their perfect family façade.

Tess O’Leary runs an advertising agency with her husband Will, and her childhood best friend Felicity. Will and Felicity confess that they’ve fallen in love, and Tess takes her and Will’s son Liam to Sydney to stay with her mother, and to attend St. Angela’s.

Rachel Crowley is the school secretary at St. Angela’s, and is grieving her daughter’s death, a murder that took place decades ago. She’s convinced she knows who the murderer is and sets out to prove it.

I picked up this book a few months ago and it didn’t really grab me at first so I put it aside. But I picked it up again and couldn’t put it down. All three stories resonated with me and I was eager to see how they would play out and the characters would impact each other’s lives.

The story makes you think about marital relationships, moral issues, and family dynamics while the mystery at the center impacts everyone involved. It’s a heavy read but not without humor, and I imagine it would make a great book club choice to debate the many ethical issues involved.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Caroline Lee. The book is set in Australia, mainly in Sydney, and Lee’s Australian accent made the setting come to life. At first I had trouble telling the three women’s stories apart, but as I got more into the story it was easier to follow. Lee gives each character their own personality and voice and makes you care about their plight. I really looked forward to listening to this one and was sad to see it end.

The Husband’s Secret is a little soapy but is an engrossing read. I’d recommend this as a vacation read or as a book-rut busting change of pace from YA. This is my first read by Liane Moriarty but it won’t be my last.

Here’s an audio clip from The Husband’s Secret performed by Caroline Lee:

Ornament

6 thoughts on “The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty Audiobook Review

  1. BermudaOnion says:

    I read another book by this author and loved it so I’m anxious to read more of her work. This sounds good even with the drama!

    1. Lucy says:

      I want to read What Alice Forgot next! I think you’ll enjoy this one, Kathy.

  2. Elizabeth says:

    I keep seeing this one, reading the summary, having my interest piqued, and then reading reviews and questioning if I’d really like it, after all. It’s mostly the multiple narrators I’m hung up on… is it really necessary to the story? I get really frustrated when multiple narrators aren’t done well, so maybe best to avoid for the time being.

    1. Lucy says:

      You know, I think the multi pov worked to the story’s advantage in this case. I ended up caring about each of the three main characters’ fates. It seems like this is one people love or hate though, so maybe grab it from the library if you decide to give it a go 🙂

  3. I’ve read good reviews about this one. It’s interesting how you mention that at first it didn’t grab you but you then gave it another chance. I think I’m going to do that with another audiobook that I put down after a few hours of listening.

  4. stacybuckeye says:

    I loved this one too. One of my favorite’s from last year.

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.