I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I've read and enjoyed a number of Sally Hepworth's books and "The Younger Wife" was another winner from this author. Since this was an ARC that I'd had sitting on the shelf for nearly a year, it contained the original ending. Like many reviewers I was disappointed in the end but by now I had read that it was revised in the published version so off I went to the library to get a copy. I definitely like the revised ending better than the original but I feel like the reader is still left to draw their own conclusions. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a real page-turner. There are some triggers that readers should be aware of such as alcoholism, eating disorders, rape and dementia although most of them are pretty much skimmed over.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book even though the book has been available for purchase for nearly a year. My bad! All opinions expressed are my own.

I read this book while I was visiting Australia. Honesty, I think I liked it even more given the context.

Stephen Aston is a respected heart surgeon, and he's getting married again...to a much younger woman. His daughters are not exactly pleased by the whole thing, especially as their mother is still somewhat in the picture. Their mom has Alzheimer's, but every now and then she says something lucid that has her daughters wondering what's really true. Heather (the younger woman) has a few secrets of her own, but she's desperate to become a real part of the family.

I enjoyed the pacing of this story, and seeing the truth start to unfold. I wouldn't say any of the characters are particularly likeable, but I don't really think they're supposed to be, honestly.

If you enjoyed Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty I think you'll also really enjoy this one. It has similar Aussie family vibes along with the mystery aspect.

Content warning for domestic abuse.

This book was wonderful and grabbed my attention from the beginning. You have to love books that make you question the actions of EVERY character. Sally Hepworth books are lways a win.

Each Sally Hepworth book is a surprise in its own way. As the story opened, I eagerly was waiting to see the premise that would be unfolding. I loved the character development and the plot filled with suspense.

I love everything that Sally Hepworth writes! Nobody writes a domestic thriller like she does! I have a hard time with the sub-genre, but if Hepworth writes it, I'm sold!

Sally Hepworth does it again with this thriller! This book starts off at a wedding and there's *gasp* an uninvited guest. I knew from the start that this was going to be good. I loved that we got all of the perspectives of the women within the chapters and how all the secrets were slowly revealed. The ending was.... dramatic. I've heard there's a few changes to the final copy so I'll be curious to read the updated version.

It was a good book and I like that they didn't leave till the end who the narrator at the beginning is. I also liked that you could see glimpses of this certain character's manipulation but it was described vague enough to leave you feeling confused along with the main women. I didn't like the epilogue. The "new" information it provided didn't really add anything to the story or to my understanding of anything. It maybe explained about the money and provided context but this wasn't context that I needed to know.

In The Younger Wife, adult sisters Tully and Rachel are dismayed to hear their father announce he is marrying Heather, a woman younger than both of them. Their mother is still alive and married to their father too.

While both sisters may peg Heather as a gold digger who’s only after their prominent heart surgeon father’s money, Rachel and Tully have different coping mechanisms for their day to day life, which they turn to in dealing with this latest development. The story alternates POVs between Rachel, Tully and Heather, who it seems each have something they’re hiding. The sisters are also determined to get to the bottom of newly looming family secrets.

Like the other Sally Hepworth books I’ve read, I enjoyed this story of domestic drama. Rachel was my favorite character. I listened to The Younger Wife audiobook with multiple narrators who all did a good job.

This book had an intriguing premise, an interesting opening, and characters so fascinating that you can't stop reading. I liekd that we got multiple POVs. I just wasn't satisfied with the ending. It's much more of a family drama than a mystery/thriller.

The plot is very similar to a book I have read in the past - man abusing wife, gaslighting.
Heather - the much younger woman, engaged to Stephan, lack of self worth and self esteem.
Tully - Oldest daughter, neurotic, unhealthy coping mechanisms
Rachel - Youngest daughter, struggling to solve the mystery of a large sum of money her mother had hidden
I enjoyed the writing, the characters - it held my attention, but I wouldn't recommend.

Synopsis:
THE HUSBAND
A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.

THE DAUGHTERS
Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father’s fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she’s after their father’s money.

THE FORMER WIFE
With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family’s secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is.

THE YOUNGER WIFE
Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses in all of them?

Review:

Sally Hepworth does it again with another domestic suspense that I couldn't stop turning the pages of! She knows how to add all of the right touches of suspense, twisted ideas, and dysfunction. It was a fun read and I will of course pick up the next book she writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book!

Sally Hepworth always delivers. At first, I wasn't sure where this book was going but as I got in deeper, I started to really enjoy it. Each character was equally flawed and was far from their picture perfect life that you imagined in the beginning.

At no point did I know where this was going. Literally not even at the end. For that reason it gets 5 stars from me. All of the characters and their back stories added credibility to their reactions to different events. This was a fantastic book and I’m so glad it was the first one I finished in 2023.

This book tells the story of a husband/heart surgeon who divorces his wife with dementia to marry a younger woman. Putting aside poor mom’s capacity issues, his adult daughters are none too pleased about the circumstances. The reader knows early that something happens at daddy dearest’s wedding but spend the pages of the book uncovering what that is and why.

With layers to unpack, Hepworth has perfected the recipe for domestic suspense. A specific subsection that (with absolutely no qualification to say this) is hard to do well. With a rotating and unreliable narrative, this book covered a lot of ground with a cast of complicated characters. Never quite sure whose basket to place your eggs, Hepworth will keep you guessing until the end (or in my case – past it).

Like a puzzle master, she skillfully places pieces of information to shepherd readers in a certain direction. I had wished the ending would take me somewhere else (and now apparently it will), but someone needs to get Hepworth a staff.

Awesome as Always

Another novel by Sally Hepworth that I loved from start to finish MINUS one character!

Sally Hepworth’s newest book, The Younger Wife, is a domestic thriller that follows the dysfunctional Aston family. Stephen Aston is a 63-year-old heart surgeon who is engaged to 34-year-old interior designer Heather. The only problem is that Stephen is still married to Pam, who is in a nursing home and suffers from dementia. Stephen plans on divorcing Pam so he can marry Heather, although Stephen says that the divorce is on paper only, that Pam will always be a part of his family. Stephen’s two daughters, 37-year-old Tully and 35-year-old Rachel, are not too happy with this arrangement and as family secrets start to unravel, they are determined to find out who their father really is.

That synopsis sounds more sinister than the book really is. While this was not a heart thumping read, it was a great mystery with interesting and relatable characters. The story opens with Stephen and Heather’s wedding. The whole family is there including Pam. After the ceremony is over, they all go into the back of the church to sign the registry and it is there that someone is hurt. We do not know who is hurt, how bad or who did it. All we know is there was a scream and then the pastor comes out to ask if there is a doctor in the house and the pastor has blood on her. The story then goes back in time
Each of the three main characters are flawed and have secrets which makes this a page turner because you are invested in the development of the Daughters and even Heather and Pam.
Tully is married and has two small sons. Not only has her husband lost a substantial amount of money in an investment, but Tully is also a kleptomaniac. I had a lot of sympathy for her because she felt there was no one she could talk to while trying to be perfect for everyone.

Rachel was my favorite character. After an incident that happened when she was sixteen, Rachel has given up on men, that is until she hires a new delivery guy for her bakery business, named Darcy. Darcy is able to finally break down the walls that Rachel has put up.

Heather was a character I thought I was going to hate, but actually ended up liking. This is the third novel I have read by Sally Hepworth it will be getting a high rating just like the others. So, if you like domestic thrillers about dysfunctional families with lots of secrets, then Sally Hepworth’s The Younger Wife is the book for you. # I Am Totally Obsessed!

The Younger Wife opens with the wedding of an older man to a younger woman. During the wedding, the lights go out. When they come back on, the celebrant is covered with blood and the mystery of what happened is just starting.

The novel has an intriguing opening, and then goes back one year in time to cover the events leading up to the wedding. The Younger Wife is told using multiple points of view – the daughters of the groom and the new wife. The daughters are not happy with their father’s new romance. As the year of events unfolds, details about the characters is revealed. None of them are particularly likable characters, but it does make for an engaging read.

An intriguing psychological thriller. Family drama, lies, and secrets. Recommended for fans of this genre.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fun, enjoyable, interesting. The characters are all a bit weird, but that's what keeps you reading. Cliffhanger ending of sorts. Solid entry in the domestic suspense category, if not completely unputdownable.

Sally Hepworth does it again with The Younger Wife. (Aside, whoever does the cover art for her books also does not miss!)

I am a big fan of Jane Eyre, so I was a fan of the somewhat subtle allusions to the classic tale.

It's a book full of secrets and nothing is quite as it seems.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This is a super compulsive mystery from a popular but new to me author. Beware of content warnings going into this one.
This thriller wasn’t my favorite but I would still seek out more books from Sally Hepworth