It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell
Published by St. Martin’s Press on May 16th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Women, Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny. They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge . . and someone else is urging her to jump.
How did things come to this?
As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other—but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband?
To be honest, I had never heard of Michele Campbell and it was totally the title of this book that drew me in. The story begins with one of the women standing on the edge of a cliff. The author of It’s Always the Husband takes readers back and forth in time beginning when Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny first met as college roommates at Carlisle College in Belle River, New Hampshire in the Whipple House dorm. They became inseparable despite being very different kinds of women.
Kate was the wild, wealthy, beautiful but damaged outgoing girl. Aubrey came from a broken home, was on financial aid and wanted to put space between her past and herself. Then there was Jenny – very determined to succeed and very smart and ambitious. Somehow it worked for them and they swore they’d always be there for each other. They even became known as the Whipple Triplets.
When one of them dies under mysterious circumstances, will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband? The girls stood at the bridge that night – all there at the same time – but each of them leaves with a different idea of what actually took place. Despite that fact, they all have a solid bond of silence and secrecy about the events.
20 plus years later, all three women return to Belle River once again. Jenny is married and is now the mayor of Belle River. Aubrey is also married and owns property and a successful yoga business. Jenny is also married and now the mayor of Belle River. Kate is married to one of Carlisle’s athletes who loves her dearly.
Now that they’re “all grown up”, they continue to cross paths but now they’re not as close as they once were. Their self-interests cause them to make choices that change the course of their futures.
Michele Campbell writes a story full of curving twists and turns to keep you wondering what is going to happen next. The characters are complex, but very realistic. Truthfully, they don’t give you the vibe that they are people you would necessarily want to hang out with if you met them in your life. Nonetheless, it was a great read, well written and very well paced.
Michele Campbell is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor in New York City who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases. A while back, she said goodbye to her big-city legal career and moved with her husband and two children to an idyllic New England college town a lot like Belle River in IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND.
Since then, she has spent her time teaching criminal and constitutional law and writing novels. She has had many close female friends, a few frenemies, and only one husband, who – to the best of her knowledge – has never tried to kill her.
Michele currently lives in New Hampshire.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Michele Campbell Books for providing me with a copy of It’s Always the Husband through NetGalley to read and provide my honest review!
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