I received an ARC of THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth to be published April 5, 2022. This novel is a suspenseful family drama with many twists. Tully and Rachel face the odd predicament of accepting their father’s fiancée, Heather, a woman years younger than they are. The family has suffered the lose of their matriarch, who now resides in a care facility, due to dementia. Their father wants to remarry, but must first divorce his current wife. Heather sees her fiancé’s family as perfect. Beautiful, successful daughters of a doctor who have always enjoyed the good life. But appearances are deceiving. A hot water bottle stuffed with a small fortune and several secrets threaten the happiness of the sisters and their soon to be stepmother. Shocking and exciting, this novel will have you guessing until the end.

This novel starts out with a startling mystery right from page one and then goes back to events prior to that. Every character is hiding something and the story weaves everything together so beautifully that it kept me wanting to know more.

This book had me staying up late just so I could read one more chapter, and then another, and another. It was so engaging I couldn't put it down!

The opening is narrated by a wedding guest commenting on the groom, Stephen Aston, with his two grandsons as his best men, and his two adult daughters, Rachel and Tully, as the bridesmaids. Stephen is in his early 60's, and marrying Heather Wisher, twenty-nine years younger than Stephen and a few years younger than his adult daughters. Also, in attendance is Pamela, a recent ex-wife with Alzheimer's.

It's not a very conventional wedding and the wedding party not very conventional either! Following the ceremony, the wedding party goes into the sacristy to sign the register. A scream erupts!

The story then fast forwards to a year earlier, alternating between Rachel, Tully and Heather. Rachel is the younger of the two daughters, and has kept a secret since she was sixteen. She makes her living as a baker and eats her feelings as a way to cope. Tully is a mother of two young boys, living in an influential neighborhood without a care in the world. Tully, also hides a secret, something she's done since she was a child. Heather is an interior designer and worked hard to get where she is in life. She tells everyone that her parents died in a car accident and is haunted by her past.

Three women with more in common than they think will each face their past. A water bottle will become a catalyst to a missing piece of the puzzle.

I found all the characters to be well developed and intriguing. The story kept pulling me along to learn more about each one. I enjoyed seeing Rachel closing a chapter in her book to start a new one and Tully for trying to be strong to overcome her biggest obstacle. I wanted to shake Heather for not seeing what was right in front of her and what felt like she was responding to her heart not her head. A terrific domestic thriller!

I received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

So I’m just gonna start off by saying that the ending of this book was so terrible. I saw so many other reviews that said the same thing, but I didn’t believe them because Sally Hepworth can do no wrong in my eyes.

I won’t go into specifics because of spoilers…but yeah. In my opinion, the ending almost ruined the rest of the book for me.

I still gave this one four stars because Sally Hepworth’s writing is wonderful and I still enjoyed reading it. The dual POV was amazing and I was equally invested in all of the characters (probably because they were all extremely damaged and I loved it).

I think I was most invested in Heather’s story (she’s the younger wife). I have a lot of unanswered questions about her and I would love some sort of followup story. But I also loved reading about the daughters, Rachel and Tully, and the issues that they faced individually as well. Oh, and Darcy was perfection and is my new book boyfriend. (Make no mistake, Rhys from the ACOTAR series has not been replaced. He is my book husband. Darcy is just a side dish.)

ANYWAY.

I would definitely still recommend this book, but just go into it knowing that the ending will probably make you very, very mad. That is all.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC! A review is posted on my Goodreads and my Bookstagram account (link is attached).

In my mind, Sally Hepworth is the reigning Queen of the messy family drama. She writes nuanced characters with depth and heart, and never fails to weave in a compelling mystery. Hepworth’s latest, THE YOUNGER WIFE, is certainly no exception.

Inspired by true events of a large sum of money found in a water bottle, the story follows sisters Rachel and Tully as they navigate their father’s upcoming marriage to a younger woman, their mother’s dementia, and a myriad of personal issues.

I’ve seen this book classified as a thriller; in my opinion, that categorization does the book a disservice as the storyline is firmly in the domestic suspense/family drama genre. With that being said, Sally tackles some serious issues but does so with a light touch and her characters are flawed yet endearing. This would make a perfect spring break poolside read!

RATING: 4/5

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for physical an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sally Hepworth has an interesting writing style. Her books are classified as Domestic Suspense/Thriller. But, for the most part, the suspense is very very subtle. It’s almost passive-aggressive. If you're not paying attention, you might not even notice.

The Younger Wife is about 3 women. Rachel and Tully are adult sisters (in their 30s). Their mother has dementia and has moved into a care home. Their father is about to marry Heather, who is actually younger than Rachel and Tully. Then, there is a mysterious character who appears several times throughout the book, obviously for a purpose. But, it takes a long time for that character's purpose to be revealed.

The story contains the compulsory element: SECRETS. Every one of the above women has one. The secrets leak out, very slowly. There is an undercurrent flowing right from the beginning of the book. You know things will come to a head but you don't know what these things are or when they will happen.

Other timely issues are touched on: abuse, drinking, kleptomania. There is a lot to keep the reader's attention.

The ending was a surprise, sort of. I have read other reviews; some were happy with it, some weren't. My wishy-washy opinion is that I think it was a good ending. Each reader will have to make up their their own mind.

This was a great book to escape these troubled times. Sally Hepworth has not disappointed me yet! And, I loved the cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy.

A thriller! Alright, let’s dive in. The first thing that threw me off about this one was the pandemic mention. Covid is brought up a couple times in this book and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about that coming up in books already? I feel like it’s weird because the pandemic is still happening? It always takes me out of the fictional book world when it pops up.

Also I don’t really think it contributed anything to the story and could have easily been removed and this could have just been a fictional world where it didn’t exist.

This was a psychological thriller. I feel like it ended up being more focused on the daughters and their trauma and experiences, the young fiancé, and the ex wife than Stephen. Stephen ties them all together, there’s the mystery of trying to figure out what he had going on, but I felt like the ending was sort of eh? There’s no solid for sure confirmed conclusion. It was a big build up and a sort of blah ending. This book would benefit from a Netflix budget, ominous music, and a creepily too nice older actor playing Stephen to really amp up the tension.

Also one comment about Tully’s husband. HE lost all their money in a bad investment yet everything was always her fault and he was always getting angry at her? Like she had a lot she needed help with mentally, but sir lost all their money and was constantly coming after her for things and it took him a BIT to be like oh maybe I should help you through this after she told him what was going on with her.

Overall though, this one was alright. All the characters are dealing with a LOT, and you get to experience the story from each POV. You’re left questioning a lot, but it’s a quick read for a rainy day.

This one comes out April 5!

Content warnings: sexual assault, rape, physical abuse

I have been eagerly awaiting it as I finished up the entire backlog! Another compelling read and glimpse into family drama, secrets and generational trauma. I felt like you really got to know Tully and Rachel as the tension grew towards the end of the book. There are definitely some trigger warnings to consider prior to reading. Overall, I really enjoyed and couldn't put it down.

The patriarch of the Aston family is remarrying a woman who is closer in age to his grown daughters than she is to him. Heather ,the fiancé , met Stephen while redecorating the house he and his wife(at the time) lived. Pam, mom the their children, Rachel and Tully, suffers from dementia and is moved to a facility to be cared for around the clock. At this point he has fallen in love with Heather ,divorces Pam and proposes.
Family dynamics are pretty messy. Rachel ,a skilled baker, has an eating disorder which manifested after an incident that happened to her when she was sixteen. Tully, has anxiety issues with materialize in kleptomania . The sisters dive deep into their respective coping mechanisms when they learn of the pending nuptials of their dad and Heather. To top things off Rachel hasn't dated since sixteen and she is constantly pressured to find someone. Tully finds out that her husband took a chance on a stock which didn't pan out in their favor. Their life of luxury soon comes to an end.
I considered this an easy read which is good and bad. I like a challenge and I felt as if this plot was fairly predictable, so not a real mental challenge.
I did love chapter 53 ! In this chapter Tully and her husband Sonny take the long overdue time to sit down and talk about any old or new secrets they may be keeping. The scene in my mind was one of forgiveness and grace. Really sweet way to have these characters reset and start to work as a team again.
Not a person favorite but not a flop!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The 24th book in the Ian Rutledge series, takes place in 1921. Rutledge, as always is accompanied by the specter of his friend, Hamish, who died in WWI. Hamish serves as Rutledge’s sounding board and conscience. Although Rutledge wasn’t aware of why he had these horrid memories of WWI, today we can see that he suffered from PSTD. Rutledge is called to a small coastal town where a WWI airfield was located. He’s there because a friend of higher-ups in Scotland Yard, Lady Benton, says she saw a murder committed by a dead man. No body was discovered, but as Rutledge wades into the investigation, he discovers there’s murder involved by not done by a dead man. Although there are many different threads spreading out in the story, Todd (the pen name for a mother-son writing team) pulls them all together. Along with all the dead-end leads, Rutledge follows before solving the case, readers learn that his attraction to Kate Gordon continues to grow, as hinted at in previous books. At the end of the book, readers discover that he is being promoted to Chief Inspector, despite the animosity of his boss Markham. In the beginning of the book, readers are told of the death of the co-author’s mother and although the book’s ending indicates more to come, one wonders if the direction of the books might change.

No author writes family drama better than Sally Hepworth. I began reading with one idea about what the book would entail and boy was I wrong. Hepworth tackles some large issues in her story but in such an imaginative creative way. I was certain I had a solid grasp on all the characters, but then the author would throw a new wrench in the narrative.
I was left at the end wondering well, was he or wasn’t he?
If you’re remotely curious about what I mean, then read the book.

The Younger Wife begins at the end with the screams from the Chapel. Stephen has just married the younger wife, while his daughters and former wife have witnessed his nuptials. This twisty family thriller unravels what happens behind closed doors leading up to this point.

The story alternates between three women's perspectives. They each detail secrets that manifest themselves to this moment where the reader is left to wonder who is NOT exiting the church alive.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the advance reader copy.

told from multiple points of view, we are taken through the story of Tully and Rachel meeting their father’s new fiancé Heather. throughout this story, Rachel and Tully discover some secrets of their family’s past which shakes their world.

this was a great story line!! I really enjoyed the multiple POV use in this book and I was happy with the twists! each character has their own deep secret which comes out during their search for the truth about their family. although it was lull at times, it was overall very well written and kept you questioning everyone.

3.5/5

This book is told from the perspectives of Tully and Rachel, the two daughters, and Heather, the young fiancee. All of them are trying to figure out who their father/future husband really is, and whether he is good or bad. Add in a whole bunch of personal issues in each of their lives, and this book felt more like an examination of family dynamics and how an individual's current situation impacts how they interact with others.
The book held my interest enough for me to keep reading, but then the ending raised more questions for me than it answered.
I'd add a long list of trigger warnings, because there are a lot that appear: rape, marital abuse (physical, verbal), gaslighting, murder, infidelity, excessive alcohol consumption, divorce, kleptomania, binge eating, financial ruin, miscarriage.

The Younger Wife is a drama about a dysfunctional family. It follows Tully and Rachel, two sisters in their 30s, whose father is divorcing their mother, who has dementia, to marry a woman their own age. This book kept my attention and was a fast read, but it was also a little boring. I would have liked more drama and for the true plot to reveal itself earlier. The ending was a little anti-climactic. Overall I wouldn’t recommend it.

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the writing by the author but felt the plot was flat. The characters were blah to me, but I would read the author again.

Sally Hepworth definitely has a way of writing that sucks you and makes you want to keep going until you reach the ending - this book is just another example of how much I love her characters!

A wedding that is doomed to end in disaster featuring the husband, the ex-wife, the younger wife, and the two grown daughters. Everyone has a secret, and readers learn them all one at a time.

I particularly liked the relationship between the sisters in this one. Overall a very fun reading that kept me entertained the whole way through!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

This might be my favorite Hepworth book yet! I think she keeps getting better and better. The reader definitely has an idea of what is happening as the plot unfolds (I think this was intentional), but I ended up surprised in the end. I don't want to give anything away, but I really want to discuss this ending with someone! I love the way Hepworth creates characters that highlight the existence of good and bad in everyone......I do think Hepworth could teach a class on character development. Hepworth is definitely an auto read author for me after her newest!

This was a suspenseful mystery that was easy to coast right through in one day. I appreciated the short chapters and just the overall writing style. I guessed one thing fairly early on which wasn’t a big deal for this one. There was a bit of what I considered to be a cliffhanger which I wasn’t really a fan of but overall I enjoyed this book. Anything else I want to add has the potential to spoil something so I’ll end it here.

I’ve been reading (and loving) Sally Hepworth’s novels for ages. I’m pretty sure I’ve read them all, actually. Her style of writing has certainly changed a lot over the years. I’d describe her earlier novels as contemporary fiction or even chick lit. However, her more recent novels lean towards the mystery, thriller, and suspense genres. With each new release, things get a little darker, heavier, and even a bit twistier. A lot of book reviewers call her the queen of domestic suspense, and I’d have to agree with that title. Her latest, The Younger Wife is centered around three women: two sisters, and their father’s new fiancé - aka, the younger wife. As the novel bounces from one woman’s perspective to another, the reader quickly learns more and more about their individual struggles and tragic pasts. This is a slow-burning mystery that airs out A LOT of dirty laundry! Just like always, Hepworth delivers another page-turner full of family drama, secrets, and crazy twists. Was this my absolute favorite novel from Sally Hepworth? No, but it was fun, intriguing, and very entertaining. It’s the perfect book to pick up if you’re in a reading slump, or if you need a good palate cleanser after an intense read. The Younger Wife releases on April 5th, and it gets 4/5 stars from me!