This is the first Sally Hepworth novel I have read, and I was not disappointed. I do not typically read “thrillers, but this was more of a mystery, so I was incredibly happy I decided to read this book!
Written in “backwards style” meaning the start of the book is the ending and we go back in time to see how the events unfold. Many times, this style of writing makes me confused, but it was quite easy to follow the story. I read the book and listened to the audio, and I enjoyed the narration.
The story begins with a wedding and unfolds from multiple POV. Not everything is at seems in the perfect lives of Rachel, Tulley, Pam and Heather. Each and everyone of them has been carrying around a secret their entire lives. All signs point to one person as the cause of these secrets, but are we sure? The sign of a good mystery/thriller has you guessing until the end. You need to read this one and draw your own conclusions about the ending.
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for my eArc and audio copy of The Younger Wife. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is classified as a thriller, but I would consider it more of a character-driven domestic drama. It starts off at a wedding in the present when something happens. You don't really know what it is yet. Most of the book details everything leading up to the wedding with little flashes to the present to give you little bits of information at a time.

This is told from 4 POVs, with a different narrator for each one. The audio format for this was great and I enjoyed that aspect of it. The main characters are all well-developed and I was invested in each of their lives. There was a small timeline issue with Darcy that bothered me though. If you've read it I'd love to know if anyone else felt the same. The author delves into issues of rape, domestic abuse and gaslighting in a sensitive and, I feel, realistic way. That is, until the end.

The ending ruined this book for me. I can't say why exactly without spoilers. I will say that it felt rushed and out of character for most of the people in this book.

I've bounced my star rating all over for this one. The first 90% was 4 stars for me. The last 10% I hated. The audio was great though and saved this from a lower rating than what I would have settled on if I had just read it.

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars

Fun, quick, and with a few good twists at the end. I did enjoy this one; I’m generally a fan of well-written domestic suspense novels, and this fits into that genre well. In some ways, it reminded me of a few Liane Moriarty (and similar) books, and only a small part of that was because of the Australian setting. It had a good mix of interesting characters, and the alternating perspectives worked well for the story. The ending ultimately wasn’t a huge shock, and although there were some sad moments, I was satisfied with the conclusion. It was another one I’d been hanging onto for quite a while and am glad I was able to read now.

I mean, honestly, does anybody write domestic thrillers as twisty and emotion-filled as Sally Hepworth? Once I started, I couldn’t stop—reading this compelling book in just a few hours. The story is told from multiple points of views, each chapter chock full of secrets, and with each revelation my head was spinning, not knowing who or what to believe. There is so much to unwrap, so many truths to uncover, that, like me, you will not be able to put this book down.

When heart surgeon, Stephen Aston meets interior designer, Heather, he decides to divorce Pam, his older wife suffering from Alzheimer’s. Daughters Tully and Rachel wonder if Heather is after their father for his money, but as they dig deeper darker secrets are revealed and everything comes to a head at the wedding. Once again Hepworth takes us on a ride worth taking. Voiced by four distinctly different women this book was one that was very difficult to put down!

Well I have to admit I'm in line with those who did not like the ending and feel as though the book as a whole made me feel very uneasy in the current climate of women and gaslighting. I didn't find the writing of this one to be as engaging as I normally do with Hepworth's books and was hoping for some stronger/more shocking twists. The characters were well written in a way that one could generally understand where they might be coming from. Not my favorite of Hepworth's but as I'm a fan of her other works I would be eager to see how the next one is.

Sally Hepworth’s thriller The Good Sister was one of my favorite books of 2021 and my five-star review reflected my enthusiasm for that unique, well-written story. When I had the opportunity to read and review The Younger Wife I could hardly wait to start the book. I knew great entertainment was coming my way.

Sally Hepworth delivers another compelling story with The Younger Wife. Her writing is flawless and her damaged, but relatable, characters once again take us on an emotional journey. Each woman tries to cope with her personal demons while also creating a united front to support the man they all love–a father, a husband, and husband-to-be as he prepares for his wedding to a woman half his age. No easy task for any family. But is Stephen Aston truly the loving father, husband, and beloved surgeon they all imagine? Are his needs and desires worthy of the angst they cause others? The women rally around him, despite lingering questions.

The Younger Wife kept me turning the pages until the very end–and that’s where Hepworth delivers what I consider the book’s single flaw. The author lets the reader decide the answers to the questions about Stephen. I like story endings tied up in a tight bow, explained with the same detail as the beginning and the middle of the book. The author knows the answers and I wish she’d shared them. Except for this issue, The Younger Wife is a page turner worth reading, and I’ll definitely be looking for Hepworth’s next novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press, consistently one of my favorite publishers, for providing an ARC to read and review. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*. This review will also be posted to https://BaysideBookReviews.com on release day.

Loved loved loved! Wonderfully written, fast paced, great characters, exciting storyline. It was hard to put down! And an ending that will leave you yearning for more! Highly recommend!

Stephen Aston is getting married. Once he divorces his current wife that is. His daughters, Tully and Rachel, aren't thrilled to meet Heather, the new wife, who is the same age they are. Heather is finally about to have the life she's always dreamed of. But it might not be any better than the life she's escaped.

Oh my goodness, Sally Hepworth does it again! I am quickly becoming OBSESSED with her. (Not in a weird way, honestly, please don't write a book about me!) Combined with short chapters, this action filled book lets us look inside the minds of all three women as the wedding inches closer. Everyone has a secret, of course they do, and combined with the Alzheimer's of Stephen's first wife (and Tully and Rachel's mother), it makes it hard to know what's real.

Some readers found the ending ambiguous, but I didn't think that. I thought it was pretty straight-forward.

Don't miss this one!

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

Available April 5, 2022.

When I first read the synopsis of this book I got to say I was not particularly that interested, but I’ve loved all of Sally Hepworth’s book so I requested it and boy am I glad I was approved. What a wonderfully written domestic thriller that took on real world issues. This was not your typical younger woman, older man book and it definitely had some dark turns that made this read unique and cringy at times. I love cringe! The book is told by Heather, Tully and Rachel and I loved the shifting perspectives this provided. Heather Wisher’s character is actual named after a real person who won Sally’s Instagram contest. How cool to have your name in a book!


Stephen Alston is a renowned heart surgeon and he has fallen in love and is going to marry, Heather Wisher even though she is significantly younger than him and he is still married. Stephen’s current wife was diagnosed with dementia and is at an assisted living home where she can get proper care. Stephen’s daughters, Tully and Rachel, are not thrilled about their father marrying someone else especially someone younger than themselves. Everyone seems to be hiding secrets and with the wedding approaching everyone is trying to come to grips with their truth before someone gets hurt.

The Younger Wife is the second book that I’ve read from Sally Hepworth. It certainly won’t be the last as Hepworth has the remarkable ability to craft suspenseful stories that hooks you at the beginning and reels you in for the landing.

I can’t say much about the story without giving away the whole kit and caboodle. But the blurb does provide enough mysteriousness to get your attention.

The story unfolds from multiple points of view — from Tully, Rachel and Heather. I loved that it was written this way. Especially since I got to learn the background of each character. There is an unknown third party observer in the narrative who isn’t revealed. But with the powers of deduction, one will be able to determine who that mysterious observer is. A very nice touch to an already engaging story.

The plot is absorbing from the prologue to the epilogue. And everything in between is sprinkled with twists that will keep you wanting to read the next chapter and the next.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed The Younger Wife, I didn’t care too much for the ending. Not sure if was purposely written this way or not. And I’m still questioning whether I missed something. Maybe that “aha” moment will come sometime later. Until that time, The Younger Wife is a superb four star read for me.

I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Great domestic thriller featuring two daughters, their mother who has dementia, and their father who wants to re-marry. It's hard to say too much without giving away the plot line, but this cast of characters was great and I was engrossed! I always look forward to a new Sally Hepworth!!

This one was a bit of a surprise for me, in that I didn't expect to like it quite as much as I did. I really enjoyed the characters, with all their flaws and issues and simple crap they were dealing with. They were incredibly real and human and relatable in a way I didn't expect. I loved Rachel, and really enjoyed Darcy and how their relationship began and then evolved. Even Tully, as annoying as she could have been, was sympathetic and sweet in her own way. I had more lukewarm feelings about Heather, but even she grew on me after a while. The story felt comfortably predictable, until it wasn't. This book sort of lumbered along as an easy, interesting read, until you suddenly realized that this book was going to twist things up in ways you might not expect. And I liked the fact that the ending made you think, made you have to decide which direction you thought it was going, and then wrap it up in own bow, depending on your interpretation. It wasn't entirely open-ended, but left the reader to interpret it the way they chose to. So closure, but in a flexible way.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

How trusting are you?

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth makes the reader question which of the well-crafted characters can be trusted and which are covering things up - my favorite kind of thriller!
First, there’s Pam, suffering from dementia, living in a care facility. Tully and Rachel are her daughters - Tully has some neuroses that are becoming more apparent as her two young sons grow up, and Rachel is a pastry chef who turns to food for comfort. Stephen is the father of the two women, and he has recently divorced Pam in order to marry Heather, the former couple’s interior designer. Heather is younger than both Tully and Rachel.
The book starts at the wedding of Heather and Stephen. After they have been pronounced man and wife, there is a commotion in a side room and the officiant, covered in blood, emerges asking for a doctor. The book’s focus goes back in time and covers the year leading up to the wedding.
This book took me longer than usual to read, and I’m going to blame my work schedule for not being able to ignore everything else and read like I wanted to! I look forward to meeting Sally when she’s in Boston next month for a promotional event for this book!
I think this is going to be a popular book this spring, both in bookstores and on #bookstagram - it comes out April 5th! Always happy to chat details/opinions/spoilers with anyone else who’s read it - send me a message!

This suspense novel starts out with a wedding where a someone is covered in blood. Then we are reeled back in time. We meet Stephen and his daughters, Tully and Rachel. Their mother lives in assisted living as she’s suffering from dementia. At lunch, the daughters are joined by their father and a woman named Heather, who was their parents’ interior decorator on a project their mother wasn’t able to complete due to her health issues. It’s here that Stephen announces to his daughters that he and Heather, who is around their age, plan on getting married. Both sisters are immediately suspicious of Heather’s intentions to marry their father and their anxieties around this develop in various ways. Turns out everyone in this novel holds secrets that are revealed and lead to rising consequences. This was a fun, well-written, page-turning novel that fans of the suspense genre will enjoy. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I really enjoyed this book! It was my first book by Sally Hepworth, and I'm looking forward to reading more. I thought the characters were well-developed, more so than is often the case with mysteries and psychological thrillers. I also found the relationships between the various characters interesting.

I requested this one based on the fact I thought Mother-in-law was a decent summer read. This one didn't do it for me. I found the writing mediocre and the characters a bit dull with story lines thrown in to make the story more interesting but found them disjointed. I felt the ending was thrown in to try and draw more discussion but ended up feeling gimmickly not thought provoking.

***Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review

Whew! Another great one from Sally Hepworth. I read this on a plane home from Mexico all in one sitting- I couldn’t wait to figure out the end!

This wasn't my favorite.

A huge thank you to St Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my advanced copies of The Younger Wife.

I read and enjoyed Sally Hepworth's The Good Sister last year so I was excited to be granted a copy of her newest release.

The Good:

*A opening chapter that pulls the reader in.
*Multiple POV's and narrators for the audiobook.
*The Mystery- wanting to know who was killed/ injured at the wedding. Kind of a who done it and why.

The Bad:

*I wasn't invested. The characters all had issues but I wasn't entertained.
*An ending that left me feeling meh.

Overall- Very disappointed. I won't be recommending this to my friends.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth follows sisters Tully and Rachel who are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn't even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer's disease.The announcement of Stephen and Heather's engagement threatens to set off a family implosion, with old wounds and dark secrets finally being forced to the surface.

I loved Sally Hepworth's last book the Good Sister and am happy to say I also really enjoyed this one. I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting. I loved the characters even with their quirks. I will definitely continue to read Sally Hepworth's books and continue recommending them.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.