The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

This audiobook cover image in
Hoopla looks too saccharine for me.

I was quite taken aback by the cover image of the e-audiobook The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty in the Hoopla database [Dreamscape: 13 h 46 m] at the library. If I hadn't already been convinced to read it based on a review, I would have dismissed it as not to my taste, strictly based on the cover art. Despite appearances, it is not a frothy romance. Australian actor and voice artist Caroline Lee performs the story with lively wit and warmth.

This audiobook edition is
a little more appealing, with the
 shattering flower, but still not
something I'd pick up cold.

In Kirkus Reviews, Liane Moriarty is described as an "edgier, more provocative and bolder successor to Maeve Binchy." I agree. The Husband's Secret is perfect for readers who enjoy contemporary stories about interesting women. It opens with Pandora's version of events regarding a jar that was not to be opened, and then follows the interconnected lives of three women in Sydney, Australia.

Cecilia, mother of three, has found a letter addressed to her from her husband John-Paul, with instructions not to open it until after his death. He is still alive, but he acts so out of character when he learns that she has found the envelope that Cecilia eventually breaks her promise not to read it. Secrets from the past have far-reaching effects.

 The thought-provoking moral issues in this novel make it perfect for book group discussion. I wasn't crazy about the tidy way things get wrapped up at the end, but I still liked it very much.