It was a struggle for me to get through this one. I was bored during the majority of it and it just wasn't my cup of tea. Perhaps others will be interested in the story, but I can't recommend it.

This was a good read that had a slow start, then it went pretty quickly after the 50%. mark. I didn't really think that any of the characters were particularly likable, especially the 3 roommates who the story centers around.

Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny are roommates during their freshman year of college where they quickly become friends, although they are so different. Kate is a rich girl, Jenny is a local girl, and Aubrey is poor. A incident at the bridge changes the lives of these 3 women during freshman year and again 20 years later. Everyone is hiding something. It feels like I have read the ending before in several other books in this genre, however it doesn't feel overdone in any way.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book.

Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in this book. It is listed as a thriller, but it lacks excitement until almost halfway through. The writing style wasn't my favorite, and I wasn't excited about the ending. There are just so many better thrillers out there. I would pass on this one.

Fate brings three girls together their freshman year of college. They couldn't have come from different backgrounds. One born with a silver spoon and whose family is the big name on campus. One who is a townie with a good head on her shoulders and a great work ethic. And one who has everything to lose. She was able to fulfill her wish of making it to her dream college, and knows if she blows it, she has nothing to return to. Literally. Their story is told in the pst and the present. And goes to show that even the deepest kept secrets can spring back up on you years down the road when you least expect it. It also shows that no matter how tight the bond, betrayal and broken hearts can change people and pit you against even the best of friends. This was a very good book. I had an inkling on the killer. But was definitely surprised at how the crime all went down.

This novel follows three girls, college roommates and best friends for life. Each one is very different from the other and each one comes from a different background. Kate is a magnet for all things bad….drugs, alcohol, and men! Jenny is the mother hen. She tries to fix everything that goes wrong. And Aubrey, well, she is from the wrong side of the tracks and follows Kate wherever she leads. One of them ends up dead!

This is a slow read. Well, maybe I should say, it is laying the ground work for the finale, which is a WOW moment. It does pick up about half way through the book and then moves pretty rapidly. I did figure out the murderer. The author drops several hints and if you are paying attention….YOU GOT IT!

It is overly dramatic in places but, that could be because you are dealing with young adults through most of this read. It rotates between time periods, the girls college years and around their 40 year old selves. I did not enjoy any of the characters and I do think that was intentional by the author. I believe this is why the first part of this novel to moved slowly. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I related to one of the girls.

This is an interesting mystery that CAN leave you guessing till the end.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

It is hard to keep reading a book that angers you but this one does it in all the right ways that keeps you reading at a breakneck pace. You want to unravel all of the details and get to the conclusion. Such a great mystery!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This book kind of flew under my radar and then BOOM- I was seeing it everywhere! So, I was pretty excited when this book showed up in my mailbox.



What I liked:

COVER. What is it trying to show? The colors. The uniqueness of it. 2 thumbs up.

The story. After I finished it, I skimmed other reviews. While I wouldn’t say the first part of the book was slow- it was a lot of ground laying for later parts in the books. It’s worth it when a person goes to the trouble that Michele did to show these ladies as friends- young, college age, wanting the world to be everything they hoped and dreamed… only to know that the sh*t was going to hit the fan at some point for at least 1 of them.

The opening. Maybe I’m wrong for admitting this- but when the person said “Go ahead and jump.” I laughed. It was so unexpected, so delicious because I knew whoever it was had had it UP TO HERE with that person and was letting them know.

The ending. I was reading this book by the pool and the pages were dwindling and I still did not know for sure who the bad person was. And then it was revealed. And I loved it.



Bottom line: I can’t say any of the characters was very likable. Each character had something intriguing about them, and yet they also had characteristics that almost made them repulsive at times. But I loved getting behind the scenes of this twisty Ivy League group- seeing all their dirty secrets.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*



**It’s Always The Husband was a #FuturisticFriday selection from Katie at Doing Dewey and a Ten Mysteries To Keep You On Your Toes Through Summer book from Erin at Deep South Magazine’s guest post at Traveling With T.**

It's Always the Husband, by Michele Campbell, is a thriller sure to keep readers on the edge of their seat. At the beginning of this suspense novel, we are introduced to Jenny, Kate, and Aubrey, newly minted college roommates who become fast friends at an elite New England college. While different as can be, the girls form a close friendship over the course of their freshman year. Jenny, an ambitious local girl, is responsible and driven. She is the mama bear of the trio, watching over wealthy party girl Kate, as well as Aubrey, who lacks both money, as well as a family to call her own. The three girls spend their college year partying and living the fast life, until a dreadful accident at the end of their freshman year leaves a mutual friend dead. His death is cloaked in deceit, and ultimately fractures the close-knit friendship.

Fast forward twenty years, and the women are all living very different, albeit successful lives. Kate has recently moved back to the area, and the women are trying to pick back up the pieces of their friendship. That is, until another horrible accident befalls one of the women, leaving the town, and the women, to wonder who is responsible for this heinous crime.

As the police investigate the issue, it becomes clear that there are many possible suspects to this murder. Digging deeper, the suspect pool begins to grow, as each woman is discovered to have skeletons hidden in her closet. The question is, who would resort to murder to ensure that there secrets are kept hidden?

This book was a riveting tale of betrayal, suspense, and retribution. Alternating between the past and present, I found myself flying through the pages, entranced with the secrets that I continued to uncover. With many possible suspects, I truly did find it hard to determine who had nefarious motives. This book also did a stellar job of portraying the concept that secrets have a sneaky way of being uncovered years after the fact, and that love/obsession are often opposite sides of the same shiny coin. Overall, a decent book. Nothing earth-shattering, but I found it to be entertaining, and would absolutely recommend for those who like thrillers.

I am not sure if I liked Michele Campbell’s IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND, my views changed from chapter to chapter, page to page. Mostly I felt indifferent but I kept turning the page and found myself reading the last page in my car in the parking lot of work.
I liked that the story revolved around three extremely different women who forged a tight friendship in college. Kate, Jenny and Aubrey have different backgrounds and different views on life but manage to become besties in college, thought I found myself thinking who needs friends like these three.
I did not like any of these women, I liked the premise of the story but I did not like the characters or where the story went. I feel like this story has been done before and done better.
All that said; I kept reading, even sitting in my car to finish this book, there was something I liked, I just do not know what. The second half of the book did pick up, there was a bit more action, perhaps I just couldn’t wait to see how this convoluted story ended. I don’t know but I do think this book would appeal to many readers it just missed that spot for me.
So, I pursued to the end, to what I thought was an unexpected ending to find a pretty predictable ending and THAT was the surprise.

It's Always the Husband is a quiet thriller with extremely unlikable characters in the best of ways. The characterization is strong giving the book more of a slow build up to when the heavier suspense begins. The story is a look at three privileged women, the friendship they form, and how it impacts their lives later. The mystery is clever, though it's entirely possible to piece it together yourself if you pull the right clues. The character development on it's own is enough to make me look at more by Michele Campbell. Readers of domestic thrillers such as Big Little Lies should check this one out!

This was a great read. I was hooked from the beginning. There were some places where I didn't like the back and forth in time storytelling, but it worked out to be a great part of informing the reader of the backstory between all of the characters. I like how the characters were simple yet complex in their motivations. When I thought the killer was one person, the author flipped it on me--and for that, I'm so angry because I like being a know-it-all sleuth. This is definitely a great book for lovers of mysteries with unreliable characters. I enjoyed the author's writing style/voice, wanting to keep turning pages to figure out whodunnit.

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher, and Author for the opportunity to read this book.

It's Always the Husband is a mystery that will keep you guessing literally to the very end. There are two deaths, one in the past and one in the present. Finding out what really happened in each death is an enjoyable journey through this novel.

Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny meet in college and remain connected over the years. Something happens in college that ties them together for life yet at the same time rips them apart completely. Kate is wealthy and marries a boy who comes from the same background even though she never really loved him as much as he loved her. Jenny comes from a local business owning family and grows up to become the mayor of the town where she grew up and they all went to college. Aubrey comes from a poor background and is always eager to please Kate.

This novel shows so clearly how patterns formed in early adulthood remain unless there is a powerful will or force to change. Just because you love someone does not mean they are good for you.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this mystery. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Holy Moly I love this book. I am now a huge Michele Campbell fan. I will blast her praise all over Instagram. This will be "book" to beat over the summer. Read it People.

Oh my goodness. You know that moment when you're anticipating all the good things the book description promises and you begin to think that they aren't going to happen? Yeah, I hit that moment rather early on.

To make this book work, many of the characters probably needed to be unlikeable. Most were very shallow and one-note. I can deal with some of that when it's necessary for the plot, but these characters were so bad. I didn't like any of them. A few times I asked myself why I was still reading, but by that point, I just had to see where this was going.

Even the poor scholarship girl, Aubrey, fell immediately under the spell of the "poor little rich girl", Kate, and her gang of followers. Jenny, the townie, did also, but in a very different way. She wanted to learn from Kate and her father so as to move up in society.

It's interesting that none of these women appeared to change from college. They all continued in their pre-ordained roles of rich girl, fixer and clean up girl and the "wannabe". There was no growth, nothing to make me care.

I appreciate that I received this book from Netgalley, the publishers and the author, but it just didn't work for me.

Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny met their freshman year at Carlisle. They are familiar characters - Kate is the spoiled rich girl whose family name is on many of the buildings at Carlisle. Aubrey is the poor little-lost-girl. She grew up poor in Las Vegas and had to claw her way to college. Jenny is the "townie" who grew up knowing she was going to Carlisle. The three young women are as different as different can be, but they quickly bonded as roommates. Their world is shattered one night when Kate's boyfriend jumped to his death from a local bridge. Except Jenny and Aubrey aren't so sure he jumped.


Fast forward to present day. Jenny is the town's mayor, Aubrey is a yoga instructor, and Kate is the lost soul wandering aimlessly through life. All three are married and Jenny and Aubrey both have children. One morning Kate's body is found near the same bridge that changed their lives all those years ago. Even though their relationship with Kate was tumultuous at best, Jenny and Aubrey were devastated to learn of their friend's death. The police immediately zero in on Kate's husband, after all, It's Always the Husband, right?

It's Always the Husband is the book that is getting all of the buzz right now. I thought it got a slow start and the characters were a bit tired from the very beginning. The audiobook that I am currently listening to has three best friends who met in college and one of them is named Kate, so I kept getting confused. But isn't that proof that this storyline has been played out all too often? All three women were deeply flawed and I struggled to like any of them, but Jenny was the least distasteful to me. She had a good head on her shoulders in college and as an adult, even if she did use people to get what she wanted. Half of the story is told in the past and the second half is told in the present. I didn't really find myself "hooked" until the second half. And that was because it wasn't until "present" part of the story is being told that I really cared about what happened. By then I was busy figuring out the "whodunit". The author did a fantastic job of leading the reader down different paths while speculating who killed Kate only to keep the truth a secret until the very last page. I am not going to lie - I was a little bit shocked by the simplicity of it. -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom line - I cannot deny that It's Always the Husband is full of cliche characters because it is full of them. But it also full of deception and intrigue and those are always two main ingredients for a good mystery. If you can make it through the first half of the book you won't be disappointed by the big reveal.

Details:
It's Always the Husband by Michele Campbell
On Facebook
Pages: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 5/16/2017
Buy it Here!

We start this story with a kicker:

‘She stumbled through the dark woods, the trees dripping raindrops onto her hair and party dress. Her shoes were covered in mud, and she trembled from the cold.’

This is the story of three housemates in a top college, Carlisle, all very different in personality, stature and popularity. Although inseparable, we are shown that at times they are not sure of each other and would otherwise most probably never have even met, let alone ended up being so close. There’s Aubrey, who doesn’t believe someone with her background will ever fit in somewhere as grand as Carlisle, Jenny, a down to earth local who seems to take it all in her stride, and Kate, who has never heard the word ‘no,’ and for whom popularity, wealth and stature are a given. The distinctions between these characters were perfection and I jumped between liking each of them and wondering were their agendas.

There’s a night when something happens and we are shot forward to twenty years later (loved this idea!), where some of the fortunes seem to have switched over somehow. Again I was not sure who I could trust or like. One of our trio suffers a tragic fate, and next thing we know we’re trying to solve a murder that might not be a murder. We’re led up, down and back up the garden path again, until inevitably, all becomes clear. The only thing was, it didn’t really become clear for me, as I found the ending to be like something of an afterthought, tacked on for effect. Saying that, this is subjective and many would have loved it. Aside from this I found this all to be one heck of a journey, although people who don’t like all the college years kind of stuff should be warned it takes up the first half of the book. Personally I loved the lightness of said years, that contrasted nicely with the drama and suspense that followed (also excellently done!). It was just the ending really, which was a pity, but it did disappoint me.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself setting it in my lap while my brain tried to figure things out. There were twist and turns that kept me guessing and wondering. I thought I had it all figured out and loved the fact that I was so wrong. I did not see the end coming.
While I am not a fan of comparing books, I do thing this one will appeal to fans of Laine Moriarty.
Great book, good characters and a plot that gives nothing away.

This was a surprisingly good novel. As it is the first from Michele Campbell, I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. To me, it was similar to a Moriarty novel. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives. It definitely gives insight to each of the characters we wouldn’t otherwise get. I didn’t mind the timeline switches. For the most part they were well transitioned, and it was clear as to what time we were in. It was well written and I didn’t want to put it down as the story captivated me. I needed to know if my predictions were correct...and they weren’t!

This book centers around three girls who were roommates their freshman year at a prestigious college. They couldn’t be more different, but it is decided that they will be best friends for life. We have Kate, the queen bee/ rich girl. She has the connections to get into all the best parties and take over the social scene. Then, there’s Jenny. She’s a middle class townie. She always has a plan and is a bit jaded. Finally, there is Aubrey she is the poor girl who has worked so hard to be here and begin a fresh start. It could be a match made in heaven, an unlikely combination that shows each other how the world is for others while they bring out the best in each other. Unfortunately, that is the complete opposite of what happens. They seem to bring out the absolute worst in each other, yet they remain connected for life through a tragedy they share their freshman year.

Fast forward twenty years and the girls have dramatically changed. They all end up back in Belle River and are just as toxic for one another as always. The lying, cheating, and pretending to be friends begins all over again. Only this time, the betrayal runs deeper, and they don’t all escape it alive. The question becomes who did it? There are motives all over the place. Will the truth ever come out? With so many connections to the investigation it is unclear if justice is even possible. And what is justice? They have all hurt one another so much. Are any of them actually innocent?

It is rare for me to enjoy a book without someone to root for. I want someone I can cheer on, someone who may be flawed, but I understand them and want them to succeed. While I disliked some of the characters more than others, (I’m looking at you Kate) I disliked them all. They all made terrible choices and brought out the worst in each other. However, I really liked the book. I found myself skipping ahead to check my predictions then coming back because I didn’t want to miss the details. I formed theories I was sure were correct, and was completely surprised (in the best way) when they were wrong. I couldn’t seem to put the book down once I started it and ended up staying up most of the night so I could finish it. Who needs sleep anyway?

My biggest complaint, however, is lack of closure. While we find out what really took place that night at the bridge, we have no closure as to what happens to the other characters and their relationships. I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want to include spoilers, but I felt like the epilogue should’ve been much longer. The two year flash forward needed to include each of the surviving characters and give us a glimpse of what life looked like for each of them since they were all deeply affected by the tragedy.

Overall, this book was an intriguing debut novel by Ms. Campbell. I definitely recommend checking it out. Not only was the murder mystery interesting, the characters and all their drama pulled me in. It was definitely an interesting look at how friendships and secrets affect people.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing a free copy of this novel in exchange for this honest review. Michele Campbell is certainly an author I will be watching.

This is a slow burner and did take me a few chapters to get into but i'm glad i persevered. Could not wait to reach the end and find out what happened!