Good Husbands by Cate Ray

 Good Husbands  by Cate Ray

Published by Park Row ISBN 9780778333203

Trade paperback, 416 pages, $16.99

 

What would you do if you received a letter from a stranger saying that your husband was one of three men who sexually asssaulted her mother one night years ago and she is the result of that attack? And so begins Cate Ray's taut psychological drama Good Husbands.

The letter is delivered to three women who each have no idea who the other women are who also received the letter. Priyanka and her husband Charles have a young son whom Charles dotes on, and a happy marriage. Jess is married to Max, an energetic businessman who still excites her even after sixteen years of marriage and two children. Stephanie is married to Dan, a man quick to temper and put down Stephanie. He is a stepfather to Stephanie's two older daughters, and they have a teenage daughter together.

The women are obviously rocked by the letter and each deal with it in a different manner. Jess approaches Priyanka and Stephanie to find out what they know. Priyanka comes around before Stephanie, but eventually they decide they must find out the truth behind the letter.

Could their husbands have done such a terrible thing? Is it possible they don't know their husbands as well as they think they do? The men each have a different view of what happened that night, so it becomes a case of he said/she said. 

The women work together to discover the truth, no matter where it leads. About three quarters of the way through the novel, Ray throws a twist in, and something happens that literally had me gasping in shock. I did not see that coming.

Cate Ray does a fantastic job putting yourself in these women's shoes. What would you do if you if you discovered something awful about the past actions of someone you loved? Could you ignore it or would you need to know the truth? Good Husbands will have you pondering that long after you finish this thought-provoking book. 

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Summer 2022 Mystery & Thriller Blog Tour.