GOOD HUSBANDS BY CATE RAY
Hardback published by September Books
ISBN 9781914613135
Three women, one letter and an explosive secret that will change everything.
Jess Piryanka and Stephanie live in the suburbs of Bath with their children and partners they think they know inside out. Life feels predictable happy safe until each of them receives the same letter. In it their husbands are accused of sexual assault that took place 20 years ago.
This uniquely compassionate and provocative novel is told the voices of three women as they are forced to confront their husband’s past. Who do they believe, a complete stranger or the men they love and built their lives with? What should they do? And come they come together as one, even as their own security is threatened?
In this taut, finely plotted thriller, big issues simmer and boil over in the home question of sexual consent and domestic inequality. But as Good Husbands builds relentlessly to a gripping finale, one question dominates how far would you go to support another woman?
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE LINES THE LETTER
Thursday 1ST OCTOBER
DEAR JESSICA, I HOPE YOUR SITTING DOWN TO READ THIS AND THAT YOU’RE ALONE.
THIS IS SO DIFFICULT, YOU WOULD’T BELIEVE HOW OFTEN I IMAGINED TAKING TO YOU, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT. AND NOW ITS TOO LATE.
For what? I check the postmark on the envelope: Monday, 5 October, 5 p.m. That was last night. Shifting uneasily in my seat, I turn over the letter to see who sent it: Holly Waite
I’VE KNOWN FOR SOME TIME THAT I WONT MAKE OLD BONES. But NOW IT’S URGENT AND I’VE GOT A FEW DAYS LEFT. SO , I’LL JUST COME OUT WITH IT. ON 22 DECEMBER 1990, MY MUM NICOLA WAITE WAS RAPED BY 3 MEN IN THE MONTAGUE CLUB, BATH. THE MEN WERE ANDREW LAWLEY, DANIEL BROOKE AND MAXIMILIAN JACKSON.
MY MUM FELL PREGNANT WITH ME. SHE ASKED THE MEN FOR HELP, BUT THEY DIDN’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED. SHE NEVER RECOVERED FROM WHAT HAPPENED AND DIED 9 YEARS AGO OF AN ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE. EVERYTHING I OWN IS AT STONE’S STORAGE, UNIT 21, 156 CLEVEDON ROAD. IF YOU GO TO THEM, THEY’LL GIVE YOU THE KEY. YOU’RE WELCOME TO ANYTHING.
I HAVE NO ONE ELSE TO LEAVE IT TO. WE NEVER KNEW WHO MY FATHER WAS. SO , I’M ALSO WRITING TO
PRIYANKA LAWLEY, 32 WALDEN WAY HIGH LANE, BATH.
STEPHANIE BROOKE, 7 SOUTH AVENUE, BATH.
I’M SORRY TO DO THIS. I KNOW IT’LL BE A SHOCK, BUT I COULD’NT GO WITHOUT TELLING YOU. YOUR HUSBAND WENT UNPUNISHED, WALKING AWAY COMPLETELY FREE. I ALWAYS HOPED THAT ONE DAY I’D SEE JUSTICE DONE, BUT I COULD’T THINK OF A WAY TO DO THAT WITHOUT DESTROYING MORE LIVES.
NOW THAT I’M OUT OF TIME, I CAN SEE THAT IT WASN’T MY CHOICE TO MAKE SO, I’M PASSING IT OVER TO YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN FROM THE START. IT ALWAYS FELT SO PERSONAL, BUT IT WAS’NT NOT REALLY. YOU CAN’T DRAW A LINE WHERE ONE LIFE STARTS AND ANOTHER BEGINS.
ONCE AGAIN I’M SORRY.
I HOPE YOU DO THE RIGHT THING. YOURS TRULY.
HOLLY WAITE X
About author Cate Ray
Cate Ray is the author of GOOD HUSBANDS, an Apple Best Book in the US and a Barnes & Noble Booksellers’ Favourite. The author of four novels in the UK published as Cath Weeks, her emotional debut BLIND was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award and she was named an Author to Watch by ELLE. Her latest novel THE YOUNGER WOMAN will be released in winter 2025. To find out more and keep up with her news, follow her on social: . https://cateray.co.uk/about https://cateray.co.uk/about. https://www.instagram.cateraywriter
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