The Husband's Secret

Just finished this new up-and-coming novel by Liane Moriatry. In preparation for the holiday weekend, I ordered eight of the most highly-promoted new books, and this one was a stellar read. I whipped through it in a day. This is a puzzle-box of a relationship novel, set in Australia, which is a refreshing change. A lot of their daily lives are the same, but some things are new and refreshing, including the reversal of seasons.

The story is told through the point of view of three women whose lives end up intertwining. Cecelia, housewife and mother of three, with an absentminded husband, is the one who first discoverers her husband's secret.

But there is also Tess, advertising executive with a small business founded by her, her husband, and her cousin Felicity, who had grown up with Tess as if they were sisters instead of cousins. Her husband also has a secret.

And then there is Rachel, a grandmother with a grandson who has brought her back to life after her son married, but who still aches, after twenty eight years, to the loss of her daughter. The death of Janie, all those years back, plays into the finale but not at all in the way one might believe. And the justice of the end is satisfying, yet in many ways, quite unjust.

Definitely worth a read, I can see this one becoming the season's new "Gone Girl".