Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too… but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?
When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women–a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author–with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread.
But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared–and what it may take to get there.
This is one of those books that I randomly picked off the shelf because it was available, and had an intriguing enough premise. Unfortunately, it ultimately fell under the class of what I call underwhelming. The ultimate mystery explanation wasn’t satisfying enough for me, which kind of cast the rest of the book in an unfavourable light, unfortunately.
The Husbands is a book revolves around our protagonist, Nora Spangler, who is struggling with her slightly distant husband and her young child, all while trying to balance making partnership at her law firm. Nora is pregnant, and in contemplation of her second child, the family needs an upgrade in the living situation. Cue in Dynasty Ranch, a neighbourhood full of amazingly successful women that Nora looks up to. When Nora begins to help out with a wrongful death case in the neighbourhood, more and more secrets become clear, as if hiding just beneath the surface. Just what is going on in this seemingly idyllic neighbourhood?
The characters were overall pretty good. Their character growth was decent, although like most thrillers, it wasn’t the most in depth. However, most of the characters were likeable or hateable, so at least it felt like most of them evoked a response in me. I didn’t particularly resonate with any of the characters, so that wasn’t good for me, but that’s of course no fault of the author’s. Overall I felt that the characters were well-written and really added to the book.
Generally the suspense was good, and the immediacy of the writing and how it was fast-paced and reliant on an incomplete perspective from our protagonist was well done. It felt suspenseful to me, and it had a driving energy, which worked for me. I read through the book quite quickly so that wasn’t a problem at all. However, I was quickly able to see where the story was going, and it was a direction I did not want it to go. Unfortunately, it did go that way and I definitely felt the disappointment with it. However, I still raced to finish it to see what would happen and see how it would all resolve.
The ending, as I have basically alluded to by now definitely fell short of my expectations. However, considering its trajectory, the final ending to tie it all up was at least decently suspenseful in my opinion. If it had to go in that direction, then I think it already had the best ending it could have. I just didn’t enjoy the whole premise in the end. Another book review coming up will also share this same premise which I really have never seen done well. I don’t want to spoil it here so I won’t, but I think it will be pretty clear what I’m talking about!
Overall, if you like reading thrillers purely for the read-along journey of fast-paced suspense, then this one is fine. But if you want plausibility, I would probably turn elsewhere.
Overall Recommendations
The Husbands revolves around a pregnant protagonist, Nora, who is trying to move into an exclusive elite neighbourhood filled with high-achieving and successful women. When Nora gets sucked into a wrongful death case as their lawyer, her investigations slowly reveal more and more that is a bit uncanny about the neighbourhood, though she can’t quite put her finger on it. Her own stressors at home and her inattentive husband really throw Nora into a disarray. How will she be able to find her way out of it? If you like a fast-paced thriller, page-turner type book, I’d recommend it. Don’t expect too too much out of the actual plot itself though.
Down the Rabbit Hole 