Book Club Questions for My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Blah, I find those reveals quite lame and bizarre.

Let’s unpack it. Let’s start with a summary with spoilers, and then I’ll get into my thoughts.

Summary

The real Eden disappears, and a body is found. Birdy arrives in town and announces that she has been hired as the lead detective for the case. She has to work together with the much younger Luke Carter, with whom she had a one-night stand before the investigation. I will say their dynamic was definitely funny and entertaining at times.

Carter seems like a stand-up guy at first; however, we find out that he’s actually married and has a child. So Birdy felt somewhat betrayed by that, but also not surprised at the same time.

But Birdy has secrets of her own! It turns out that Birdy and Harrison were married once upon a time. They had a daughter together, Gabriella.

Years earlier, Gabriella was injured in a bicycle accident, and Birdy blamed herself for it. She left behind her family as she believed she would cause further harm.

However, Birdy eventually finds out that Harrison was having an affair with Eden (whom he later married). What happened that fateful day of Gabriella’s injury is that the little girl saw Eden and Harrison together, and Eden pushed her later on. Eden made it seem like the accident was Birdy’s fault. It’s a long story, and there’s more detail, but that’s the gist of it.

We also have Gabriella’s caregiver, Mary. When the three find out the truth of the day Gabriella was injured, they work together (Birdy, Harrison, and Mary) to get Eden out of the picture. Mary impersonates Eden, and Birdy pretends to be the detective on the case, so no one would know their plan to make Eden’s death look like a suicide.

All is revealed to Carter, who is certainly shocked. We learn that Harrison is taking off with Mary, and Gabriella is coming with them. And Birdy believes she’s about to die, due to the death day from Harrison’s company, and overdoses on pills, but Cater performs CPR and saves her.

A year later, Birdy is healthy, and she now lives at Spyglass, which was once her grandmother’s home. She also renewed her bond with Gabriella, who lives mainly with Harrison and Mary in another country. Carter got promoted.

But one last reveal remains. It turns out Carter’s wife, Jane, knows about his affairs. She’s actually the one who pushed Eden off the cliff as she witnessed Carter kiss her one day (but it was actually Mary, and…okay, you get the picture). Now she’s angry with Birdy for the affair with Carter and is trying to decide if she’ll go after her or not.

Thoughts

First of all, I hope that the summary made sense. What really annoyed me was that we are in the mindset of Harrison and Birdy, who know each other, and this plan they have. But the writing makes it seem they don’t know each other at all. Ugh. I don’t remember if there was foreshadowing that they did. If so, it wasn’t not mermorable.

Why hang out in their POV if that major information is being withheld? It just felt cheap and manipulative. Twsits for the sake of twists.

You can’t have a great buildup, and then make it so implausible in the end. So while I liked the ride, I was disappointed in the ending.

Let me know your thoughts about the book in the comments section below!

Book Club Questions for My Husband’s Wife

1. When Eden returns to her home, and her key doesn’t work, and her husband, Harrison, claims she’s a stranger, what were your thoughts as you read it unfold?
2. What did you think was really happening with Eden?
3. We follow several character POVs, including Eden, Harrison, Birdy, and more. Why was it important for the reader to read each of their POVs? How did it help build tension, but also provide misdirection?
4. Was there any point you suspected Birdy wasn’t being fully forthcoming about her motivations and intentions?
5. Eventually, Eden is pushed off a cliff to her death. Who did you suspect pushed her at first? Did that change as the story went on?
6. What do you think of the dynamic between Birdy and Carter?
7. Harrison is the head of a company that can predict someone’s death. Why did Harrison go all in with this company?
8. Why did Birdy decide to find out her supposed death day? Would you have tried to as well? Why or why not?
9. Birdy believes she doesn’t have much time left, but we eventually learn that the company can get the dates wrong. Would Birdy have reacted differently if she thought she had more time left, or did learning her death day cause her to act out of character?
10. Why did Harrision and Birdy decide to get rid of Eden?
11. We have lots of twists in this one. Let’s first discuss the twist of Mary. Why did Mary get so close with the family and agree to go along with Birdy and Harrison’s plans?
12. Birdy believes that she was the one who hurt Gabriella. But Gabriella says it was actually Eden who pushed her down the stairs and then tried to frame Birdy. Do you believe Gabriella, or did you have more questions about that fateful day?
13. Eventually, Harrison runs away with Mary and Gabriella to another country. And it turns out Birdy’s death day was inaccurate, and she is healthy and living back in Hope Falls, with Gabriella visiting her. Let’s talk about the ending for all of them. Did it make sense to you? Or did you still have questions?
14. And the final twist is that Jane, Carter’s wife, is the one who pushed Eden, as she believed Eden kissed Carter (but we know it was actually Mary). What were your thoughts on this reveal? Will she go after Birdy next?
15. Which twist was the most surprising to you?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed the book club questions for My Husband’s Wife! Here are some more recommendations, along with links to book club questions.

This novel is quite inventive, a satire about a woman obsessed with the idea of perfection, and tries to be the ideal Christian tradwife. She gets millions of followers and becomes extremely rich, but there’s always something dark lurking.

You’ll go in wondering what is happening, and leave thinking that was a wild story. Great story all around that you have to read. For more of my thoughts, check out my spoiler-free review here.

And my book club questions here.

It follows the events leading up to, and the aftermath of the death of two parents, and their missing teenager.

This is like one of those extremely disturbing Dateline episodes where you can’t stop watching. And coupled with the setting in a secluded lake resort, it added so much tension too.

I found It’s Not Her to be a well-done and classic thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. I can tell the story was thought out, and it all flowed together very well. For more of my thoughts, check out my spoiler-free review here.

And my book club questions here.

Happy reading!