The Husband's Secret

Liane Moriarty’s novel The Husband’s Secret was published in 2013. It is classified as a thriller, though it could also be classified as women’s fiction because of its focus on women’s life experiences and relationships. Moriarty is perhaps best known for her novels Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, both of which have been adapted for television. Moriarty's other well-known works include The Chaperone (2012), Truly Madly Guilty (2016), and Apples Never Fall (2021). The Husband’s Secret has been purchased by CBS, and Blake Lively has signed on to star in the television adaptation. The novel appeared on both The New York Times and the USA Today best-seller lists.

Plot Summary

Three women cope with moments of crisis as their lives intersect in unexpected ways. Cecilia Fitzpatrick finds a mysterious old letter written to her by her husband and intended to be opened only after his death. Tess’s husband, Will, and cousin, Felicity, confess that they’ve fallen in love with each other. Rachel Crowley’s son and daughter-in-law announce that they’re moving from Sydney to New York for a job opportunity. When Tess returns to Sydney to take care of her injured mother and give Will and Felicity time to test out their affair, she runs into Connor Whitby, an ex-boyfriend who works at her son’s new school. She and Connor rekindle their relationship. Also working at the school is Rachel, who believes Connor murdered her daughter, Janie, when they were teenagers in 1984. Meanwhile, Cecilia has opened the mysterious letter, in which her husband, John-Paul, confesses that he killed Janie Crowley.

As each woman copes with crisis and how to respond, the women’s lives intertwine in their small Sydney suburb. Rachel, distraught over her grandson’s upcoming move to America, impulsively attempts to hit and kill Connor Whitby with her car. She misses him, but she does hit and maim Cecilia’s youngest daughter, Polly. Polly survives but loses her right arm. When confronted with Rachel’s grief and guilt, Cecilia confesses John-Paul’s involvement in Janie’s death. Rachel chooses not to tell the police because she doesn’t wish to deprive Cecilia’s daughters of their father. Tess, conflicted but wanting the best home life for her son, chooses to return to her husband, who has failed to consummate his affair and has come to Sydney to win her back.

An epilogue reveals that Tess and Will stay together and have a second child, that Felicity marries a handsome Frenchman, and most importantly, that Janie Crowley had Marfan syndrome and died not of strangulation but rather of an aortic aneurysm that could have been averted had she remembered to attend her doctor’s appointment that day. The Epilogue solidifies the novel’s theme of interconnectedness, revealing the extent to which the choices we make have significant impacts on the lives of those around us.