“Imagine a place, a special place, where the husbands are everywhere, yes, but instead of just putting the dishes in the sink when finished eating, they put them in the dishwasher, they carry up the items left on the stairs and put them away, they refill children’s water glasses at 3 a.m. and lead sleepy toddlers back to their own beds, they write thank you notes, etc.”
I’m Betty Martin with "Martin’s Must Reads" and those are lines from the first page of Chandler Baker’s novel The Husbands. As the story begins Nora, an overworked pregnant attorney and mother is struggling to juggle all her responsibilities. She is exasperated with her husband Hayden who seems oblivious to how he can help lighten her load. With a new baby on the way they go in search of a bigger house and discover what seems to be a dream house in a dream subdivision called Dynasty Ranch.
Their realtor lives in the subdivision and introduces Nora to several of the other wives who live there: Cornelia, a psychiatrist; Thea a neurosurgeon; Alexis, a technology whiz and Penny, a writer. Penny’s husband recently died in a fire when their house burned down.
The wives invite Nora to join them for their weekly yoga session and encourage her to buy a house in Dynasty Ranch. Cornelia offers to counsel Nora and Hayden through couples therapy. At the couples dinner party they attend Nora and Hayden are surprised that the other husbands only talk about house cleaning tips and their children. Penny employs Nora to look into the fire that killed her husband. Something is a little off in this community. But what?
If you’re looking for a slightly creepy novel, then you must read The Husbands by Chandler Baker.
