WW Book Club Discussion - The Husband's Secret

Agreed on the ending. It got me big time, enough that I was thinking about how that can apply to any life situation really. Also part of me wished we had another book to read regarding those outcomes to see how things would have really happened.

I am giving it a 4. I really couldn't put it down from the minute I started reading it. I was shocked when Polly got hit by The car. I think I jumped as if I had been watching it happen on tv because FH looked over and asked me if I was ok, haha.

I liked the book a lot.

I gave it a 4, it definitely was a page turner and the end totally threw me for a loop! So insane!

I did find of feel like there were just sooo many characters, at least in the beginning of the book that it took me a while to get into it like others have mentioned

I hated the epilogue too @Chrissy! Like what am I supposed to let John-Paul off the hook? He still kept that secret for decades.

I give it a 3. It was my least favorite compared to Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot. But still really fast-paced and fun.

I was actually super angry that Tess got back with her husband. He was clearly just settling for her. I understood that she wanted to keep life as normal as possible for their son, but I thought she would've been more happy with Connor (? don't have the book in front of me lol)

I'm conflicted on whether or not I liked the ending. I find it hard to believe that Rachel would not go to the police after obsessing over Janie's killer for so many years. I understand the whole "Polly needs him, blah blah" and it made for a more peaceful ending, but I just don't see it.

I was not a fan of Tess. Her story line just seemed so apart from the others. I would've liked it better if it was the guy she dated whose perspective we got (totally forgot his name), since he was more important to the story.

@WWKatie I felt the same! I wanted her to end up with Connor. She seems to come alive around him and instead just settled for her husband who really couldn't decide what he wanted (and or just seemed driven to have another kid rather then fixing things).

But I suppose it was most likely Connor's baby she had, so I guess that's something?! haha

@WWKatie I also think Tess would have been happier with Connor. I honestly think both of them just did it for the kid. Felicity told her that his husband changed his mind when she left with their son, and the only reason she wasn't 100% convinced about leaving her husband for good was how much she hated her parents' divorce. Bah.

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@WWKatie omg yes! that made me soo mad! That whole situation was terrible and for her to just basically let them both off the hook was insane. Granted, yes she did sleep with the PE teacher but after they had FALLEN IN LOVE!!

Yes! Poor Polly I was really shocked the author used her to start to tie everything together.

I both liked and disliked Rachel. I feel I would have been just as obsessive and torn if anything had happened to my daughter. But the way she treats her daughter in law makes me SO ANGRY. And how much pride she takes in being non-sophisticated. Maybe she reminds me of someone? Lol

@katy I will, thank you!

Katie I didn't take it that Tess' husband was settling for her, but her settling for him. I feel like her husband was more like you don't know what you have until it's gone.

Oh! Also about the probably Connor's baby. I'm angry at Tess, lol. She's all "oh I'm on birth control, it's safe", while she completely left her BC pills at her home and didn't even bring them, so obviously wasn't taking them. Hadn't she already been there a few days before that happened? Wouldn't you realize by then that you didn't have your pills to take every day?

I gave it a 3. I hated the epilogue and the ending in general. It made everything that happened seem like it didn't matter. John Paul still has to live with not knowing if he'll be turned in. Tess is still with her husband.

@VC yeah it was funny to think in the end that maybe Lauren (Rachel's DIL) was actually a totally reasonable person, and it was our narrator who was flawed. I started off hating Lauren without realizing it. Also Rachel painted her son to be insensitive about the Janie thing when really he was grieving as much as her.

Oh and the way Rachel treated her DIL and her grandkid made me super cranky. "Grandmother knows best" and all. Bitch, no. Momma knows best. I clearly have MIL issues, hahaha.

I understood why Tess went back to her husband, but it made me angry. He just wanted to leave you for your cousin!! But I do think it shows that you can go through a lot in marriage, and this book had all of it. Death, murder, infidelity, love, doubt...etc. Maybe it was a happier ending that she stuck it out with her husband even if he was a dumb jerk face and she had another man's baby.

@Staci yes!!

One of the reasons I didn't give the book a 5 (or a 4, lol) is how some of the characters were just this stereotype of a woman that we were supposed to dislike by default. There was hardly any depth to Cecilia, despite her being one of the main characters. And I felt like we were supposed to dislike Lauren but I never did. She tried so hard to be nice to her MIL!