Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

“The Good Husband”

By: Steve Frech

3.9

While I am waiting for some new books to be released this spring, I grabbed “The Good Husband” by Steve Frech, which has been getting good reviews, and I read it in one day. There is plenty of suspense, secrets and betrayal that hook readers right from the start. The lead character is everything a good husband should be: loving, loyal and protective.

Mark and Amy are a happily married couple with a seventeen-year-old daughter, Tatum, living in Los Angeles. Mark is a stay-at-home Dad while Amy works as a successful client recruiter for a hedge fund company. Presently the only concern Mark has is dealing with Tatum’s boyfriend, Aiden, and making sure he is abiding by the rules and behaving appropriately. That concern is short lived, however, when his life comes crashing down.

Amy leaves on a business trip to Boston, but several days later she is not on her scheduled return flight home nor has Mark heard from her. He becomes more confused when her boss doesn’t know anything about her business trip. She had told him she was taking a few days off to spend with her family. Then the worst possible scenario happens. The police notify Mark that Amy is dead. She was found in an alley and died from a drug overdose.

No way! Mark doesn’t believe what he is being told.

Nothing makes sense to Mark. He and Amy had a solid, loving marriage, yet she was obviously lying to him and keeping secrets. He is determined to find out the truth. The more he digs the more he learns that Amy was involved with a sinister plan that put her in danger and now is putting Tatum and himself in danger. What is going on?

Mark no longer trusts anyone: not the police, not the FBI, and not Amy’s employers. He is beginning to think that he is on his own and needs to protect his daughter and her boyfriend, because someone is coming for them.

The book is written in the first person through Mark’s point of view. Readers will admire Mark’s love and devotion to his family even though there are situations that are unrealistic. Just let it go and hang on to your hats as you get to the end. I guessed a few things but not everything. Steve Frech is a popular author, and I see why. I think this book would make a great television crime show. Give it a try and see what you think.

Jacquie O’Neil and her daughter, Times Leader Media Group Publisher Kerry Miscavage, contribute to this column.