You guys, Sally Hepworth is a NATIONAL TREASURE ( in all nations 😂) and I will not be stopped in saying so ♥️

Sally is the most down to earth, relatable, hilarious person on the planet… and she also has the *audacity* to write novels that will not only knock the wind right out of you, but put the wind in your sails. Her genius in her novels is mind blowing, and she gets me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I believe in her characters, and am so often left bereft by the fact her novels are over and I have to leave each of them behind. The depths of humanity that Sally spills onto each page of her works are some that I had no understanding of how to wrap my mind around, let alone form the words to describe.

I was 2 hours late to work this morning because I HAD TO FINISH ‘The Younger Wife’ and my mind is utter mush, just continuously reeling.

This novel was SMASHING, in every way, and quite possibly my favorite one yet… and the top 3 that I have read this year.

I have read a couple of other Sally Hepworth novels and I liked them a lot. I must say this one was my favorite so far. She just keeps getting better and better. What I loved most about this one in particular was the way she built each character with their own set of quirks and they were very unique quirks I might add. This novel was a surprise because I truly believed that the younger wife was going to be a totally different character. I will say no more on that as to not spoil the story.

Tully and Rachel are sisters, very different sisters, but love each other. However, they aren't always close as in being at each other's houses all the time and calling and texting daily. I believe they both wanted that but their lives were going in different directions. Some things they did not want to share with each other out of shame or embarrassment. Their life was complicated and their relationships with their parents were as well, more so as they got older. In the younger years things were pretty normal.

They grew up in a nice home and wanted for nothing. Their dad was a surgeon and their mom was an attentive and present but mom now has dementia and dad is getting remarried to a younger woman. But...he must divorce Tully and Rachel's mom first. So many emotions surround this situation their dad has put them all in. We continue through the process of all of this up until the wedding day and revelations are had and the shameful quirks are humbly shared between the sisters then, the wedding day disaster happens.

I am so grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book. It is one of my favorites of 2021. #StMartin'sPress #TheYoungerWife #SallyHepworth

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

Another slow burn twisty masterpiece by Sally Hepworth. Ms. Hepworth is one of those authors who is on "auto-buy" for me, meaning that she could write instruction on how to dismantle your microwave and I would still read it because you know there's a twist at the end!

Stephen is getting married to a much younger women and his daughters aren't too keen on the idea. Especially since they are so close in age. And especially since he divorced his ex-wife, their mother, who has early onset dementia, in order to marry Heather. A murder occurs during which should be a joyous day (for some at least) but who was killed? And who is the killer? I won't give too much away because I love going in blind, especially with Sally's books! This is one of those books you can' put down because you need to know what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of The Younger Wife in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book because it was different but I ended up just finding it ok. Through the story I was interested with the narrative of each character and their perspective and individual stories. By the end of the book I was left with questions. The twist was good but didn’t answer all the story line. Why would the first wife say she was hurt but take it back? I would be curious to see a second book come to answer some of the questions. Overall I enjoyed the book. The characters where unique but relatable.

The story is told from three POV, the two daughters, Heather and Rachel and Tully, the soon to be younger wife of their father. Each chapter reveals more about the three women , the issues they are dealing with and the secrets in their lives.
Mixed feelings about the ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

I have read several books by Ms. Hepworth and she always has a good story to tell. Tully and Rachel are 30-something sisters in Melbourne, Australia. Their father, Stephen, is marrying Heather, a younger woman close to their age. Their mother has dementia and is living in a care home. As we get to know the entire cast, stories and secrets unfold. This is a very good book by a talented writer, with excellent character development and storylines. Recommended!

Sally Hepworth does it again! Such an excellent story with so many layers. I will be recommending this one to everyone!

Wow! This is such a compelling and addictive book, which I read in two sittings. I love the characters of Rachel, Tully, and Heather, and how their backstories are gradually revealed, shedding light on their present behavior. The suspense really picks up in the second half of the novel, causing me to set aside a few other things I probably should have been doing other than racing to the climax and finale! I'm not sure how to feel about the main characters' actions at the end of the story, or the ambivalence of the final paragraphs. I can't decide if it works or not, but I found it somewhat unsatisfying. On the whole, though, the book is a great story.

Sally Hepworth is a literary genius! I just don't know that she has ever written a book I haven't loved. Five stars for The Younger Wife. I just love a story that includes characters that you think you'd like to hate at the beginning of the book and you end up rooting for them along the way. Bravo!

This is a fantastic book that wasn't at all what I suspecting. I'm betting people will either love it or hate it for two reasons.... it wasn't what they were expecting either OR they hated the ending (which kind of turns the whole novel on its premise...if that's how you chose to read it).

I think I was very much setting up my mind for a thriller with this book, but I think it's more of a domestic drama with a mystery at its heart. (That mystery may be triggering to some readers. I can't really say more than that). While I was expecting this to be a story about an evil gold digger looking for her sugar daddy, this book really reverses that trope and takes this tale in an entirely different, fresher direction.

What's interesting to me is that all three women in the story, Tully, Rachel, and Heather, are all in crisis and dealing with trauma. How they heal themselves (in the light of the father's plans to marry someone new) turns up the heat on that process and pushes the characters in some new directions that nicely drive the plot forward. All of these women see "the truth" in a slightly skewed way based on their history. That's not a bad thing or a good thing, it's just a honest take on how full-realized characters (and flawed humans in real life) interact with their environment.

I can see where people hate the ending of this book. But here's why I don't (without spoilers.) In just a few pages, it leads you to think everything you've assumed in this book was wrong. But, to be clear, it doesn't TELL you that you were wrong. It merely INFERS it. For a book about he said/she said gaslighting, I thought that was a brilliant narrative choice. It makes you question yourself and that's the theme of the book.

The reality is that knowing "the truth" is never an easy feat when you're dealing with different perspectives and histories. I choose to believe that what we learned throughout the book was true, but was a truth that was terribly, terribly muddied. I appreciate that the author didn't clean that up for us and hand us an easy answer on a silver plate.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dementia. A horrible, life stealing disease that takes the life from not only the sufferer but all those who love them. The husband falls in love with another, younger woman, when his wife of many years is put into an assisted living home for people suffering from the disease. He proposes to, and intends to marry quickly, the younger woman even though he is not divorced from his first wife. His daughters object and begin to investigate the younger woman and uncover family secrets. A really great book, one that is so reflective of today's world and the agony families of dementia patients suffer. I would recommend to anyone.
Thanks to NetGalley for proving this copy in exchange for my unpaid, honest review.

This was a pretty good thriller, with an interesting twist at the end. I enjoyed it, but it felt slow at times.

I absolutely adored this novel. The character development was truly extraordinary and I was left guessing how the author would bring the many storylines together up until the end.

I couldn’t believe my luck when I was approved for a copy of The Younger Wife. I loved it, I didn’t want to put it down From the moment I started it.
It kept my interest the whole way through the book. I had just finished the new Jodi Picout book and she is one of my favorite authors and I enjoyed it even more than that, which is saying a lot.
I would recommend anybody to read this book and give it a five star rating.
Thank you NetGalley for approving me for this book

Another solid thriller from Sally Hepworth. A great cast of characters that keep you guessing and an ending that some will love and others will hate. Could be a fun book club read and for sure one to talk with others about.

Almost unusual story. The characters are well developed and believable. There are lots of twists and surprises from the beginning to the end. the ending left me wondering about the entire story!

As always, Sally Hepworth delivers. The Younger Wife will keep you guessing and have you wondering about the secrets that all people keep!
All opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth.
“Perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them. And perhaps the very best had some bad.”
The Astons may be the most dysfunctional family ever. Stephen, the head of this family, appears to have a problem with his temper and also hasn’t been totally honest about his past. His wife Pam has dementia. She can’t account for the hot water bottle with a note and a hidden treasure. Daughter Rachel hides her secret by baking and then devouring a lot of the goods. Daughter Tully is a kleptomaniac. Stealing calms her down. Oh yes! Stephen gets engaged to Heather who is around the age of his daughters.
Has Stephen been abusing the women in his life? “Accidents” seem to happen.
Ms Hepworth has created wonderful character development. Perfect novel for women’s book clubs.
Do NOT put the book down at the end of the story! Keep reading. I’m still not sure what I think.
The Younger Wife publishes April 5th 2022.

I don’t know where to start. This book kept me thinking I knew all the answers and then thinking I had no clue what was real or not real. I really loved it and picked the book several times a day to read as much as I could. If I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it. Loved the storyline, the characters and the premise. This was just a great storyline with fascinating characters.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is a fantastic novel, delving into a family where every character is hiding a secret. Two daughters are invited to lunch by their father to meet his younger girlfriend. During lunch he announces to them their engagement which comes as a shock to the daughters, as their father is still married to their mother who has dementia and living in a facility. This story moved quickly, and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. Each character has their own story line, and each personality was very well written., blending together for a whizz bang ending. I really enjoyed this novel, and will be recommending it to all my library patrons.
Thank You to Net Galley, the Author Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s press for allowing me to read this great novel. Two Thumbs Up For Me!