Good Husbands: Book summary and reviews of Good Husbands by Cate Ray

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Tracy B. (Pittsboro, NC)

Twists and turns
Very interesting and different characters. Okay I know what is happening. NOPE ANOTHER TWIST. Who do you believe. These three women are investigating, separately and together. The author did a great job.

M K. (Minneapolis, MN)

Good Husbands
It was surprising to me that a book, whose premise is that three women who are complete strangers receive a letter in the mail claiming their husbands were involved in sexually assaulting a woman over twenty years ago, and is 400 pages long, could hold my attention. Truth is, once past the first ten pages I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The book completely held my attention.

John G. (Salisbury, VT)

Good Husbands
The first six words in this book are, "It starts out as a curiosity-", and within a few pages my own curiosity became thoroughly piqued. The story began to fly off of the pages and I felt that pleasure that readers feel when we find ourselves reading a talented author.

Three very different women, strangers to each other receive identical letters informing them about their husbands participation in a gang rape, many years ago. The story of how they respond is told in a masterful way that will make this book very easy to pick up, and difficult to put down.

Mary Lou F. (Naples, FL)

Things never are as they seem
Very well written. I liked the fact that each character had a chapter. The story was very suspenseful and until the end nothing was as it seemed.

Shelley C. (Eastport, NY)

What Would You Do?
Sometimes a book confronts you with the question, "What would you do?", or "What should you do"? That is exactly what Cate Ray does in her novel, "Good Husbands". And she does this brilliantly.

Three women each receive a letter that tells of a horrible event that took place 30 years earlier. Each of their husbands are purported to have been involved. But were they? How well do we really know that person we fell in love with and still are in love with? The three women must try and answer all of these questions and more before getting on with their lives.

Cate Ray is a terrific writer. The plot unfolds beautifully. Her characters literally jump off the page. And the conclusion is wonderful and satisfying. I highly recommend this book.

Rebecca K. (Chicagoland)

Murky moral questions come to light
Strangers to each other, Jess, Priyanka, and Stephanie are three very different women at different points in their lives. They receive identical letters in the mail, accuses each of their husbands of rape decades ago. That's the premise of "Good Husbands" by Cate Ray.

Jess is determined to seek justice for the victims - the letter writer and her mother, the woman who was raped. Priyanka wants to find the truth, whatever it may be. Stephanie would rather forget all about it, not willing to risk her comfortable life. But the others won't let her. Brought together by the terrible accusation, they're forced to work together to determine the truth.

For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the novel was how the story was focused on a character who had died, and who none of the three wives had ever met. They all have their own assumptions about her based on their lived experiences. One woman sees her as a victim, while another thinks she must have been asking for it if she was out at night with three boys she hardly knew. She kind of held court over everything like a ghost in the background, though we only learn of her perspective through diary entries.

Although I'm not married, the plot resonated with me. I like to think if I was married and my partner was accused of something so awful, I'd do the right thing. But what is the right thing when your husband says it's all a lie? Would I believe a stranger over my own husband?

There were so many tricky moral issues brought to light, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

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