The Husbands
From Chandler Baker, the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network comes The Husbands, a novel that asks: to what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband?
Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too… but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?
When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women―a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author―with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread.
But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared―and what it may take to get there.
This recommended reading was shared and sponsored in partnership with Flatiron Books.
Book club questions for The Husbands by Chandler Baker
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Dear Reader, When I started writing The Husbands, I was pregnant with my second child, staring down the barrel of the recalibration of domestic responsibilities that comes with a new baby. The book felt personal, as many things that take place in the privacy of our own homes do. But if anything, living through the pandemic has exposed the real impact of depending on women to carry the burden of the “second shift” disproportionately. The problem of dividing domestic labor isn’t just personal, it’s widespread and systemic and it’s caused more than 2.5 million women to leave the workforce in the last twelve months alone, at four times the rate of men. In The Husbands I hope you’ll find a big, juicy murder mystery with something to say and I’m so pleased to be sending it to you. Best, Chandler Baker
The Husbands Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The Husbands discussion questions
“Utterly engrossing and thoroughly timely, The Husbands is both a gripping, well-crafted mystery and an insightful critique of motherhood and marriage in the modern age--working mothers everywhere will feel seen in the best possible way.” ―Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and A Good Marriage