Part of the plot of this book is an investigation of John Rebus’ past when he was part of a group of corrupt cops called “the Saints.” This unearthing of the past leads to a murder in the present.  A parallel part of the plot involves an automobile accident which leads to the discovery of an old crime.  So the general theme seems to be that the past is never really the past.  This becomes abundantly clear in the surprising conclusion when the old ways still beckon.

Some of the recent Rebus books have seemed to me to be a bit too nostalgic, and had plots that creaked like Rebus’ old bones.  But this one has two engrossing and finally rewarding plots, which hold the past up to the cold light of the present.

I read the first couple of Dexter books, but haven’t been following them for a while.  I also did not watch the popular television show based on the stories.  But I thought it was time to check back in and see how the series has fared over time.

I think this latest offering definitely keeps up the high standard of the others I have read. Lindsay continues his amazing job of making a sociopath with a rudimentary moral code seem sympathetic.  In this story Dexter becomes involved with a movie star and the whole Hollywood way of life.  He becomes so enraptured that he even sees the possibility of a new future for himself.  When this is snatched away from him, I think most readers will share in his disappointment.

The plot is nicely convoluted, yet it remains true to the characters and is not afraid to kill off one of the major figures.Some readers may not like the cliff hanger ending, but others will find it a good reason to await with anticipation the next story in the series.

A famous mystery writer recently said in a speech that she considered herself a crime writer rather than a mystery writer because her books were not always puzzles to be solved, but they always had a crime at their center.  This is an interestingly broad definition.  Because according to this a book such as Donna Tartt’s THE GOLDFINCH would be classified as a crime novel.  I’m not sure we would normally put it in that category, although some of us might feel that the last hundred or so pages unfortunately went in that direction.  I also noticed that a number of the books nominated for Edgars this year were less about someone solving a crime, and more about people somehow involved in crime, an interesting shift in direction.

At any rate, all of this leads me to say that THE HUSBAND’S SECRET, although it would not normally be considered a crime novel, does meet this expanded criterion.  It is a well written, sometimes very witty, book which does have a crime at the center of it.  The focus is on how circumstance plays an almost guiding role in people’s lives. In this case, different lives, intersecting by happenstance, lead to the revelation and resolution of a crime.  Some readers may be bothered by the prominent place of circumstance in the plot, but in a way that it the author’s point.  We often fail to consider how different the future would be if a few factors in the past had been otherwise.  I would recommend this to mystery readers who want to expand their horizons a bit.