The Younger Wife started out great. Some good characters, a puzzling relationship, a major injury at a wedding. But somewhere it fell apart. I truly enjoyed getting to know sisters Rachel and Tully and their soon to be step mom Heather. They worked through some tough situations together and showed how women can be there for each other. But I was expecting a more twisted ending that offered some clarification about Fiona, Pam and Stephen. I seriously could not believe that was the end of the book. Please rewrite and send out a memo.

I was able to review The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth and St. Martin's Press
for providing me with an advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Two sisters have to navigate their father falling in love with a younger woman while their mother languishes in a dementia ward. The story highlights family dysfunction and the repercussions of how a seemingly functional family discovers some hard truths about the picture perfect family they thought they had.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

A big thank you to @stmartinpress for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy of The Younger Wife! Publish date for this book is April 5, 2022 and it is currently available for pre order.

Rachel and Tully get the shock of a lifetime when their dad announces over lunch with his new girlfriend that they plan to marry. Heather, this new fiancée, it bears noting is younger than both girls. The girls immediately feel a sense of betrayal as their father is still technically married to the girls’ mother, Pam, who is in failing health due to her battle with dementia.

This is the third book I’ve read by Sally Hepworth and they never fail to impress. This one had me hooked from the jump with the scene at the wedding. Hepworth does a sensational job of balancing suspense with family drama in a combination that is just right for my tastes. This one definitely ended up taking a different turn than I was expecting, but not in a bad way. The epilogue, while frustrating to some, was so powerful to me. It highlights the persuasive power of gaslighting. The victims of his abuse didn’t even see it for what it was due to his slick nature, a master manipulator. Even though the end with Heather becoming so close with the girls and their family, it was nice to see her get a happy ending.

This book tackles some heavy topics, which was what I loved so much about The Good Sister. However, I do want to tack on a TW for those issues. Domestic abuse, rape, binge eating, kleptomania, depression, manipulation and gaslighting were all explored as it was revealed that no one in this group was free of some kind of coping mechanism to deal with stress and turmoil. These girls didn’t know what their own sisters were experiencing for years and we as a society need to do more to de stigmatize mental health issues.

I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys psychological suspense, thrillers, and family drama.

4.5/5

This was a good read. It was a pretty quick read as well. A nice change of pace from some of the other things I've been reading lately.

The characters were a nice mix of likeable and unlikable and there were enough twists and turns that it kept you guessing. I wasn't expecting the big twist at the end at all.

I'd definitely recommend this to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first read from Sally Hepworth. I found the first third of the story to be a bit on the slower side but it did pick up from there. Out of all of the women in the story, I found Rachel to be the most relatable and authentic. Honestly, the other characters were not ones that I cared much about.

The storyline itself was interesting but a bit out of control. For me, there were too many unknowns that didn’t sit right.

4.5 stars

Hepworth has easily become one of my favorite and go-to authors! I've enjoyed past books, and her latest is no exception!

The author weaves in numerous red herrings and enough twists to keep the reader engaged and guessing. It wasn't quite what I was expecting in the end ... and that's a good thing! Multiple POV's let the reader see that everyone is keeping secrets in this family full of relatable dysfunction. The author is a master in this genre, and I can't wait to read future books!

Sally Hepworth does a great job in her books getting the reader invested in the characters and The Younger Wife is no exception. From the beginning all the characters intrigued me and I kept finding myself wanting to learn about their past. The book is about a family in which each member has their own troubles they are trying to overcome whilst trying to accept their Dads newly younger wife. The story kept wanting me to read more and more and the epilogue was an excellent wrap up. I enjoyed the book overall because I felt most lose ends were tied up and most questions were answered. I would have liked to read a few chapters from Stephen, the dads perspective but overall, great read.

My first Sally Hepworth novel and won’t be the last. Successful surgeon Stephen Aston is getting married to the much younger Heather, even younger than his daughters Tully and Rachel. First he must divorce his wife of many years who is in a nursing home with dementia. The story is told from the points of view of each of these three women all with terrible secrets and emotional issues. It all seems very straightforward until there appears to be some cracks in the mirror. Misdirection, slight of hand and poof …we have some very unreliable narrators. Although this book doesn’t seem to shine a favorable light on womanhood it was still quite entertaining.
Thank you Netgalley and St Martins for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this one! I’m not huge on thrillers, but Hepworth writes stories that always get me hooked. This one in particular had some characters I really enjoyed. All three of the leading ladies were good and I enjoyed them. Add in a story that kept me guessing until the end and it made for a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic thriller mystery of a family who is experiencing traumatic changes , all while dealing with their pasts. Hepworth does a great job of winding up this story of the Aston family as they learn how to deal with their matriarch's dementia. Dad, a famous heart surgeon moves on quickly and finds the next woman of his dreams, but it's too bad she's as young as his own daughters. The two daughters, dealing with their own issues , now they have to go through their dad's new wedding , all while losing their mother to her dementia. And of course the younger wife, she has the potential to have a perfect life, but will the ex or the daughters stand in her way. Add a violent act to the mix of things and let the fun begin!

Quick paced and exciting and enjoyable characters, this is one perfect cocktail of a book!
Rated 4/5 stars because of the ending. It wasn't completely disappointing but it did leave me with questions.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth-a book that started out so perfect and kept you reading and reading-just to get to the ending and be like bleh.

We meet the Heather (the bride), Stephen (the groom), Tully and Rachel (Stephen’s daughters) Pam (the EX wife—whuttt) and a wedding attendee who is later revealed in a crazy first chapter where someone is seriously injured or maybe even killed because the officiant has blood on her. Ok, you have my attention. We then jump between recent history and present wedding day in a fast paced telling to keep you drawn in-WHO WAS HURT?! WHO DID IT?!

And then comes the ending. While it was ok and brought the story closure it just felt… rushed and forced. I may be in a minority-I don’t know, but I just got that vibe.

All in all an entertaining read and if you are a Sally Hepworth fan, definitely check it out!

*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion*

I'm feeling so conflicted about this book. I've read and enjoyed all of Sally Hepworth's previous novels and The Younger Wife was a good read up until the ending. The issue I have is not knowing whether the conclusion was a creative choice along the lines of typical thrillers or if it was done with the intention to be thought-provoking and convey a message. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and say it's the latter but my advance reader's copy did not include any type of Author's Note with insight to her thought process. I hope the finished edition of the book will include some clarification as it's too heavy of a topic to leave it open to interpretation.

The story hooked me from the beginning as the setting is a wedding and the celebration comes to a halt when there's a scream and moments later someone appears in the room with blood all over them. Then we go back and see everything that led up to it. The story follows Tully and Rachel who are sisters. Heather is right around their age and is engaged to their father, Stephen. It's a family drama although it also falls in that domestic thriller/suspense category as well.

One of the things that draws me to Sally Hepworth's books is she doesn't shy away from tackling tough subjects. The three female lead characters were dealing with separate issues in their lives. Tully's storyline is one that doesn't pop up much in fiction which is fascinating because it's not like her problems are extremely unheard of in real life. Glad the author was able to explore that a bit.

Heather is marrying the man of her dreams. Yes, he's older, but he's a doctor and has a nice home and daughters her age that she can see herself being friends with. His wife with dementia is just a matter of a small divorce and then all her dreams of security and a family will come true. Stephen's adult daughters, Tully and Rachel, don't know what to think about Heather and their dad's upcoming wedding and worry about the outrageous claims their mom is making from her care facility. Throw in some hidden money and some poor coping habits, and this family is a mess. When someone goes to the hospital from the wedding (this is at the start of the book and then it goes back into the buildup), what will happen to their new family?

Sally Hepworth has outdone herself. I liked this domestic suspense book much better than her most recent book and maybe even better than The Mother-in-Law. I've read a lot of cookie cutter thrillers and this one is not only a better story, but well crafted. I love it when a book dwells in the ambiguity (I know some people hate this). I felt like this was layered and so propulsive; it would make a great discussion book. 4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

I have officially become a auto-buy reader of Sally Hepworth!
The Younger Wife is a well-paced suspenseful novel about a family. It begins with a wedding between a heart doctor and a young woman, Heather, who comes from an uncertain background. She is marrying a much older man and she is about the same age as his daughters. He is extremely, recently divorced, when his wife becomes completely debilitated by dementia. At the wedding, he has invited the ex-wife and his daughters and their families, in addition to other friends and family. A traumatic event happens at the ceremony leading to an investigation and a medical emergency. We hear the story leading up to the big day from multiple POVs and find out that everyone has something that they are hiding.
This story is interesting throughout and I absolutely loved the different perspectives, sometimes of the same events.
This is a fun read and page turning juiciness. Highly recommend!
#TheYoungerWife #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

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𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆
𝙱𝚢: @sallyhepworth
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @stmartinspress
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: October 26, 2021
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.99
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 👰👰👰 / 5 Wives

Thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the gifted ARC of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆 for an honest & unbiased review.

If you need the synopsis of this story please go to @goodreads because this book has been everywhere on #bookstagram and I'm sure many of you have seen it once or twice.

This is a psychological thriller with a bit of family drama mixed in. And you all know how I enjoy some family drama! The first part pulled me in, and it made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed getting to know these characters, however I would have liked to know more about the husband's first wife and for her to elaborate more on their marriage. I mean why was she a narrator at all if we had such little information?

I really did not enjoy the ending and the last half of this book. I knew what this book was trying to do, but I just did not think the ending was very good. I felt it was a bit rushed and I would have liked a better outcome. The epilogue in my opinion added nothing because it made us as readers think that the women could have been imagining things once again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the drama, and the characters lives within these pages I just wish a few parts of this novel were written a little more solid and smoother.

TW: domestic violence, alcoholism

The Younger Wife is the new domestic thriller from Sally Hepworth.

"Well loved cardiologist, Stephen Ashton is getting married again. His new bride is the young and beautiful Heather. His first wife is currently living at a care facilty for dementia patients. She still comes to the wedding. After the vows the wedding party including Mom and daughters Tully and Rachel head back to sign the register. There are screams and the minister rushes out covered in blood and screaming for a doctor. Is someone hurt? What happened?"

Hepworth begins at the wedding with an unknown POV. We think someone is hurt but we have no idea what has happened. The story goes back a year and gives us the leadup to the wedding. This is a slow burn. Hepworth takes some time to reveal the sisters and Heather and Dr. Ashton. And this is a family with a lot of issues. I found myself pulling for the sisters and for Heather. I like that Hepworth doesn;t wave a literary magic wand and make everything better. Seems like it's more realistic.

No spoilers but there is a character you will despise by the end. I like the mini-epilogue. It's like "I've done all of these things to these characters - let them have a little happiness somewhere in the book."

If you like a slow-burn domestic thriller and you're looking for your next beach read, this is a good option. (especially if you like yelling at fictional characters)

This is a perfect vacation/beach/lazy day book - it reads quickly and keeps tension up to have kept me wondering how it would resolve. How fun is that? I’m not sure the book was satisfying - but it was fun and clever. I kind of saw it like that fun HBO series Big Little Lies - lots of quirky female characters drinking wine with their own backstories coming together. Recommending this one - it’s a fun ride. Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
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Tully and Rachel are going to lunch to meet their dad’s new girlfriend. Who is REALLY young. Who is this lady? And does she really know their dad? And the unique situation that he has put her into?
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This was a great mystery book! I love that the first chapter is from the end of the book because it was a great hook and kept me engaged with the story!
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Out of the three POVs the daughters were my favorites. I loved their relationship with each other as sisters and how even though they may have been distracted by their own lives and problems they were there for each other. 🥺
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I don’t want to give away spoilers but I enjoyed the flow of this story a lot. I think I read most of the book in two days. There are some trigger warnings so if you’re concerned then feel free to ask for those.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this and since this was my first Hepworth I will be reading more!

This book is worth reading for the hot water bottle alone, and the note at the end of the book makes this plot device even more fun. This book will circulate and delight readers.

Put this book in the hands of fans of Liane Moriarty, Lisa Jewell, and Paula Hawkins.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest view

Thanks to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth has become an author that THIS READER just cannot resist. It's hard to put down one of her family dramas! The Younger Wife is about a handsome successful doctor( Stephen) and his younger wife(Heather). Toss in his two grown daughters( Rachel and Tully(Natalie)) and their whole crowd of issues( first wife Pam with dementia) and some unexplained family secrets and this book become one hell of a ride.

I enjoyed the multi-character narrative perspective and the many twists and turns the story took as the plot progressed. Rachel, Tully, and Heather were fantastically written characters and each had compelling stories that made me feel empathy towards them. But I do think most men in the story( Stephen, Sonny, and Darcy) either came across as incredibly douchy or were incredibly perfect and that is perhaps because their perspectives are not added to the story.

As for the ending, it certainly kept me on my toes.






Expected Publication 05/04/22
Goodreads Review 22/02/22