this was such an interesting concept - three wives, who are complete strangers to one another, receive a letter and they decide to team up to see if the allegations in said letter are real.

normally I don’t love a slow burn, but this one was so deliciously written and had just enough going on that i couldn’t stop reading; i had to know what would happen next! This novel was also so well-written that I want to read everything Cate Ray has ever written / will ever write. Her story building and characters feel fresh and authentic. the story was captivating and i couldn’t help but to root for these women in their quest for the true.

Cate Ray offers up a page turner with Good Husbands and asks the question do we ever really know the people closest to us.

Three women face the prospect of losing their ingrained trust in their Husbands when a letter arrives accusing the men of a terrible deed from the past. The story follows the three women as they come together in a search for the truth.

The strength of Good Husbands comes from this relationship, the characters are engaging and could be any one of us. There are plenty of twists along the way and this is a classic and well told version of a familiar central theme.

A good read.

Ohhh I love a good, intriguing prologue! I love to finish a book feeling satisfied and then go back and read the prologue again and everything falls into place! Every single one of the women in this book have a fascinating character arc and I’m obsessed with how they play out. I’m totally here for the way they perceive their husbands to be like and how that morphs throughout the book. I have so much more to say but I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that this book held my attention from the beginning right up until the last page!

Good Husbands: A Novel by Cate Ray - Book Review

This novel has a book cover that caught by undivided attention and I was very excited to read the book. My expectation has been met as I couldn't put the book down until I knew the ending of it. Though the novel had a lot to talk about Marriage, Intimacy and Trust in relationships also referring to women issues of the modern times these days in our culture including in the west, the plot didn't disappoint me. I would rate it 4 Star! This novel I would say is meant for 22 years and older above adults who enjoys mushy language with thriller stories. There is no foul language other than it addresses social issues meant for grown-ups to digest.

The story begins where Jessica Jackson 46, Priyanka Lawley 36 and Stephanie Brooke, all the three women lived in Bath with their husbands and family, UK. Until one autumn, the post man slips a handwritten letter at these three women women wondering about the small piece of mail. They receive a worst possible accusation letter from Holly Waite, claiming to have links with their happily married husbands. The letter says a woman named Nicola Waite was raped by these three men who were strangers to each other in Montague Club, a letter trying to unfold a criminal act of sexual assault committed 30 years ago. The letter accuses Maximillian Jackson, Andy and Dan to have raped Nicola Waite and made her pregnant without her consent, Holly Waite claims that Nicola Waite is her Mum. And now there are no more, dead and gone. The letter was not taken seriously initially in the beginning by the three women in the novel thinking Holly Waite is making it up, that she is trying to make money until that day when the three women set out to find out about the allegation. Did Max Know Nicola Waite? What can help Jessica Jackson determine whether Max is a rapist who kept his part hidden in the past sixteen years of their otherwise happy marriage. The three women were complete strangers trying to find out if something traumatic or catastrophe may or may not have happened 30 years ago, but Priyanka cared more about what's happening now, about what she could lose. She could lose her family and she would do anything to protect Andy, her husband. Jessica never worried that Max might cheat because he's always been such a good guy. Then the women come across a Dairy which explains it all that happened at club that awful night of rape of Nicola Waite where the husbands knew each other.

Was Max involved behind the scenes of the assault? Who Holly is or was?. If something went horribly wrong that night at the Montague club, perhaps because of a misinterpretation or accident of some kind, Max would have tried his best to make it good...Wouldn't he? The ending to the novel should not be missed. What's the twist that will keep you glued till the last page? Will the three women together find out who actually committed the sexual assault of Nicola Waite? Cate ray the author has done a great job to explain today's women issues faced in any society or culture.


I just reviewed Good Husbands: A Novel by Cate Ray #NetGalley#Good Husbands.
I have received a review copy of this book by the publisher in the form of e-book from NET GALLEY as Advance Reader Copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Jessica, Priyanka & Stephanie think they’re happily married until they each receive a letter alleging their husbands were involved in a rape thirty years ago. And so the story begins…

I flew through this book because although the topic is very dark, stylistically it was simple to read. Each of the three women are POV characters and the book flits between their perspectives regularly enough to keep you invested in the story. They’re very different women: Jessica is a middle class art dealer of sorts, Pree is a RS teacher with pink hair and tattoos, and Stephenie is a receptionist who is very down-trodden in her marriage. When they receive their copies of the accusing letter, only one of the women believes the allegation immediately.

Some will find this a heavy read which obviously deals with sex offences and the issue of sexual consent, as well as victim blaming, shaming and society’s tendency to doubt their credibility. As far as the thriller / mystery aspect of the book, personally both fell flat for me. I didn’t find it particularly thrilling (too much texting, phoning & emailing to arrange meet-ups and discussion sessions). Nor did I find it mysterious… I was fairly convinced I knew whose story to believe from the start.

I wasn’t impressed with the outcome of the book — without giving spoilers I thought parts were quite unrealistic. But the central plot & the women’s relationships were interesting.

2.5 rounded up to a 3. What would you do if you received a letter saying your husband and two of his friends assaulted someone which lead to a pregnancy? That's just what happened to Jess, Pryianka and Stephanie.

I liked the different POVs. It's always nice to see things from different sides. However, this book just wasn't for me. I didn't find it very thrilling.

I did like the authors writing and will read more books in the future.

This book was HARD to read. It made me think a lot about how we view assault and accountability in society- I felt the heartrending choices made by the protagonists. I think this book is important, and it's well-written. It's not really an entertainment read, or a lighthearted beach read, but it is very good, and will haunt your afterwards.

The plot was sturdy, intriguing. The writing was well done. The characters were well fleshed out. The ending was an exciting surprise. However, this story crawled and limped along so slowly I found myself skimming. So, if you like slow burns, this is right up your alley.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC to review

TW: mentions of sexual assault in review

3 stars!

After reading the premise of this Inwas quite excited to see how things would turn out and how the wives would manage with this, especially being able to see and witness their reactions to reading about what their husbands did, who to believe, what to do when a loved one did such a terrible, disgusting thing. Also was good to see how people throw narratives on situations, play off accusations as if they're nothing, the view of assault from different characters.

That is what kept my interest but the ending fell a little for me, I might have to go back and read the last few pages again as I did feel like the story was good in a way but I did feel my focus slipping away at some points.

Not an light or easy read with rhe subject matter and other things that happen in the book but interesting to see different perspectives.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Three women receive a letter accusing their husbands of rape years earlier.............. How can this be?
As each woman attempts to find out the truth from their husbands and also the two girls who were with the girl raped - emotions are volatile and feelings torn -
A thought provoking book with an astonishing ending!

This stunning new novel by Cate Ray is reminiscent of Joshilyn Jackson’s Mother May I and Chandler Baker’s the Whisper Network. Not surprisingly, I loved it!

Jess, Priyanka, and Stephanie are three women who’ve never met, but the share one thing in common: each of them receive a letter from a woman, Holly, who accuses their husbands of sexual assault decades before, resulting in Holly’s mother becoming pregnant with her.

Each of the women tries to deal with this revelation in her own way; denial, committing to finding the truth, or waffling between the two. After all, what would you do if your husband was accused of sexual assault?

With multiple complex characters, both men and women, and vivid and haunting writing, this has become a favorite of the books I’ve read recently.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Cate Ray for this free arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

happy pub day to one of my latest reads! thank you to @netgalley @booksgosocialgroup and @parkrowbooks for my advanced reader’s copy! 📖

what would you do if your marriage, family, and life as you knew it, was changed in an instant with one letter? for Jessica, Priyanka, and Stephanie, this question becomes their newest reality after each receive a letter claiming that their husbands committed sexual assault on a woman decades ago.

not only are the wives beyond devastated; they are completely blindsided and even somewhat skeptical. seeing the wonderful husbands and fathers they’ve devoted their lives to, it’s hard for the women to picture their doting men involved in such a scandal. and though their husbands have always been ideal partners, the women know that their marriages will truly never be the same.

as complete strangers brought together by this tragedy, the wives join forces to uncover the truth among the writer’s belongings, including a diary that was written by the victim during the time of the attack. caught in the middle of a dismal “he said, she said” situation, the women must figure out who they can trust; a stranger, or the men they share their lives with?

this book gave me a little deja vu when i started reading it! i recently finished watching ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ on Netflix (based on the book by Sarah Vaughan), and this book had a lot of similar vibes. the details and storyline were different, but the general theme and plot had similar feels.

i liked the book, but it wasn’t a favorite. the general conflict of the story is absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking to me, but lost me a little in the execution. I had a hard time relating to the characters and keeping track of them throughout the story. i feel like you could do a lot with this storyline, and so maybe I was expecting more? i would actually be intrigued to see this turn into a series or a movie. i think it would be interesting to see the men’s perspective throughout the story, as well.

this book is available now if you’re interested in seeing how it all unfolds!

This book was great, the characters were well developed. The plot was interesting. Highly recommend it.

This book is definitely an intriguing, with a premise that I was excited to pick up. I love slow burns as well, and a character-driven novel always excites me. I also think this book was cleverly divided into different acts based on discoveries, which I enjoyed.

However... this one did drag a little, ESPECIALLY at the end. We still had like 50 pages of the book left after the climax. I kept ending chapters thinking, "Okay, surely this is the end...?" and it was not. I also found the actual last page a little groan-worthy and frustrating? I don't know. Ultimately, an intriguing premise with moments that shone through that simply just didn't fully work for me.

I read Good Husbands. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publishing company for a advance copy. This book had some sensitive matter. Overall, it was a good story! I give it 4 stars! Thanks again!

OK this one is hard to review/rate.

I liked it. I didn’t. It had a great flow, until it didn’t.

Major…LIKE MAJOR…trigger warnings.

Captivating characters, but a lot of them.

I liked it - but it just really dragged for me. I felt like my interest kept drifting to other things, but then I found myself thinking about it and wanting to know how it ended. I think my main gripe was the pacing. The story was great, but he pacing was super off.

This book was well written and had good characterization. But it just wasn't up my alley. And there are trigger warnings for rape, sexual abuse etc... Not a bad book but just not my type of book. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for honest review

The concept of this book intrigued me, but in actuality it failed to deliver. The beginning and end were somewhat engaging; however, the middle dragged and had me questioning whether to continue. I guess I’m glad I finished because I wanted to know how it would end, but I am not sure I’d recommend it.

Not the easiest of books to read. Lots and lots of content warnings including rape and domestic abuse. It was a hard one to read at times.

This is more a character driven story than a thriller in my mind. It was certainly a slow burn and felt a bit too long for me. It had a great premise, the 3 wives receiving a letter from a woman claiming that their husbands had raped her mother many years ago. The 3 women were all very different and the way that they handled this news was interesting.

I just don't feel that this was the right book for me. I have read very mixed reviews on it so I think alot of it is a personal choice.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy of this book to read.

Holly writes a letter and she sends copies to the wives of the three men. The letter alleges that her mum was raped two decades ago. Good Husbands looks at how the three wives, Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie react.

A haunting read with very vivid writing, I didn't want to put this one down. The characterisation by Cate Ray was of an exceptionally high standard and all three wives were tremendously well portrayed. A great, deep domestic drama that I highly recommend, provided you are not expecting a high-octane suspenseful thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.