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It’s Always The Husband… or is it? Curling up on the couch with a good book, some wine, and a bunch of chocolate is one of my favorite past times. Recently I got my hands on a copy of It’s Always The Husband from Michelle Campbell.
Michele Campbell’s new thriller It’s Always the Husband is about three women who developed an unlikely friendship in college. Flash forward twenty years when one of them dies under mysterious circumstances. And we’re all left wondering, who did it? Minus the dying under mysterious circumstances part, I was definitely immediately drawn to the story of three women becoming friends in college. It wasn’t exactly the kind of friendship I thought it would be though.
From start to finish, this book keeps you on your toes. Jenny, Aubrey, and Kate first cross paths in college, as roommates and despite the fact that they are each so different from one another. They become inseparable and the best of friends to onlookers, much like a lot of girls who find their tribe in college, right? Maybe not. It’s pretty evident from the jump that these girls are frenemies and will stay frenemies despite any loyalty they may have pledged to one another.
They bonded, swore to be there for one another if they needed it, and so on. Their personalities are very different, but deep down I could see how they ended up becoming attached to one another. On the outside, it looks great, but on the inside, they’re each fighting their own demons. Damaged and broken.
The reason I enjoyed this book so much is because you really felt like you were in it. A part of it. You got to know the characters at their core and really get inside their minds. This kept me hooked the entire time and is also what left me with my jaw dropped at the end. It hooks you, reels you in, and doesn’t throw you back.
You experience their college years and their adult lives as the book will take you back and forth between the two. Their college years take place in an Ivy League setting and you quickly come to see that Kate is the leader of this pack, and the rest follow, no questions asked. Aubrey is desperately seeking attention and approval, Jenny is the fixer always cleaning up their messes, and Kate draws the other girls into this twisted cycle for the next twenty years. It’s a pretty twisted friendship that’s full of secrets, turmoil, lies, and revenge. One event freshman year bonds these girls together whether they like it or not. A friendship built on buried secrets, if you will.
I have, to be honest, I hated Kate. I usually tend to dislike the queen bee of the bunch on principle. And my dislike of Kate made it hard to really connect with the other women because I wanted to shake them. WHY are you all so devoted to this chick? I don’t get it. Get rid of her. Live your lives.
You experience the friendship and secrets that lie within right along with these women. You flip back and forth from their college lives to their adult lives and you really understand the relationships fully. Twenty years later, these women find themselves back in the same town. All still battling their own demons. Adultery, bribery, murder… everything a friendship is meant to be, yeah? One of them is standing at the edge of a bridge, and someone is urging her to jump. How did it get here?
It’s a page turner. Once I got to the second half of the book I couldn’t stop. I had so many just one more chapter moments right up until the end. Every time I thought I had it all figured out, I was left jaw dropped. It’s always the husband, right? You’ll have to read to find out!
You can pick this book up on Amazon or from Barnes & Noble! I definitely recommend it! Come hang out with me on Instagram, and get a chance to win your very own copy!
