Cecilia is the perfect wife, the perfect mother and has the perfect life. Until one day she discovers a letter in the attic from her husband, only to be opened in the event of his death. Curiosity gets the better of her and by opening this letter, her perfect world comes shattering down around her. Her husband confesses to a terrible mistake, which if revealed, will wreck their family’s lives forever. Cecilia is torn between doing the right thing, but the right thing for who?
Wow. There wasn’t actually anyone in our book club who didn’t enjoy this book, with the majority ranking it as the best book we had read over the two years our club has been running. It’s a story of lies, love, loss and loathing.
Initially the book was a little bombarded with different characters, so it was hard keeping track of who was who and just as you started to get a grip on one set of people, the chapter would cut you short and send you over to another character. But eventually the links were pieced together in this brilliantly written and thought provoking novel.
One interesting aspect the book raises, is your thoughts on fate. How each action, every decision, any choices you make have a longer lasting impact on not only your life, but the path it weaves for everyone around you. The Husband’s Secret will leave your questioning your own morals…how far would you go to protect your family? As a group, we highly recommend this book…you wont be disappointed.
Until you realise the narrative style, did you find it confusing being bombarded by several different characters at once?
Would you have opened the letter?
Di you guess early on in the novel that John Paul was responsible for Janie’s murder? Was it obvious?
In Cecilia’s position, would you keep your husband’s secret?
Cecilia is portrayed as the perfect woman/mother/wife, did you grow sympathetic towards her as the book progressed?
Which characters did you sympathise with? Who irritated you?
At the beginning of the novel “You get nothing for nothing” is repeated in various characters sections. Do you think this is a key theme of the book?
What part do you think religion plays in the book? Does the author mock religion?
Is failure a theme running throughout the novel?
“Honesty is overrated”, does this quote summarise the novel?
How was the Tess, Will, Felicity storyline relevant to the story as a whole?
The novel is full of “what ifs”, did you feel this contributed to the stpry or made it annoying? Did you like the ending with its “what ifs” scenarios?
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Disclosure: Book Blurb has been taken from the book itself and discussion questions were kindly contributed by gorgeous members of the group. The opinions expressed are a collaboration of my own and a generalisation taken from the groups responses to the book.