The Husband’s Secret

Originally published January 2014

If you found a letter from your husband that you weren’t supposed to find unless he had died, would you go ahead and read it anyway?

Be careful—your husband’s secret may just change your life. And not in a “I’ve left you $20 million in a Swiss bank account” kind of way.

Author Liane Moriarty (also of “Three Wishes” and “What Alice Forgot” fame) weaves a terrific tale of secrets, family, grief and desperation set in Australia’s suburbs. Cecilia Fitzpatrick thinks she has it all—three lovely daughters, respected role as boss lady of the PTA, a Tupperware career that’s off the chain and an amazing husband in Jean-Paul. When Jean-Paul is on business in New York City, Cecilia stumbles upon a letter she was never meant to see. The mere mention of the letter sends Jean-Paul into a frenzy and Cecelia’s life as she knows it is over.

News Flash! Liane Moriarty’s newest book, “Big Little Lies” is on bookshelves on July 29. If you enjoy “The Husband’s Secret,” you will love this one too. Trust me.

Tess O’Leary doesn’t fare much better when her husband drops a bomb on her—one that sends her back to her mother’s house and in the path of an ex—Connor Whitby. Problem is, Connor may or may not have killed someone. Maybe not the best choice for someone contemplating the end of a marriage.

Cecilia and Tess, unbeknownst to them, have pasts, presents and futures that are intertwined. And one man’s secret has repercussions that impact not just his life but the lives of everyone around them. The plot pulls the reader in quickly and doesn’t let you go until you get to the end.

Here’s the fat the reader is left to chew on: Just how far are you willing to go to protect your family? Your life? And are your actions justified even when it means someone else suffers? Never gets closure? I also was left wondering what exactly I would write to my husband in a letter he would find after my passing…

“Dear Mr. Litzy,

If you are reading this, then I’ve died. So I suppose now it’s OK to tell you I sometimes knew about one of the kids’ bad grades before you did. I also loved a Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Bought a lot of those. And yeah, I thought Kyle Chandler was a hottie. Sorry.

Love, Litzy”

In “The Husband’s Secret,” Cecelia is asked the unthinkable—and her inaction has devastating consequences. Some secrets are meant to be kept.