Published
by September Publishing, 25 May 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-9146133-02 (PB)
Three happily married women who love their
husbands are each sent a copy of a letter claiming that about two decades
previously their husbands, then only students themselves, were involved in the
gang rape of a young student called Nicky. The letter also claims that the
student they supposedly raped became pregnant as a result of the men’s/boys
actions: one of the men had a daughter he didn’t know about. By the time the
women receive the letters, both Nicki and her daughter are dead. However,
Nicki’s daughter has provided them with a key to a lockup that contains clues
about their lives.
Not surprisingly
the ladies, who do not know each other, react differently to their letters -
Interestingly none of them rushes to confront their husbands with the
information. Jess, who works for a small agency selling works of art, takes it
upon herself to track down and contact the other two, Priyanka, who teaches PSHE
– personal, social, health and economic education – and Stephanie who is a
receptionist at a dental practice.
Neither Priyanka
nor Stephanie are desperately keen to pursue the matter – Stephanie hides her
letter in an old coco tin and tries to forget it. However, once Jess gets all
three of them together none of them of them seems prepared to dismiss the
matter out of hand. Obviously, they want to know what will happen if they
confront their husbands. They each have at least one child. Presumably if what
the letter claims is correct it would mean the end of their marriages and
depriving their children of a father, and who would want to trust their
children to a rapist?
Good husbands is
thought-provoking story that doesn’t flinch from addressing the heart- breaking
issues that arise from the predicament the three women are presented with. It is not so much a who-done-it, as a
searching treatise on what should be done about it. The question of why the
women had been sent the letters only after Nicki and her daughter were dead and
presumably had nothing to gain from the action is answered, but you must read
right to the end to understand the twisted and teasing reasoning behind it. ------- Reviewer Angela
Crowther
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Cate Ray is the
author of four previous novels published in the UK as Cath Weeks and was
named an "Author to Watch" by ELLE. She lives in Bath with her
family.
Angela Crowther is
a retired scientist. She has published many scientific papers but, as yet
no crime fiction. In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell Ringing
group, goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly the
operas of Verdi and Wagner.
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