Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for Good Husbands. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie are all happily married to men they think they know inside out.

Then each woman receives a letter accusing her husband of involvement in a sexual assault that took place 20 years ago.

Who do they believe, what should they do and can they come together as their lives are upended?

A compelling, beautifully crafted thriller about consent, friendship and prejudice which asks – would you sacrifice your family life in support of another woman?

Review:

There is a bombshell that kick starts Good Husbands and from that point onwards, this novel is a novel that keeps on giving and giving. I was immediately drawn into the dilemma that the women faced and was constantly questioning myself: how would I handle the situation if it were me? It would be easy to dismiss Holly and the contents of the letter she wrote, but you just can’t. I got swept along in the story and fully involved in the lives of these women until the very last word. 

Our protagonists are Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie. They’re all very different in terms of their personalities and they handle the situation very differently to each other. Ray’s technique of the narration which rotates between the three women is very effective and it gave me insight into their lives and why they behaved the way they did. From reading other reviews, it seems there is no universal favourite and different readers relate to different women for different reasons. My favourite was Priyanka and I loved the way she slowly built up her self confidence as the novel progressed. 

Throughout the novel, Ray introduces us to a wide range of themes including consent and coercive control. I found it very interesting to consider these issues within the context of these women’s lives, particularly in terms of how the perception of them has changed over time. 

The ending of Good Husbands was not what I expected but the characters and their story will stay with me long after I finished reading. 

Good Husbands is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: