This book feels a lot like its more famous successor Big Little Lies, only without any of the fun or insight.

In both stories, we follow three women facing their own problems and dilemmas. Here in The Husband's Secret, we have Cecilia, Rachel, and Tess. Cecilia is at the center of this story. Her husband is the one with the earth-shattering secret, and before we are through, each of the three women will feel its repercussions.

Okay, if I had to pinpoint the biggest issue for me, it’s probably the bland and strangely indistinguishable characters. I had trouble keeping them and their children and relatives—of which there were many—square and straight throughout the story, and they somehow all blended together in my mind.

They also weren't exactly the most likeable of people. They were fairly wrapped up in themselves, and it made it hard to connect with them. Here we have these characters each dealing with their own bad fortunes and predicaments, and yet, I just couldn't make myself care. At times, I even caught myself hoping things wouldn't work out in their favor, which was rather discombobulating since I knew I was supposed to cheer for them.

And then there were the actual issues they were each facing. Their moral dilemmas should’ve been interesting and given me much food for thought, but here again, I just couldn't get into them. There was something that didn't quite ring true about the whole thing, as if I knew these characters were not real and neither were their issues, and I was being sold a story all along.

This all sounds terrible, but it really wasn't that bad. It just lacks the wit and spark I've come to associate with Liane Moriarty. Of course, this story is one of her older ones and every writer grows with experience, so maybe this was the necessary stepping stone on the way to writing bigger and better books. If so, I guess I'm okay with that.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars