Oh that ending! "The Younger Wife" will be a polarizing read this spring but I'm in the camp that loved it. The Australian thriller is another family drama from Sally Hepworth and it's my favorite of hers so far. It tells the story of Stephen Aston and his new, much younger fiancee. The story bounces around from the perspective of the fiancee and Stephen's two adult daughters. It's a fast-paced read and really enjoyable.

3.5 Stars.
When I pick up a Sally Hepworth book I know I am going to get some family drama, a lot of secrets and probably some unlikeable characters. It is always fun to flip the pages as you keep switching your mind on who you like and don't like or who is guilty of some crime. The Younger Wife definitely followed this formula and I enjoyed it. It was a really interesting storyline and family dynamic. It is a bingeable read that leaves you a little uncertain in the end but I believe that is what Sally wanted!

I finished this book in a day. I was really caught up in all the characters. It made me realize how our upbringing can carry long into our adult lives. It was the perfect mix of family dynamics and mystery. I couldn’t get enough!

I've seen so many people rave about Sally's books. I was so excited to receive this arc, and man it did not disappoint. Her character developmental is amazing. This book is packed with family drama. I will have to go back and read her other books now!

A successful doctor is engaged to marry a much younger woman, and things are not going well. For one thing, he is still married to his wife of many years, who now has dementia. His daughters, struggling with their own issues, are less than pleased that he plans to divorce their mother to marry a woman their age. Hepworth has written another domestic suspense tale in which all initial assumptions are turned upside down. The ending is left ambiguous. This may bother some readers, but I found it mildly intriguing.

The beginning of Sally Hepworth’s The Younger Wife opens with a anonymous narrator at a wedding when outside her field of vision, someone screams. What’s happened and to whom? A great way to start a suspense novel.

However, soon the reader is embedded in a domestic fiction novel about two sisters who are introduced to their soon-to-be stepmother who is a few year’s younger than them. The older sister, Tully, lives the life of luxury but is a kleptomaniac and has been since her early teens. Her younger sister, Rachel, is a successful baker who suffered trauma at 16 and eats her anxieties. Heather, the future stepmother, comes from a financially poor background in which her father murdered her mother. Stephen, the father, is a successful heart surgeon who is seemingly loved by everyone. Pam is his soon-to-be ex-wife who suffers from Alzheimers. The anonymous narrator is not revealed until many chapters into the novel.

The story is told through multiple narrators: Rachel, Tully, Heather, and anonymous who we do learn the identity of later.

Despite the fact that Sally Hepworth is a good writer, The Younger Wife almost bored me into a catatonic state. If it weren’t for the scenes with the wonderful punster Darcy, who is Rachel’s new delivery man, and Rachel, who is probably the most down-to-earth of the characters, I may have tossed The Younger Wife in the DNF pile. Slow-burn should only be applied to romance novels, not thrillers in which tension should be constantly rising.

Instead, the reader is shown how gaslighting works and how self-doubting women succumb. However, I’d go even further and suggest that it’s not just self-doubt but some brand of dimwittedness, especially in Tully’s case. I’m not sure why Hepworth chose to write Tully as being as unaware as she is but it ultimately makes her character seem mentally deficient. There are some instances in which I’m not sure whether the reader is supposed to believe that the narrator, Heather, mainly, is unreliable or if she is being manipulated. Whichever it was supposed to be, it left a taste of confusion rather than tension. I can’t say that I’m thrilled by the way Hepworth portrayed these women–gullible and unaware.

I expected the ending to feel right, just, but frankly it rambled and still left things up in the air. I don’t think that’s a spoiler. The ending stunk.

Ultimately The Younger Wife needed far more tension and a clearer sense that the author actually understood what she was hoping to achieve or what she wanted her readers to believe. I read the last chapter and felt like there was still a lot of shrugging going on, which is definitely not the way to end a thriller.

I didn’t read any reviews before writing my own, but I did note the number of stars being bandied about. They are far more than I would give. So we’re at a Your Mileage May Vary kind of book review. If Darcy and Rachel hadn’t been so lovely, I would have probably rated the book lower.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel starts at the end, with a shocking incident at the lovely wedding of prominent surgeon Stephen to his much younger bride Heather. Stephen’s 30-something daughters, Tully and Rachel, are in attendance, and so is their mother Pam, Stephen’s former wife with advancing dementia whom he divorced in order to marry Heather. *record scratch* He did what?? Yep.

From there, Sally Hepworth unspools the events leading up to the wedding, moving chapter to chapter from Tully to Rachel to Heather. Each woman has her own major issue she feels compelled to handle: for Tully her kleptomania, for Rachel her binge eating, and for Heather her alcohol consumption.

Where this faltered for me is in the breadth of the characters and plot. There is so much going on that needs to be resolved with the three women’s personal struggles and relationships, not to mention unraveling their relationships to Stephen and his whole bag of worms, that I never felt much connection to any of these characters or fully satisfied by the various conclusions to their personal struggles.

Also, I must mention that ending. Whew. You have to be ok with somewhat ambiguous endings to appreciate the one here. I’m still scratching my head, wondering where the gaslighting ends and the truth begins. Fleshing out what really happened would make for an intriguing book club discussion.

Overall, this is compelling, page-turning fiction, which Sally Hepworth writes so well. Recommended for those who enjoy Hepworth’s vibe and/or messy, vice-centered, dark family dramas in general.

Oh my goodness, this book is great!! Full with amazing characters, fast paced, easily relatable novel that just kept me guessing. Very much enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I'm always excited to get my hands on a new Sally Hepworth book and The Younger Wife did not disappoint! There's a lot of family drama as the patriarch of the family is getting married to a woman roughly the same age as his two adult daughters while his recently divorced first wife is in a care home for people with dementia. However, there are some secrets from the past that are about to be revealed as well as someone being hurt at the wedding. This all leads up to a satisfying conclusion. Read and enjoy!

While I found the book to be predictable throughout, I was still very invested in the overall outcome of the story. The pacing was well done and there were several characters who I found to be messy but not so much you didn't want to root for them. This is not a story for everyone though. There are some very heavy themes and events that occur outside the typical murder (such as sexual assault, pregnancy loss, and abuse) that some might not want to read about. I did think those issues were handled well and I appreciated the author's highlighting the importance of mental healthcare.

The Aston family has problems. And big ones. But they put on a facade where you would never know, until something unthinkable happens at Stephen's wedding to Heather. This story was enjoyable from the start. The story is told in three perspectives...those of the Aston sisters, Tully and Rachel, and Stephen's new fiancée, Heather. Hepworth does this domestic suspense book wonderfully. We are left guessing as to what's happening, wondering if anyone is going to figure out the secrets, and trying to figure out who got hurt at the wedding and why. This book is full of unreliable narrators, and you may not always know who to believe, and you may not always like everyone in the story. I will say that I saw some people thought the ending was ambiguous, and I can see why. However, I know what my thoughts are on what happened and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story at all.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book to review. It is out now!

I started The younger wife by Sally Hepworth a couple of months ago, and at first enjoyed it, and then I just found it started to get repetitive, with the multiple POV's, and I found myself setting the book aside. While the plot itself was interesting, the characters of the women were frankly insulting. All the women had some sort of flaw....why? Because they had a shitty father? Seriously? Sorry I can't recommend this book. The only part I liked was the hot water bottle...and you bet I will be checking my Mom's out before I toss it out!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read an advanced copy.

5 Oh, My My Stars
* * * * *
First I am a fan of Sally Hepworth, her crafting and creativity have been solid for me. This was such a ride, with all of the characters and their perspectives on what was happening and their goals in hiding the secrets they had.

This idea of one partner having this type of situation and how it is handled with the partner is a very real thing today. Makes one think.

"Your opinion is your opinion, your perception is your perception--do not confuse them with facts or truth." (John Moore)

This domestic drama is a study of an unusual family whose patriarch is about to marry a much younger woman after his wife, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, is confined to a care home.

Stephen Aston is a heart surgeon, is in his early 60's, and has two daughters who are both older than his bride-to-be. He wants Tully and Rachel to be happy for him and Heather, but the whole situation is fraught with complications -- especially since Stephen has not divorced his mentally unstable wife, Pam. As all of them begin interacting and making discoveries about each other, long held secrets and issues start to bubble to the surface creating conflict and questions. Most of the concern is directed toward Stephen.

This novel was quite entertaining as the author creates the narrative from several different points of view and with a time shift that makes the reader start the guessing games. Just when you think you have it all figured out, there's a twisty surprise at the end that might leave some readers a bit unsettled. Personally, I thought most of the women were huge hot messes and totally unreliable in their perceptions and quite untrustworthy. Talk about a lot going on -- these women all needed some long term therapy! In any event, I enjoyed the read and, perhaps you are like me, and only want to know -- what happened next?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

The version I read was different than the final book…and I must say, I LOVED The Original version. That was such a bold twist at the end, it left my jaw hanging! This is exactly what I want in a thriller book.

I do understand why it needed to be changed for the “delicate” Western World.

I’m so thankful to NetGalley and Williammorrow for the gifted varying versions of The Younger Sister.

The original version of the ARC- 5 Stars
The Final Copy- 3 Stars

Not her best work - I started this one and just found it to be very played out. Younger wife, older man - it just felt stale to me.

This is my second novel by Sally Hepworth, and I loved it almost as much as The Mother. In Law. I Really enjoyed the three different povs, and Rachel was by far my favorite. Hepworth is fantastic at building relatable characters, and Holy Moly was this a screwed up family. This book comes with a few trigger warnings though, domestic violence and child loss. With that being said the ending still still has me a bit confused. It's my understanding that the finished copy has a slightly different ending. This has me ready to stop by the bookstore to check out the difference!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this page turner!

I loved The Good Sister & was thrilled to read this one. I love a good domestic thriller with family secrets, lies and deception. This book is told in multiple points of view and has short chapters, which I loved. Very relatable characters and overall a great thriller.

I was drawn in from the very start. I thought I knew what was going on but each page held another surprise. The secrets and drama of every character kept me reading well into the night, This is a family drama with a lot of twists and turns.

Tully and Rachel are shocked when their father tells them he is remarrying to a much younger woman named Heather. They’ve never met her before and they are immediately leery of her motives. Their mother is still alive but struggles with early onset Alzheimer’s. Everyone has their own secrets they’ve been burying and they start to be uncovered as Heather integrates into the family.

Another Sally Hepworth that I absolutely devoured! There is something about her writing that draws me in. Her very flawed and relatable characters are one. Tully and Rachel were almost comical in their dialogue in parts but also serious where they needed to be. The narrators on the audiobook that was gifted to me by @macmillan.audio and @netgalley was perfect for all the different POVs. I did think that this was misbranded as a thriller, it was more of a family drama (albeit a great one). The length of the novel was short and sweet, and the small chapters kept me turning the pages. Thanks to @stmartinspress for my paper copy!