Author: Chandler Baker
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Flatiron Books/Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: August 3, 2021
Book Description: Chandler Baker, the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network, is back with The Husbands, a novel that asks: to what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband?
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 Wivesgender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared—and what it may take to get there.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Review: Chandler Baker does not disappoint in her newest novel since The Whisper Network. Nora Spangler is an attorney, mom, and what feels like the one that keeps things moving in her family. Married to Hayden who is a supportive husband but definitely has different priorities. Pregnant with their second child, they decide to look for a new home. Nora finds it at Dynasty Ranch, where all the women are successful and the husbands dote on their wives.
Prior to making the decision to move there, she receives a call from someone from Dynasty Ranch that a friend needs a lawyer to fight a wrongful death suit for her husband after a house fire. Nora trying to make partner decides this will get her moving in the right direction. As she investigates and gets to know the families of this development cracks start to come through.
This is listed as Women’s Fiction, but I would say there is very much a thriller element as this story unfolds. The story builds through a wonderful crescendo, until we get to peak of this story, that will have you shaking your head in a wonderful way.
There is a lot to unpack with this story and would definitely make for great discussions. A fun ride of a book, that you will not want to put down.
Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books/Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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