It's About Your Husband

Lauren Lipton
Hachette Book Group USA (2006)
ISBN 0446697842
Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (11/06)

“It’s About Your Husband” opens with ‘Iris’ meeting with who she assumes is her close friend ‘Val,’ but whom she quickly discovers, is not Val but her twin sister ‘Vickie.’  Upon closer inspection she realizes that not only is this not her somewhat bohemian, free-spirited friend Val, but that Vickie is about as opposite as possible.  The difference is evident and amazing as well.  Vickie is the pink, page boy, twin cardigan counterpart of her sister and as Iris is pondering how two women can look so much alike, yet be so different, Vickie drops a bombshell in her lap in the form of the statement “… my husband is cheating…again!”  Upon the appearance of Val and the desperate need of Iris, a newly-separated woman who is jobless to boot, to pay her rent, she is swept up into becoming Vickie’s personal private investigator.  Her job is simple…..find out if Vickie’s husband Steve is in fact cheating on her and if he is, find out WHO the woman is. 

Iris, being the complex woman that she is, finds this task easier said than done, when she meets, greets and literally runs into Steve.  As if Iris’ bewilderment can’t become any worse, she soon finds herself inexplicably drawn to Steve romantically.  When she finally confesses to Steve that she is in fact spying for Vickie, he agrees to try to help Vickie save her marriage. As this thrust-together duo agree to meet periodically throughout the book, the bewilderment of Iris at the turn of events, the emerging emotions and the growing relationship all add up to a surprising end that the reader finds not only satisfying but amusing as well.  This book is written in such a lighthearted manner that the story of Iris, her new thrust-upon profession and the characters she encounters will leave the reader alternatively rolling with laughter or shaking ones head in dismay at the turn of the events within its pages.  It is a great light read for anyone looking for something to take the edge off the seriousness of life.

I would highly recommend “It’s About Your Husband” to any and all adult age readers who are looking for a good laugh, a light story with a twist and engaging characters as well.  Lauren Lipton has a fantastic character in Iris and her personification of Iris and Steve are priceless.  This is a book well worth searching the shelves for.  It would make a great gift for a friend or co-worker.  It is the type of book women laugh over and men shake their heads in dismay over the confusion within. 

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