I got this from Net Galley and was super excited because I have loved Sally Hepworth books and greatly enjoy her on IG etc BUT I don’t know how I feel after reading it— warning spoilers- I was really all in when I started this as usual her characters were great / the character develop was good and there was DRAMA with a of “who done it” or maybe more so “what the hell is going on here” mystery but (here is the BUT abs spoiler I mentioned earlier) I have really mixed feelings about the ending and maybe it is of because the subject matter - it eludes to domestic violence of all kinds but then seems to end with the general dismissal of it being “all in their head” or “overly sensitive “ or their fault / they were drunk and not just the suggested reasoning and dismissal but really committed to this experience /explanation making it out to be just that all in their heads something that was not real…. I still think it is a good read but if domestic violence (by parent or spouse) is something you experienced in your life I think this can be very triggering because I was often told all those things and made to believe all those things but broken ribs def told a different story! It is just a bit upsetting and disappointing to me personally … also there is talk about rape in the story as well so additional trigger warning for that

I did like and highlight some of the “life lessons” and good blurbs (shared on IG for further discussion and to encourage or entice readers)… the story and message about fathers def made me do some reflecting , not judging yourself for doing what you need to survive is also helpful, we all need to listen more and allow people to have their release and their space without making it about us, and I couldn’t agree more about the unknown - Johnny will tell you I don’t do well with uncertainties or no plan / no solution ….. all that to say there is still value in the story/read but as I said just difficult for me due to the vibe of the conclusion…. I def would love others to read it so we can talk about it and I can see or hear other takes and perspectives about it - i tagged my sister because she works at a women’s shelter and idk how she would feel about it but given her work but I would love to hear her perspective and reaction ! That is also why I shared the highlights because there is value and it is interesting - if any of you read it please talk to me - I want to hear your review/thoughts!!!!

This was a very enjoyable, quick read. Lots of layers to explore, the impact of the impending marriage to the younger wife on his adult children, the impact on his ex-wife. And most importantly the impact on the younger wife. It took a lot of twists and turns and left me wondering who was the real victim and who was the real villain.

Highly recommend this one.

Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her--even if his adult daughters protest.

Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a golddigger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen.

With their mother unable to speak for herself, 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. But will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses...in all of them?

The thing I love about Sally Hepworth’s books are that they are never EVER what they seem. They are always multilayered and surprising- every dang time!

My absolute favorite part of this book was the women. Hands down. Sally writes such beautifully flawed characters and I fell in love with Rachel, Tully, and Heather. It was a privilege to get to know them and see their inner struggles and triumphs. They were so very lovable and I rooted them on every page of the way.


The ending of this book will most likely be divisive, but I enjoyed it because it was so different than what I would have ever expected- I was so certain I had it all figured out until the very end!

Sally’s books just feel like home and this is no exception.


Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This is a great whodunit. I changed my guesses for what happened every few chapters! Every member of the family has little secrets that add to the mystery. I think some of them could have been explored more.

I recommend this to anyone who likes to be kept on their toes throughout their read!


net galley provided me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review, thank you.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a complex book full of kept secrets, family drama and a bit of a thriller. I did feel the author gave light treatment to a host of serious issues for the characters, including rape, eating disorders, anxiety, kleptomania, verbal abuse, and domestic violence.

The author begins with a prologue that reveals something horrible has happened at a wedding; and then the rest of the book begins and backs into it. That segment starts with Rachel and Tully’s father announcing his engagement to “The Younger Wife,” Heather – who is as young as his daughters; over lunch with Heather present. The twist is, he’s still married to their mother, who has dementia and doesn’t know who anyone is any more. Well, maybe.

The main character sisters are Tully and Rachel. Tully and her husband are about to lose their home due to Tully’s husband’s issues with money. Tully also has a shameful secret that plagues her into the present…and it is exacerbated by her current situation.

Rachel uses endless cooking and baking as the salve for a terrified young woman who refuses all social interaction with men. In fact she hasn’t had a date since she was 16 (she is now 36). The why’s and what’s for her obsession, is left hanging out there and we don’t find out what happened to cause her being frightened until much later in the book.

Heather is going to marry Stephen, the father of the two sisters. She has her own secrets that she wants to keep hidden, including her reasons for wanting to marry Stephen.

Alas, the wedding brings a culmination to the events that surprises everyone, including Stephen’s dementia addled wife as a guest.

The end actually had me a bit confused and distressed over what exactly happened and why. Did Stephen or didn’t Stephen? Was Heather imagining everything? Who caused what happened to Rachel? Am I correct in feeling it was a familial event? What about the other woman no one knew about? What about the mother – just how demented was she and why? All good things to think about as you’re reading.

I loved the jumping between all the females and getting all of their perspectives. Wondering if it was real or not kept me reading until the last page. A must read for suburban psychological thriller lovers.

Sally Hepworth was quickly becoming a favorite author for me before The Younger Wife but this book has just cemented her into an auto-buy author as well.
The Younger Wife was such an entertaining book with so much misdirection that even if you do guess one thing I bet you won't guess another. I could not put this down. The characters were all so great I wanted to sit down and chat with each of them - even Heather, the younger wife herself. I went into this fully expecting this scandalous story and, while still a wild story, it was not what I thought it was going to be at all. And I am SO GLAD about that.
SH brings a different skill into domestic thrillers by really messing with your mind. Not quite a psychological thriller but definitely some deliciously twisted stories that I cannot get enough of!

Loved this book - I am a big Sally Hepworth fan and will definitely be buying this for our library. It is intricately plotted, and the characters are interesting. We were given breadcrumbs that led to the ending not being a total surprise but was a very satisfying conclusion, in my opinion. I appreciate the author's note at the end that explained her inspiration for the book. Read this one - you will enjoy it! 5 stars!
Thanks to St. Martins Press, the author, and NetGally for sharing the ARC of this book with me.

Sally Hepworth does it again! This book had me sucked in from the very beginning! You’re quickly engrossed in the Aston family drama, starting with the wedding of Stephen and his much younger wife, while his ex-wife is in attendance! The events leading up to, and following, the wedding and each member of the messed up Aston family leave you constantly saying “just one more chapter.” This was a phenomenal read that breeches the topics of generational trauma, mental health, and should also contain an abundance of trigger warnings! Overall this book was another fantastic read of Sally Hepworth’s, and I can’t wait to see all of her future reads!

Pub date: Apr 5, 2022

In one sentence: Stephen Aston's second marriage isn't a celebratory occasion for his daughters Tully and Rachel - what secrets is this new wife Heather hiding?

Sally Hepworth is great at creating screwed up families whose dysfunction goes way beyond what you'd expect - these characters always have a surprise or two up their sleeves. This one didn't have quite the magic of The Good Sister for me, but it was still a solid domestic suspense. I liked getting Tully, Rachel, and Heather's perspectives - they kept me reading, and I finished the book in 2 sittings. I especially liked that Heather was not just a caricature trophy wife - she had plenty of depth to her.

Reader beware - the beginning/ending scenes are a little dark, and those who dislike violence may want to avoid this one.

If you liked Hepworth's previous work, I think you'll probably like this one too!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Goodreads Oct 26, 2021. To be posted to Instagram closer to pub date.

I was excited to read this family drama and am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader's copy.

I found this book to be very readable and quite interesting. I liked the multiple points of view and I liked getting to know the three main characters and supporting cast. I like that each of the women was more than they seemed, and that they got to know and respect each other throughout the story. I would have liked a more in-depth look at some of their struggles though because it seemed like they were glossed over or too easily resolved in some cases.

The only part of this book that I didn't enjoy was the ending. I was expecting a twist because this type of book most often has one, but this one cast so much doubt over so many aspects of the story that it tainted it for me. There were serious issues brought up throughout the story - the main one being spouse abuse - that seemed to just be treated as a hysterical illusion or overreaction at the end. I understand and appreciate some ambiguity, but this seemed to take it a step too far.

Overall, I'd say I liked this book but the ending spoiled it to some extent. I've read other books by this author that I enjoyed much more.

Sally Hepworth is a favorite of mine because I can always count on her books to be addicting. I couldn't put this one down and spent my whole weekend engrossed in it. That being said, I didn't love the ending and wish she had gone in a different direction. Nevertheless, I loved the characters and the plot and I'm sure others will too. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for another fabulous read.

Great book that was hard to put down. I liked that the characters all had their own issues and yet all remained together at the end. Well, except for one. A good, quick read that may be the gateway to Sally Hepworth books if you have never picked one up before.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This wasn't always what I expected, but I enjoyed the read. It was fun not knowing what was going to happen and who did it. I liked the family drama mixed in with a little murder mystery. Fun read, clean writing.

Please read no further if you don't like spoilers. People, women especially, men too, I suppose, are good at keeping the secrets of the one they love. Gaslighting, abuse, narcissism are all covered in this very well written (and obviously researched) book by Ms. Hepworth. She's long been one of my "new" favorite authors. This book reaches a whole new level of realism for me. Although hard to believe how far some will go to keep secrets; it is so apparent in our society today. The death of hundreds at the hands of their spouse/partner proves it. She might just have saved a life with this book!!

I'm trying to decide what the takeaway here is. I don't want to read into it all too much--and I don't want to be too serious about what is clearly meant to be light entertainment. But is the message here that women don't know their own minds? And that abused women, especially, can't be trusted to know themselves or act rationally? This story definitely kept me entertained and flipping pages, but I really despised the wishy-washy (possibly even lazy?) ending and all that it implied.

The Younger Wife is one of my top reads this year. I was fully prepared to hate the younger wife, Heather, who wouldn’t after she was engaged to a married man with a wife with dementia. But I found Heather to be a completely sympathetic character. I loved the realness in the flaws of Tully and Rachel. They both were complex characters with real problems and dealing with their dad being engaged to woman younger than they were and their mother’s illness. The ending was out of this world and I’m still questioning what I just read. I could not put this book down! The plot was twisted and kept you on your toes while the characters inspire empathy for one must read thriller. Sally Hepworth is on my must read shelf! My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Nobody does a family drama/mystery like Sally Hepworth. This one is another favorite! This story follows two sisters, a father, and the father's soon to be new wife. The only problem is the father is still actually married! Between the two sisters and their issues, the father still married to their mother with dementia, and the new wife this book was impossible to put down. Lots of twists and turns keep you turning the pages.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 4/5/22.

Tully and Rachel find themselves thrown for a loop when their father announces he is divorcing their mother with dementia and marrying a woman younger than both of them. As they dig deeper into Heather's secrets and confront their own issues, comments from their mother make them suspect that their parents' marriage may not have been as idyllic as they thought. Knowing the wedding will end in blood, The Younger Wife is an addictive domestic thriller that keeps you engaged as you play amateur detective, judging the reliability of the narrators and deciding who you think is guilty.