This novel has a unique starting point - Nicky writes a letter, alleging that her mother was gang raped thirty years ago. She sends copies to the wives of the three men she accuses.

How will the three wives Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie react?

The characterisation is excellent and with real depth. We get to know Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie very well, their relationships, their families and their actions under pressure. They feel real, believable and very human.

The story sees how they react to the accusations in the letter, and how they react individually, collectively and how their lives and families are changed forever.

I found it frequently very moving, as the characters struggled to find a way forwards, or chose not to, to try and keep the peace. There are deep reflections on misogyny, gender in society and the impacts of rape. It is sometimes bleak and not an easy read.

As with many deeper character novels it takes a while to get moving, but before I knew it I was truly hooked and compelled to read it in one sitting.

If you enjoy the deeply moving character driven novels of Sarah Vaughan, Gillian McAllister or Caron McKinlay's The Storytellers, you will love this one.

Definitely recommended and I look forwards to reading more of Cate Ray's books.

Thanks to Netgalley and September Publishing

TW: Sexual Assault

As soon as I read the synopsis to Good Husbands, I was intrigued. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that recently I have been reading a lot of airy rom-coms with no apparent substance (which I am not ashamed about) so a book from the mystery/ thriller genre is more out of my comfort zone… thank you Cate Ray for expanding my horizons! As readers, we jump straight into the story with 3 women, Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie, receiving letters stating that their respective husbands raped a woman more than 30 years ago. As the story progresses we not only uncover more about the truth of what happened that night, but also stories of these women fighting to find it.

Massive praise should be given to Ray for creating not one, but three amazing and complex female characters which I love to see in books. I can be hard to develop one character let alone three but I honestly loved to see their progression throughout the story. These characters along with vivid writing meant that I could see the tale unfolding as if it were a BBC drama (any people who work in the TV adaption industry… PLEASE read this book).

I have found that I have fallen in love with mystery books so thank you so much to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me an ARC of this book. I’m excited to see what you guys think! All the best to Cate Ray; I’ll certainly be looking out for your future work :).

Read: for a haunting, fast-paced mystery that demonstrates various viewpoints about sexual assault in a story that will stay with you after the book finishes 💭

NB: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It took me a while to rate Good Husbands by Cate Ray and I'll tell you why: so. much. gaslighting. Not that I don't appreciate it in literature, but wow. So, you'd think it would be the sexual violence and the he said/she said of it all, but truly, it was the husband's almost complete transformations and transgressions in this book that made me take a long hard look at the relationships portrayed and felt...nothing. Nothing for the husbands. We all do things we regret, sure. These men took it too far and couldn't seem to get their stories' straight when it came to reconciling their current relationships with their pasts. Three women, who have never met, all receive a similar letter detailing their husband's dark pasts. One of the women self-nominates herself with the task of bringing them together to discover the truth behind the claims from the letter, and hopefully reclaim justice for the women whose lives were forever changed because of what their husbands did. I really enjoyed this one. I honestly didn't want it to end, but I appreciated the conclusion and I do recommend it! It's not so much of a thriller as it is mystery with some sexual assault triggers, and as I mentioned above, quite a bit of gaslighting...and flat out lies.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Park Row, for an opportunity to read this for an honest review! I'm excited to see what Cate Ray does next!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the copy of Good Husbands. I really wanted to like this book because I loved the description, but unfortunately I didn’t. There were three POVs and they were hard to tell apart so it was hard to keep track of whose POV I was reading and what their story was. The characters were unlikable and I couldn’t really care about any of them. Maybe if I had been able to tell them apart I could have connected to at least one of them but I couldn’t tell you each couple’s story after reading the book. To add to the confusion were the two names for each of the men. Probably someone who reads the book very carefully and is able to keep all of the characters straight will like this book, but for this fast reader it didn’t hit the mark. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

What a crazy storyline. And I mean that in a good way. I loved this book. Kept me on the edge. Nerves firing. Loved it.

The book has a brilliant and original plot; What would you do if you discovered that the person you loved might have raped somebody? We meet three wives who all get the same letter, where a dying woman confesses that her mother was raped by their three husbands. We follow them as they struggle to come to terms with it, trying to find their way in this new reality.

I loved this book. First of all it was very well-written. The writing style was perfect for me, and the author is gifted when it comes to using interesting metaphors and describing what happens. There wasn’t too much details, and when the author described what the characters thought, it felt authentic. The characters were interesting, especially Jess with her strong personality and moral compass. They all changed as the book progressed, and the author underlined that with physical changes that reflected Peer’s inner world changing. I found the story captivating and engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was also a major plus that I felt empowered by reading it, feeling proud by these brave woman who had to make hard choices. Even if there weren’t any big reveals, the story and what happened was enough.

Would warmly recommend this book to others. It will stay with you for a long time.

thanks to netgally and September publishing for this ARC.

Thank you to Cate Ray and Park Row Books for sending me a copy of Good Husbands!

This book portrayed three women, Priyanka, Jess and Stephanie throughout their own points of view simultaneously to tell the story via a letter, that their husbands were involved in the rape of a young woman over 30 years ago.
Whilst the men covered the tracks from their past, these women work together to uncover the truth once and for all

Three wives, a letter and some destructive secrets discovered along the way.

Thoughts:
I would give this book 4.5 stars as I enjoyed the layout- split into part as the interconnecting points of view from the women. The storyline was amazing and kept me hooked throughout! The representation of rape victims was portrayed sensitively, but also the stages of grief that are associated to it.

The premise of the book lay out what you need to expect. There are extremely difficult themes and the writer explores the more repugnant views about rape that still exist in society.
I found this book hard to get in to for so many reasons that I don’t want to spoiler.

I wouldn’t recommend this book as a light beach read. It’s also not a thriller.

This booked hooked me from the first chapter. I love how it bounces between 3 character’s point of views and that the chapters are short - it makes it super fast to get through. I loved the contrast with the characters, and I enjoyed all their point of views equally. The ending threw me at a couple different moments which I loved.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really interesting contemporary fiction novel about three wives confronted with the reality of their husband's pasts. Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie are three very different women who are bound together by one chilling thing in common - their husbands allegedly raped someone thirty years previously and they are just finding out now via a letter. The book deals with the fallout of the allegation and what the women do to come to terms with it.

Overall, I'd give this book a 3.5 rounded up to 4. There are a lot of interesting themes pursued, but some of the characters didn't make a huge amount of sense to me. However, that being said, there is a lot of interesting elements to unpack and the author does it in a great way.

A tense, nerve-wrenching novel that examine the issue of consent, loyalty, and female friendships. Good Husbands by Cate Ray is a book I could not put down. Recommended for those looking for a narrative that causes you to question where you draw the line with the people you love, and how do you find your voice as a woman among other women. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to @NetGalley for an ARC of Good Husbands by Cate Ray

Pub date: June 7, 2022
TW: rape, abuse

Three women, Jess, Stephanie, and Pree, all receive a mysterious letter from a woman named Holly who claims her mother was raped 20 years ago by their husbands and that she is the product of that rape. Her mother, Nikki, is dead and she will also be before the women receive the letters. She has left a storage locker for them which holds more details to the letter and her life. The women meet to try and uncover the facts and navigate this huge secret.

This is a multiple POV story that follows each of the three women through their experience of finding out that their husband had to do with a rape in the past. Each woman handles the information differently, but it was interesting to see different approaches to such a shocking discovery. I honestly don’t know which way I would react if I were in their shoes!

There’s a significant twist at the end which is why I rated it 3 stars instead of 4. It definitely left me wanting more and slightly confused. Overall, it was a slow burn that is really good once it gets going.

My mind is absolutely blown. This novel is captivating and undoubtedly gripping and the perspectives of the three women put together by something so absolutely horrific was very intriguing. Incredibly written and the plot is beautiful executed. I highly recommend it. I’ll be picking up my physical copy June 6th!

I love books that capture my attention right away and this story did just that. I could not put it down today.. Three women are told that their husbands were involved in crime 30 years previously and become involved in figuring out the truth. Told from each wife’s view, the suspense and my interest were maintained til the end. I highly recommend this book. I look forward to future stories.

Good Husbands
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Fiction
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/7/22
Author: Cate Ray
Publisher: BooksGoSocial
Pages: 416
Goodreads Rating: 3.75

TW ⚠️: Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Jessica, Stephanie and Priyanka are complete strangers, they’ve each received a letter accusing their husbands of committing a sexual assault more than two decades prior. Is the accusation true or is there more to the story? It was a secret that remained buried for years. The three women come together to embark on a hunt for the truth, but they are hardly prepared for what they will discover. Who is the victim, and will justice ultimately be served?

My Thoughts: This book blew my mind and is on point for today’s world, while a work of fiction, a powerful and important message. The biggest power point that I took from the reading is the characters. The characters are empowering, strong, resilient, courageous, they are layered with depth, and give a fair representation of the stages of grief. The story was narrated through the 3 women with the diary entries of the victim interlaced into it. The author’s plot was engaging and tackled an important issue in our culture today, sexual assault on women, how our culture views it, and the victim receives it. The writing is complex, detailed, and intriguing. I personally went through a variety of emotions, sadness, anger, sense of empowerment through the victim, and could feel the devastation that this act can cause. The end was just WOW. I highly recommend this book but with the caveat that this is NOT a light read, it is NOT a typical thriller and you will get invested emotionally.

I knew I was going to love this book very early on when I realised what the premise was and I was not disappointed by the rest of the story. A really timely and interesting look at consent, packed with nuance and fully rounded, interesting characters.

I loved this book! Excellent character development, a #metoo story that made for some tough choices for all the MC’s. A great setting and an ending that would make it the perfect book club choice. So much to discuss! Excellent writing and story line. My hint: always read the acknowledgments!

TW: Mentions of rxpe and sexual assault in review.

This book had so much good going for it! I love the concept and the set-up, it's such an interesting storyline. The characters are also very intriguing, especially Stephanie, and they were all very fleshed out.

This book brings up a very important issue and tackles it with a lot of nuance and complexity. If your husband was accused of sexual assault, would you believe it? If you did, what would you do with that information? I particularly loved the realistic way that the husbands respond to this allegation, the messed-up beliefs they reveal and the ways they rationalise and excuse their actions. This is about one of those "grey area" rapes where the perpetrators can tell themselves they did nothing wrong, and where outsiders can also excuse their actions and fail to believe the victim. I also found the way that the wives absorbed this information to be realistic; they have their own biases and beliefs in rape myths, and they struggle with the new knowledge imparted on them as well as with grasping the concepts of rape and consent.

However, there were some weak points for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style, which is probably just a personal thing. But I also feel like the book could have gone much more dramatic, it could've had a much bigger climax and had more intrigue and drama in the storyline leading up to it. As it stands now, everything feels quite subdued and everyday. There could have been more focus on the wives' relationships with their husbands or on their emotional distress, but instead it was mostly some light investigation and the wives going on with their lives. Lastly, *spoiler warning* it feels a bit like a cop-out to make one of the men the big, bad guy and the instigator, who remained a shitty guy for the next 30 years as well while the other two were just convinced by him to participate in the rape, and were actually pretty decent people all along. This book was mostly really good at dealing with this complex issue, but this seemed to overly simplify it and play into the idea of rapists as other and monsters.

Overall, a great story idea which could have been better executed.

A thought-provoking and character-driven read. Steadily paced and gripping and the perspectives of the three women thrown together by something horrific was very engaging. Very well written and the plot unfolds beautifully, Highly recommend it.

This is a well written, well researched book. The theme was delivered sensitively. I enjoyed reading it even though at times it was quite intense.