I thoroughly enjoy Sally Hepworth's books. and her latest didn't disappoint. The Younger Wife had me hooked from page 1 and I didn't predict the ending. 5 stars!

I have to say that I think this is my favorite Sally Hepworth that I have read so far. I love reading any kind of story including something medical so the doctor aspect for me was an added bonus. There were a lot of characters in this and you got to learn about each of them and the struggles they were going through. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book as character development so often is lacking in many books. You didn't experience that in this story. You got to see their stories and how they all weave around the one main story of the thriller.

This is a page turner that will keep you up into the night feverishly turning the pages to get to the conclusion. I really enjoy Sally Hepworth as a writer and will continue to read her books.

The reason I really wanted to read this was because I really enjoy Sally Hepworth books. I have read a handful so far and was excited when this one came out also! Thank you NetGalley and Sally Hepworth for the advanced copy.

I like family dramas and this one was exactly that! I really like the author explores each character's personality and they seem like they could be real people. They aren't perfect, have flaws, and they have their own story within the bigger story.

This one starts with a wedding that turns sour. Well more than sour, but disasterous. I love how we know what happened but don't know who or why.

I liked the ending, though I know many had mixed feelings. I like that about an author tho. Makes you think!

Twisty and and lots of little dramas within a drama - so very enjoyable!

Another great thriller from Sally Hepworth. It was a slow burn for the first bit and then it all kept twisting and kept you guessing who met their demise at the wedding.

This book follows the lives of Rachel, Tully, Stephen, Heather and Pam, all dealing with their own issues in life but all intertwined without realizing it. The story opens at the wedding of Stephen and Heather leading to the ultimate unknown. Then the book backtracks to retell all the events leading up to the wedding. Told in multiple perspectives, the book starts off slow, but about half way in becomes faster paced, more interesting, and I could not put it down. While I thought I had nailed out what happened, the ending does leave you with a surprise you did not see coming.

This was not a thriller that it was supposedly marketed as, I would consider this more of a family drama than anything else with SOME mystery to it.
There were a lot of heavy topics talked about such as: rape, eating disorders, anxiety, kleptomania, verbal abuse, and domestic violence which I feel were all somewhat glossed over.
I didn't care for any of the characters and the ending wasn't neatly done as much as I like endings to be.

I finished this book about a month ago and have puzzled on how to write a review since. Typically Sally Hepworth is an Insta-buy for me, but this book was a bit different. I know she rewrote the ending which was smart as it was too open-ended. However there were a lot of emotionally impactful storylines that didn’t quite hit like they should have. They don’t seem to have been handled appropriately imo. For instance a sexual assault survivor who had gone through many traumatic years trying to heal herself with food is healed by the love of a man? Hmm. And a kleptomaniac character who does seek therapy but we never know the root of her issues. Just a lot of odd things. Otherwise I enjoyed the book! The mystery kept me interested!

If someone had asked me a week ago if I thought a hot water bottle would ever feature prominently in a compelling family drama/mystery, I’d probably have looked at them and said, “You mean those funny-looking pink rubbery things that my grandma used?” Well, that day has come and you’ll just have to read this to figure out where that silly-looking thing comes into play!

Stephen Aston is a well-respected heart surgeon in an unorthodox family situation. He’s just divorced his wife, Pam, who has advanced dementia, in order to marry their one-time interior designer, Heather, who’s younger than both of his daughters, Tully (Natalie) and Rachel. It’s a bizarre situation, but that’s how this family rolls and everyone seems willing to make it work. Think that’s weird? Stephen also invited Pam to his wedding. What?!

When the book opens with said wedding and something unexpected happens - the reader isn’t privy to what happened or who it involves until much later in the book, the story goes back to the months preceding the wedding, delving deeper into Rachel, Tully and Heather’s lives, and more indirectly, Stephen’s. ALL of these characters are complicated and fascinating in their own ways, and Hepworth is SO good at creating personalities and backstories that draw you in. I loved Rachel’s strength, Tully’s “quirks” and Heather’s vulnerability. Dysfunction abounds, but c’mon … that’s kinda what makes people more interesting, right?

Now, here’s the tricky part. I love when a book can fool me, and this one kept me guessing until the end, so kudos to Hepworth for that. What I have mixed feelings about, though, is the ending, which seems to be a sticking point for many readers, though I’ve heard she rewrote it, or at least parts of it, for the published version. As for this version, readers are interpreting it very differently, which is going to affect how they feel about events. In my interpretation, I didn’t like where it left certain characters and thought it was a little cruel after everything they’d been through. Did it ruin it? Absolutely not! It’s great domestic suspense and for the most part I loved it. I’ll be eager to see the published version to see how it affects my feelings!

★★★★ ½ (rounded down to 4)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and author Sally Hepworth for this ARC. I’ve given my opinions freely and honestly. It’s now available.

UPDATE: I've just read the re-worked published ending, and I'm so pleased that it resolves the issue I had with it previously. It's a far more satisfying and realistic one, so thank you to Sally Hepworth for that!

I always look forward to Sally Hepworth's domestic thrillers! This story follows the points of view of Tully, Rachel, and Heather, and it seems everyone is hiding something. The book opens in the middle of the action at a wedding, then recounts the events leading up to it. As different issues came to light, I was able to put the pieces together quickly, though I was still surprised at the seemingly abrupt ending.
CW: dementia, abuse

I really wanted to like this one, but it was a bit slow for me. I ended up not finishing it. I definitely want to try her other books in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of this book.

Sally Hepworth is the queen of multiple POV stories that are like an onion. Peeling away layers of the truth until you get the full story. The Younger Wife felt like that. Told from three women’s POV, all of which play a large role in Stephen Aston’s life. His two daughters, Tully and Rachel and his new, younger fiancé/wife Heather. They are all piecing together little bits about Stephen from his past as well as the person he is now. At first nothing lines up with what they think, but once they start to notice things, it is hard to tell what is true and what isn’t.

I had both the eARC and physical ARC of The Younger Wife, thank you St Martin’s Press. I heard they had different endings, so I went from finishing one to immediately reading the ending of the other. After finishing both, it almost feels a little like a choose your own adventure. I am not sure which ending I like more.

2 stars.

Family drama with WAY too much going on.

It pains me to rate a book by this author so low as I usually adore her books. However, this was a complete miss for me. I had no sense of connection or investment in any part of this storyline. I knew from the very start I wasn’t connecting with the characters but I pushed ahead thinking it would turn around and I just needed to give it time. Unfortunately the novel progressively got worse as I read on and I should have DNF’d.

The prologue was unique and interesting but had a soap opera feel to it which is a feeling that stayed with me until the end of the book. The characters and dialogue came across as forced, cheesy and unrealistic which kept me distanced. I was not bought into anything that happened.

There were far too many major themes going on in these characters lives with none of them being fully explored or fleshed out. Several of the characters had major lifelong issues that came out within the pages of this story and it was all very cliche and predictable.

I’m definitely the outlier as many have loved this so please check out other reviews before deciding on this. Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

Sally Hepworth’s books never fail to bring well formed characters and interesting drama. I really enjoyed reading The Younger Wife. I loved how each character had such a distinct storyline, but how they all tied together so neatly. I was really invested in finding out what was going to happen with Tully, Rachel, Heather, and Pam. This is a great book to buddy read due to the themes throughout and all of the grey areas that arise.

Sally does an amazing job at developing characters and I would say this is an extremely character driven plot. I love reading from multiple perspectives and this story has quite a few! It was easy to follow even with jumping back and forth in time and between 5 characters. As I have heard from many ARC readers, the original ending left a lot to be desired. I’m very happy to know that Sally took her readers thoughts into action and made a new ending more fitting of the overall story.

Thank you Netgalley for my free copy!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, there are themes in this book that are important. Certain passages left me feeling very uncomfortable, which is not a bad thing. In order to develop compassion for others (and self), we need to expand our horizons and see life through different lenses. The author achieved this through the different POVs. I thought the story flowed really well and I was invested in the characters. My only complaint is the ending. I don't need the ending to be wrapped up in a pretty little bow, however, this ending fell a little flat to me. Not because it left a lot of room for interpretation, but because it felt unfinished. Like I was missing something. Maybe that was the intention of the author... All in all, I did enjoy this book.

Let’s talk expectations. The Younger Wife has been loosely marketed as a domestic “thriller.” It’s not a thriller at all. Even calling it suspense is, for me, pushing the boundaries. This is a complex domestic drama with an suspenseful undercurrent. If you’re expecting the fast pace of a thriller or the consistent edginess of suspense, you’ll likely be disappointed.

On to the story. First I want to mention that Sally Hepworth’s writing is always engaging, and this book is no different. She draws readers in with realistic characters dealing with real-life issues, providing depth and insight that helps us understand ourselves and each other.

But the story, well, I appreciate the undertaking, though I didn’t love the execution.

We have LOTS of heavy topics. Every single character here has a life-altering secret. For me, it was too much. One or two troubled characters are interesting, but all five is like the proverbial “everything but the kitchen sink.”

I figured everything out way ahead. The only suspense came in waiting for the characters to catch up.

All this leads me to my main issue with the story. I’ve grown weary of the plot device too many domestic dramas (suspense/thrillers) are using these days, in which no one in the family tells anyone or notices anything of relevance, ever. The only way this story works is if all four of these family members are completely, totally, utterly oblivious. How can you live in a home with three other people for decades, yet not observe anything of consequence, especially when so much is wrong?

Oh, and the epilogue? I hated it for reasons I can’t explain without spoilers.

Once again Sally Hepworth nails a emotional and suspenseful story. Her characters always have amazing depth. I feel so much for each character and what is going to happen in their story! This story kept me wondering what was going to happen! Smash hit!

I'm so conflicted about this book because I loved the first 80%ish of it, but HATED the last 20% of it! So much so that my rating is going to end up being a 2-star. I still would recommend it for the fun ride that most of it is, but, again, am majorly disappointed with the end. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you I would pick it up, just know that the ending might end up ruining it for you.

I did not read the entire book before it was archived, however, I was enjoying it and can definitely see readers of my library liking it. I did not get to the controversial ending...so I can't comment on it!

I enjoyed this book. I really like Hepworth’s writing. Definitely recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.