• The Husband's Secret

  • By: Liane Moriarty
  • Narrated by: Caroline Lee
  • Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (31,636 ratings)

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The Husband's Secret  By  cover art

The Husband's Secret

By: Liane Moriarty
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
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Publisher's summary

"My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...."

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive....

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses - and, ultimately, ourselves.

©2013 Liane Moriarty (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Spellbinding.... A knockout!” (Emily Giffin, New York Times best-selling author)

The Husband’s Secret is so good, you won’t be able to keep it to yourself.” (USA Today)

“Lip-smacking and sharply intelligent.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Featured Article: Everything to Know About Nine Perfect Strangers


If you've already listened to Liane Moriarty's New York Times best seller Nine Perfect Strangers, then you know you're in for a wild ride with Hulu's miniseries based on the book. But with a listen as unique, bizarre, and twisty as Moriarty's eighth novel, it's not surprising if you have some questions. Maybe you want a refresher before you watch the show, or maybe you haven't listened to the book yet and want more details. Either way, we’re here to help.

What listeners say about The Husband's Secret

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Soap Opera Digest

The flower on the book was an omen foreboding me to step away. Romance novel was my gut instinct, and left it at that, until magazine after magazine touted this as one of the year's best. I caved and spent my credit only to find I was correct.

Cousins fight over a the same man; jilted lover hooks up with old high school beau; and spoiler alert...husband has a secret! This book isn't complete rubbish, but it's certainly not great lit either. Reminds me of another book given the same distinction, "Life after Life" and after the second time, I wanted to kill the narrator myself.

If you're expecting clever twists, witty dialogue, precarious situations, this is not for you.

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249 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Escape to the land down under...

I downloaded this book because it got a great review from a reviewer I follow (thanks, Elizabeth) and I'm glad I did. I'd never heard of Liane Moriarty before, but now I'd compare her to Jennifer Crusie for her writing style and Lisa Lutz for the story. The voices of the characters are distinct and if I had to pick a favorite, there'd be trouble. All three of the female lead characters - plus Felicity - fascinated me. I felt oddly like I knew them very well and yet was constantly caught off guard by their next moves.

I have to admit that I guessed the ending. But that only increased my interest because I couldn't be sure. This book, while not literary per se, nor a thriller exactly, hovered somewhere in between - in the genre now known as "a Moriarty."

Caroline Lee's performance enhanced the listen. Recommend.

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169 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but a little too much hand-wringing

Liane Moriatry would have had a real winner here if a fourth of the text were edited out. Even with the padding, I was fairly engrossed. We've got soap-opera family dynamics that rise above the genre thanks to original plot elements. Not great literature by any means, but for the purpose of enlivening a dull commute, this is worth a credit. I love the narrator. She can visit my ear anytime.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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My Dirty Little Secret - Auld Lang Syne, 2013

I finished this book back in August (2013), just weeks after it was published. I wrote no review because there were already 4 and they all raved about this book. It had seemed harmless enough to me: a lazily written, not particularly creative read, similar to a preposterous soap opera, that whined out of my ipod and through my ears without imparting any real insight or pleasure I'd care to pass along. If 4 readers luved this, then there were 4 happy people in the world that might inspire even more happiness. : )

My magnanimity took a dive when I side-eyed this title on some obscure Best Reads list. As it marched its way onto more and more of these ubiquitous lists, I began to feel increasingly uncharitable to this book, responsible for those 4 happy readers back in August, ONLY because there were some really good books not getting a spot on those lists, and because -- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry -- but I thought this was overall processed doo doo you unfortunately read once in a while, but devoting all of your reading time to similar books could lead to atrophying of the brain. Harsh 'who-do-you-who-do-you-who-do-you-think you are' opinions like that aren't well received, and you might understand why I didn't share an opinion I wasn't proud of.

Ushering in 2014 means bidding adieu to 2013; so I'll think of the Robert Burns poem Auld Lang Syne while I peruse the Best Reads from 2013 lists...but there'll be no *cup o'kindness yet* for the inclusion of The Husband Secret.

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145 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Best Audiobook Since Gone Girl

I loved this audiobook. The narrator was amazing. I loved her accent and she was perfect for each character. The story had me at the first sentence and kept me engaged until the end. When I had an hour left, I went and did something else for a few hours just so I could extend the book. I did not want it to end. This book is not chick flick. This book has everything. Superb writing. Characters that were believable and I could relate to. And Ms Moriarty wove the tale like no other. I will be recommending this book to all my book lover friends. I can't wait to try some more books by this author.

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125 people found this helpful

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Loved It

One of the best novels I read this year, and I read about forty of them. Each of the three main characters has her own unique personality, compelling story, and internal growth. Their lives intersect in fascinating ways. This book has it all: an engrossing plot, interesting characters, and depth.

This novel is set in contemporary Australia, and features an unsolved murder, a marital separation, family tension, and not just a husband's secret, but small and large secrets of many characters.

I only wish the cover and title of this book didn't make it seem like a romance novel. It is deeper and more literary than it first appears.

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96 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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As Fun and Funny as it is Deep

Liane Moriarity's work read by Caroline Lee is the perfect example of symmetry. The book is funny, ironic, dramatic and egaging. Caroline Lee delivers a performance worthy of a great work.

I loved Big Little Lies so much I listened to it twice, back to back. Perhsps it was the cover or its title, but The Husband's Secret seemed more like a romance novel. In other words I judged a book by its cover! Please dont make the same mistake.

In the first moments of the book we are reminded of the story of Pandora and the box not to be opened. A young mother stumbles across a sealed envelope from her husband addressed to her, "to be opened in the event of my death," Like Pandora, if she opens the envelope her life will never be the same. That is the bait that caught my attention.

Moriarity takes us into a neurotic world of busy family lives, parenting trials and triumphs, complicated marriages in impossible situations. She does it with A genius sense of humor, yet also with a great deal of depth.

This is a really great experience!

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72 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Misrepresented as a thriller

I kept waiting for more suspense or big reveals. The only one that existed was so obvious that I was convinced something else was coming and was let down when I realized nothing was. In reality, this is a book about a few women trying to navigate relationships and motherhood, given the presence of some difficult experiences. It’s not very thrilling at all and perhaps had it been marketed differently I would’ve been less disappointed. I don’t think I recommend.

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  • JS
  • 01-08-19

Terribly sad

I had adored Big Little Lies so much that I guess I should have done a little more research on this book before jumping in. Big Little Lies kept me laughing, even if it did earn a few of my tears from time to time. The Husband’s Secret, on the other hand, was so terribly depressing. And it never got any better. From the beginning, right through to the end. Heartache cover to cover. Ms. Moriarty’s ability to see life through different lenses is a gift, indeed. She writes beautifully but I just can’t do sad. And the plot line let me down. I just wanted to warn anyone who thought they were getting another BLL. It is not.

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Secrets create the new normal

This is an excellent book that beautifully builds and draws you into the lives of three ordinary Australian women during extraordinary circumstances. The secrets that lie at the heart of each of them are easy to relate to and told masterfully. It is that wonderful mix of complex charcter study and great plot that makes you form a love/hate relationship with each of the characters. Caring so much about what comes next makes it hard to put down. This is the perfect summer read/book club/gift book because you'll want to run out and find someone else to talk with about it when you're done. Do be careful of spoilers on this one - - there is great pleasure in each revelation.

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