Cate Ray

Good Husbands is a really thought-provoking and gripping read. It begins with three women: Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie, each receiving a letter stating that their husbands raped the writer's mother 20 years earlier. The women have different reactions to the letter. Jess is immediately horrified and questions all she's ever known about her husband. Priyanka feels her husband is a good man who was there for her in a crisis so it takes her a lot to think of her husband as a rapist. Stephanie's show more first reaction is to bury her head in the sand and try and forget about the letter.

All the way through the book I was putting myself in the women's shoes, wondering how I would react if I got such a letter. I think you don't ever know unless you are in that situation but this is very much a book that got me thinking. The women come together to start to look into the allegation more, and they gradually learn to deal with it and make decisions about where their futures lie.

It's a powerful read, and a moving one at times. It took me a little settling into the three narratives but it felt very real and relevant, and whilst I think it has a slow burn to it I found myself really drawn into the story and thoroughly hooked on it. It felt original and smart. I was gripped reading about the women as they carry on their day to day lives, going to work, looking after their children, all the while dealing with a ticking bomb that's about to explode.

Cate Ray is an excellent writer, encouraging and challenging the reader to ask themselves 'what would I do?'. The moral dilemma that lies within Good Husbands is whether the past influences the present and whether you can live with a partner's mistake that he made before he met you. Is he, in fact, a Good Husband? Compelling stuff! show less

Jess Jackson, Priyanka Lawly, and Stephanie Brooke, who live in Bath, England, receive identical letters that shake them to the core. Someone named Holly Waite, now deceased, informs the trio that their husbands, Max, Andy, and Dan, assaulted her mother, Nina, thirty-years earlier. Jess and the others cannot believe that their spouses could have committed such a despicable act. The ladies meet to discuss the situation, but are conflicted as to what they should do about it.

In "Good Husbands," show more Cate Ray poses wrenching questions: How should a wife react if she suspects that her husband once harmed a vulnerable female? Are Holly's accusations verifiable? Since Holly and Nina are no longer alive to testify, what would be gained by reporting this incident to the police? Should the wives confront their husbands to get their versions of what happened? How can we know who is telling the truth when the accused claims that his encounter with his accuser was consensual?

The author gives each character her say and we get a vivid picture of the women's doubts, worries, and fears. Although "Good Husbands" is occasionally slow-moving and has an odd twist at the end, it is also a compelling, thought-provoking, and poignant work of fiction. We wonder what we would do if we had to confront a dilemma similar to the one facing Jess, Priyanka, and Stephanie. show less

Good Husbands by Cate Ray is a recommended domestic drama that focuses on a sexual assault.

Jessica (Jess), Stephanie and Priyanka (Pree) all receive the same letter from a young woman named Holly who claims that her mother was sexually assaulted by their husbands 20 years ago and she is the child of one of the men. Her mother died years before. Holly will be dead by the time they receive the letter, but she has left proof of her claim in a storage locker for them. Each woman reacts show more differently to the letter, but Jess is the one who contacts the other two and tries to get them to work together to uncover the facts and decide how to proceed.

The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Jess, Stephanie, and Pree. We are introduced to them, their husbands, children, and jobs and are privy to their thoughts. They are all very different from each other and each woman approaches the accusations differently. The story of the assault is told through diary entries that are revealed chronologically in each woman's point-of-view. The women are all fully realized characters with a backstory and they all experience change and growth in the novel.

There is no question that Good Husbands confronts a serious societal issue that has been an issue for years. There are discussions of how assault allegations can be viewed from different angles. However, contacting the other women seemed odd. it was surprising to me that Jess and Pree didn't just show the letter to their husbands and confront them immediately. Stephanie had reasons not to incite anger in her husband. Of course, that would change the plot considerably, but it seemed odd that this didn't happen while I was reading.

The whole novel hinges on these three women all not trusting their husbands and working together to discover what happened 20 years ago. The plot is rather slow moving, however, and the writing is lacking at times. However, the female characters are strong, intelligent, and determined women and there are some big surprises at the denouement. 3.5 rounded down.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Park Row Books.
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4753597747 show less

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, show more 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. show less