It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell

College freshmen Jenny, Aubrey, and Kate end up rooming together at Carlisle University and quickly become friends. Despite their differences and flaws, they stick together through the ups and downs that life brings them…until one night where a traumatic event pulls them apart.

Now, one of them is dead and we follow their story to see how things got to this point. Campbell weaves a story of friendship, love, loyalty, and betrayal. Told in alternating timelines between their college and adult years, we learn about these women and how their college decisions affected their adult lives.

I have to admit, I had a hard time rating this one and collecting my thoughts. The book sort of felt like two separate stories. The first half of the book is focused on the girls college years, and honestly, I was bored through most of it. For a book that was positioned as a thriller/mystery, it didn’t at all come across in the first 60% of the book. Nothing was happening aside from the girls being bad friends and people. If I’m being honest, I struggled to get through this part and couldn’t read the book for more than a chapter or two at a time.

Then, about 60% into the book, it FINALLY starts to pick up. It seemed like the book totally changed directions and finally became a thriller…for me, that was a little too late in the book, and reflecting back on it, I felt like a lot of what happened in the first half during the college years was unnecessary and not relevant to the story. Quite a bit of it could have been cut out and the reader wouldn’t have missed anything. I will say, that once the story picked up, I read the remainder of the book in one sitting. I really liked this part of the book, and I was bummed that it was only 40% of the book.

I also really loved the ending. I had a lot of theories about what happened, and was surprised at the end of the book, which I always love. This was a hard one for me to rate, because the first 60% of the book would have been a 2 star rating for me, however the last 40% would have been a 4 star rating. That said, I landed right in the middle at 3 stars. If you’re someone who likes a slow start and lots of character development before the action picks up, this is definitely the book for you! If you’re looking for something that’s fast paced and intense from the get go, this one won’t be a great choice for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Michele Campbell, and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of It’s Always the Husband. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. It’s Always the Husband is out now, so be sure to check it out!