Author : Liane Moriarty
Genre : Contemporary
Publisher : Berkeley
Rating : 2/5
So, I loved, loved, loved Moriarty’s “The Husband’s Secret“. And yes, I’ve read four other Moriarty books, which were not quite as spectacular, but then one always hopes, does one not?
Alice falls from her bike during a spin class and bumps her head. She’s knocked out, and when she awakens she finds her world disastrously different. Her husband, who she’s besotted with, is divorcing her. She is no longer pregnant, and she’s turned into a cold, carping, friendless woman. This happens in the first chapter, so interesting premise yeah? Good hook, as they say.
So, I went with it. I got sucked into Alice’s life and the ups and downs which came post-spin-class-accident. And while it was not uninteresting, the book just devolved towards the end. Too much telling, and not enough showing – something I would not have credited an experienced writer like Moriarty with. It seemed like we were just speeding it towards the end, tying up loose ends in a lazy fashion. It was hard to believe that this was a Liane Moriarty book!
Character development wasn’t too strong to begin with. The whole spin-class-trauma thing was dragged out way too much. There were stereotypical elements to the story, and cliched, cringe-worthy story-telling techniques used like, — spoiler alert – writing letters to a dead person. This book was a jaded mess; it brought no new wrinkle to a tired old story. It tried to encompass too many details and solve too many issues, and lost its footing.
I kept waiting for a big reveal, like in her other books, but that never came. The ending seemed too crowd-pleaser-ish, and we didn’t get there organically. I am so disappointed with this book. Here are all the Moriarty books I’ve read in order:
1. The Husband’s Secret – her best book
2. Big, Little Lies – pretty good
3. Truly, Madly Guilty – Nice character development. Interesting!
4. What Alice Forgot – best skipped
5. Three Wishes – best skipped
