Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Length: 352 pages
Audiobook Length: 11 hours and 30 minutes
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Even though her husband Hayden helps out, successful lawyer Nora Spangler feels likes she carries an unfair share of the domestic burden. When they consider moving into an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora finds a group of high-powered women with extremely supportive husbands. While helping with a resident’s wrongful death case, she learns how far these women are willing to go to get some help at home.
Chandler Baker’s “Stepford Husbands” thriller just missed the mark for me. Although the premise is spectacular, the execution is lacking. The slow burn mystery developed too slowly, without much action and too much predictability. Moreover, Nora’s husband Hayden was underdeveloped, which fails to give you a strong counterpoint to Nora’s side of the story. Despite the poor delivery, Baker’s message of gender inequality comes through strongly, making you stop and think about the dynamics of modern marriages.
Publisher’s Description
From Chandler Baker, the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network comes 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 Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared―and what it may take to get there.
About Chandler Baker
Chandler Baker is a corporate attorney and the author of the High School Horror series; a young adult novel, Alive; and three adult novels, Whisper Network, Cutting Teeth, and The Husbands. She currently lives in Austin, Texas. Visit the author’s website →
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