The following review is based upon the e-ARC version of "The Younger Wife" I received here on NetGalley. From what I understand, the ending has been altered significantly for the final copy, and had I possessed the final version, my rating may have been higher. But as it stands, the original ending is so problematic that I am unable to give the novel more than three stars.

I see what Hepworth was trying to do with the twist at the end, and I would have loved it if she had successfully pulled it off. But she didn't. She took the narrative too far the other way, put too much evidence of wrongdoing on the page for the reader to find the twist to be logical. It just didn't add up.

I'm very glad the novel has been revised, though. Because aside from my disappointment in the ending, I found "The Younger Wife" to be an engaging page-turner. With the right editing, Hepworth will have another hit on her hands.


My sincerest appreciation to Sally Hepworth, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Love this authors previous books. This wasn’t one of my favorites but wouldn’t say it was one I wouldn’t have read. The women characters had so many issues and a lot going on. Ending I’m not sure was the way to go but overall a good read.

I cannot believe she re wrote the ending!! This was a fun little family drama with some murder mystery tied in. Hepworth does twisty family drama well and I love that about her. You’ll definitely go in thinking one thing and then have a totally different opinion by the end. I didn’t dislike the ending I read (the original) but I’m for sure curious about the new one. I recommend going into this one blind (per usual) because as I read the synopsis I’m noticing it gives more away that I would have liked to know before going in.

Stephen Aston is a hear surgeon who is at the top of his field. He is getting remarried, but the only caveat? He must divorce his current wife. His current wife can no longer speak for herself. Tully and Rachel want to find out the truth of their family’s secrets to help their mother. Heather, the new wife has a secret of her own. What will happen?

I haven’t heard of this new release until I saw the audiobook on Libby. I totally picked it up because the cover is really beautiful. I do wish I read this in its physical form to be less confused. I did enjoy some of the twists. This was just an okay read for me.

I thought this book was largely character driven; it did seem that each of the women had WAY too much going on, however, and it was if the author wanted to throw in a bunch of issues (sexual assault, eating disorders, kleptomania, etc.) which bogged things down here and there.

A lot of readers didn't like the ending; I am OK with ambiguous endings, although this one wasn't done as cleverly as some others.

THE YOUNGER WIFE
BY Sally Hepworth

The story is focused on the Aston family – first with Stephen the patriarch, a handsome 60 something physician who is now getting married to a much much younger woman.
The scene opens to a wedding where the unnamed narrator observes a wedding of Stephen to a younger woman, Heather while also being attended by his ex-wife Pamela who has dementia, who picks up a candlestick and hits someone, and it seems that there is someone hurt covered in blood.

Then the story begins to about a time a year earlier, where the story is told in alternating voices of Heather, the younger wife and the daughters Tully and Rachel.

The ending was very shocking and thought provoking for me. As I understand there is an alternate ending, but as I have read the advanced copy, I thought the way the ending was written was brilliant.

As usual, I did enjoy Sally Hepworth’s unputdownable writing that is thrilling, exciting, and is one of the best contemporary psychological thriller writers for me.

This was my first Sally Hepworth book, but it definitely won't be my last! I loved her style of writing. She made the characters come to life and even though the family members each had their own set of secrets, the family dynamic was spot on and believable. Great beach read for hot book girl summer!

3.5 Stars rounded up

CW: Sexual Violence and domestic violence.
 
I received a reviewer copy of The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth from the publisher St, Martin’s Press from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
 
What It’s About: Stephen Ashton is getting married again to a younger woman, Heather, but first must get divorced from his wife who is suffering from dementia. Stephen’s daughters, Rachel and Tully, are troubled by the whole thing as Heather is younger than both. But Heather cannot really want their father can she?

What I Loved: Sally Hepworth is the master of the domestic novel. This book has so many intricate threads and plays with so many elements that you’re not entirely sure which thread is the biggest and most shocking component. The characters are well developed and all of their flaws and estrangements are believable. The story is interesting and propulsive.
 
What I didn’t like so much: Hard to say without giving away the ending, but it seemed a bit repetitive of trope in previous
  
Who Should Read It: People who love domestic novels. People who love Sally Hepworth’s previous work.  
 
Summary: A new relationship with a younger woman raises red flags within the family.

Having loved previous books of Hepworth’s, I was excited to read this one. However, I found her take on spousal abuse to be disturbing and quite frankly, out of touch with today’s world. To build up a story line of abuse, and then show new wife to be lying? Yeah, really offended me. I did hear that she changed the ending in the final book which makes me happy so I will not be publishing this review anywhere as it would not be fair.

I forgot to review this one! I enjoy this author's books but this one was not my favorite - too many unlikeable characters.

I really wanted to love this book as this author has been recommended quite a bit to me before, however I struggled so much with this book.

My main concern here was the ending, I did not love it whatsoever and had issues with the topic not be expressed the way it should’ve been. The characters were also very flawed.

I'm a big Sally Hepworth fan, her writing is always soothing and a nice way to pass the time. I can't say this is her best but it's interesting and has characters I enjoyed reading about. It's hard not to compare Hepworth to Moriarty, they are so similar but in my world that's a good thing, there is enough room for both and I'll continue to read everything they publish.

I am honestly struggling to rate and review this book. I enjoyed reading it, but I am just not a fan of the men gaslighting women trope in thrillers anymore. So, yes, it was a quick page turner for me, because I did want to know how would end, but I struggled through some parts. I also felt like there was added drama and sensitive content that did to fit at all with the storyline. I will definitely still consider picking up more of Hepworth's books in the future because I have heard good things about her other books, but I don't think this one was for me.

Loved this book! such an entertaining thriller, and I liked it even more than the good sister. will always read sally hepsworth

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

As always, Sally Hepworth does not disappoint! Well written, engaging, and an easy read. Heather, the younger wife, is getting married to Stephen. Stephen’s daughters are the same age as Heather. The book is told from differing viewpoints, and each character is well developed and very real. Things aren’t quite what they seem, and it keeps you guessing until the very end! I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it, and it was an amazing page turner.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book.

Traveling With T's Thoughts:

I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth for many years- from her emotional books to her more recent thriller type books.

I started The Younger Wife right before I went on a mini vacation to Biloxi, MS and then sat by the pool for 2 days and finished it. I was VERY intrigued by the storyline- how Sally had laid out the story.

One thing you have to know before I go any further in this review- while I received a paper ARC, I read the Netgalley ARC and the endings are different. After finishing the book, I chatted with another blogger about the ending and while we both felt the ending left us with some questions, we soon realized that we had read different versions of the book. So I went and found my paper ARC and that ending, which is the finished copy ending from my understanding, leaves you with less questions (imo).

What I Liked:

The cover! I have always loved Sally’s covers and this is no exception.

Heather. I loved her determination.

The layout of the book- the current time and time leading up to current time kept me flipping pages.

Bottom line: For me, while I think I wanted certain parts of the book more explicitly stated as to “yes, this happened”, I can see how fun it would be to discuss the characters and their motivations in a book club.

Is Stephen the best husband and father or not? Is he gaslighting all the women in his life? Is he an abuser or misunderstood? I’m not real sure I know the answer even after finishing the book, so although this could have been really awesome, the ending is so frustrating that it lowers my final impression for me.

The opening scenes of this book grabbed my attention immediately: at the end of a wedding ceremony an emergency takes place behind closed doors with the entire wedding party, an ambulance is called and we're left to wonder what happened. The rest of the story unfolds pretty slowly. I'm usually a big fan of family dramas but this one was filled with too many issues. Both daughters were living with major life issues that went completely undetected by their parents. The father was a picture perfect surgeon with a very dark side. The mother is living with dementia. And the younger wife enters the story with her own giant case of baggage. I think there was way too much going on here and not enough time given to more interesting storylines.

Mini Review:
Per usual, Sally Hepworth had me on the edge of my seat! Complex family dynamics, unusual suspects, quirks with each character....
While this one was slightly more tame than my favorites of hers, it was an enjoyable read. I read somewhere that the ending was changed from early editions, so I was pleased with the ending in the version I read!