I have heard mixed feedback on this book but I really liked it. I liked The Younger Wife, not for its mystery or the twist at the end, but rather the relationship dynamics between the family members. I got hooked in the more and more you learn about each character and at the end, you almost don't feel bad for some of them. Without giving too much away, I thought it was a fun read and I would recommend it if you want a mystery that isn't sacary.

This book was great! If you enjoy family dynamics and a mystery you are on luck. This is my 3rd Sally Hepworth book and I have to say probably my favorite (the others were very good as well) having 3 separate characters voiced by 3 separate narrators helped to keep everyone straight as I was listening . This book had a quick pace that keep me wanting to listen to just 1 more chapter.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc.

Wow. I believe Sally Hepworth has become one of my favorite writers of the thriller genre. In her latest book she brings a dark narrative of a family in crisis. The story is told by three different points of view: the two daughters, Tully and Rachel, and the wife-to-be Heather. The book starts at wedding with an unexpected incident, and then jumps back in time to let the reader know the events that culminated in the wedding incident.

Stephen is a heart surgeon in his early sixties and he wants to get married to Heather, who is younger than his daughters. But Stephen is still married to Pamela, who is in a care facility for dementia. Stephen and Pam have two grown children, Tully and Rachel. Both of them are kind of in shock when they receive the news that their father is divorcing their mother to get married to another woman.

The more the daughters get to know their dad’s soon to be wife, the more they uncover secrets of their family. The reader also realizes that there is much more in Tully and Rachel’s lives than what they let their family know. Everyone in this story deals with serious issues and you constantly doubt of their points of view. I believe there is a perfect combination of mystery and family drama in this book, and I love some family drama!

This is my second Sally Hepworth and it is definitely a solid read. She is a great storyteller and I was completely sucked into this book. It kept me turning pages. I liked the characters, their conflicts, and the suspenseful atmosphere. The audiobook is narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides. They are all great and made it very easy to distinguish their voices and the different characters throughout the whole novel.

I would recommend The Younger Wife to any fans of mystery/thrillers and domestic thrillers but especially for those who have not read Sally Hepworth before. I would tell them do not waste anymore time, go grab one of her books and enjoy her amazing plots. Just be aware of some content warnings on this one such as death, mental health, dementia, eating disorder, kleptomania, rape and gaslighting.

Great book!

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. I enjoyed the narrators of the audiobook. Something about the story felt very familiar. I couldn’t really get into it. I’m not sure why. I don’t like that the end didn’t completely resolve one question.

It's hit or miss with me and this author. I really loved her last book, The Good Sister. I listened to it and I think that helped me enjoy it more. The narrator was wonderful. When I saw she was one of the narrators in this book, I really wanted to listen! All the narrators were women--sisters Tully and Rachel and Heather, their father's younger wife. All of the narrators were good and they helped me to enjoy it as much as I did. It kept my interest, but I can't say it will stick with me long term.

Tully and Rachel's father, Stephen, is about to get married again to a woman younger than they are. It begins at their wedding. A shocking incident occurs, but we don't know who or what exactly. It was an intriguing start to the story, but unfortunately got extremely slow thereafter. We go back one year earlier to when the sisters meet Heather.

Tully, Rachel and Heather have their issues. We learn in depth about what they are through their narrative in the book. While each were interesting enough, I wasn't wowed by any of it. Heather's was the most interesting to me. Tully just frustrated me with her issues and her husband. I felt her reaction to her husband's shocking admission was lacking. Like other reviewers have stated, it seemed all the women had issues or were unreliable while the men came off as perfect. The unreliable narrator trope is getting somewhat tiring.

I am not sure how I feel about the ending. It's open-ended, leaving the reader to question things. I prefer my endings to be more resolved and not leave a bad taste. Also, this is more domestic drama than thriller or suspense.

Thank you to Macmillian Audio, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my advanced listening and reader copies.

My first audiobook and let me tell you it was a chore - I disliked the narrators but as soon as I sped up almost 2x it became bearable. Aside from that I was intrigued the whole time though it was a little odd that it’s a domestic thriller but I found both sisters funny and found myself laughing several times? 😂😂 I also appreciated the multiple POVs. It did have an ambiguous ending but I firmly know where I stand. Check trigger warnings before - it does explore heavy issues - domestic abuse and rape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook!

The Younger Wife is a fantastic mystery/domestic thriller which also has great character development. At the beginning of the story, Stephen Aston is about to marry his girlfriend Heather, but his daughters are a little uncomfortable that Heather is younger than them. And then we find out that that his current wife is still living, in a care facility for dementia. As the story goes back and forth in time to unravel this mystery, everyone in this story reveals uncomfortable secrets. Some of them are things I've experienced as well, and they were portrayed so realistically I found them a bit triggering, but I still enjoyed the story.. in fact I couldn't stop listening because I really wanted to know what was going to happen and which parts were true!

The audiobook narration by Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides was wonderful, they really brought each character's personality to life!

Whoa still not sure what to believe and I finished the book a couple hours ago!

I loved the way the story changed pov’s every chapter and went from the wedding to months prior and worked it’s way to meet. All the characters had some issue or flaw which made most of them more likable.

I listened to audiobook version and each of the narrators were wonderful.

Thank you so much to @macmillianaudio and @stmartinspress for the advance listening and digital copies of The Younger Wife to read and review in advance of publication. The Younger Wide comes out on April 5, 2022 - coming soon!

This book starts off with the wedding of Stephen and Heather, with his daughters Tully and Rachel and his ex-wife/their mother who has Alzheimer's in attendance. The five of them go into the back room to sign the registry when there is a loud crash and emergency services are called.

This is the first of Sally Hepworth's books that I've read and I was unfortunately expecting more of a thriller, but felt like this was a family drama.

I appreciated the short chapters and multiple perspectives. It kept the book moving forward quickly. In the audiobook, each of the perspectives is read by a different narrator, really drawing the reader into the story.

The book wraps up leaving the conclusion a little too open ended for my liking. I understand why the author did this, but it's just not my favourite.

I loved hearing where the inspiration for this book came from in the Author's Note, it definitely makes this a special book for the author.

I had high hopes for this one because I loved her other novel, THE GOOD SISTER. This just wasn’t really “thrilling” for me. There was no big twist or exciting revelation so it read more like a family drama. I just wasn’t captivated by the story.

I did appreciate that the author included some more taboo topics such as binge eating disorder and compulsive anxiety. But I did feel like each woman’s story could have been fleshed out more. All of the women were reduced to being oblivious or drinking too much and I’m kind of sick of the unreliable woman narrator because she is unstable or on substances.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for the advanced copy.

I don’t know if its because one of the narrators (who is one of my FAVORITE female narrators) was Caroline Lee who also narrates Liane Moriarty’s books, or if it was really the feel of the book and writing that made me think of Moriarty so much. Maybe it was the periodic chapters written from a completely outside perspective (that you don’t really come to find out who until around the climax of the book). Maybe it’s as a combination of all those reasons. But I loved it!
But I have not ever read a book by Sally Hepworth before, and I thought this was the PERFECT place to start. I seriously loved all of it. It was such a page turner. Somehow it’s as a mystery and a domestic family story and a story of sisters and a romance all at once. There was not that one character that you hated. Not a bit. I loved them all. I loved Tully and Rachel as sisters. I loved the endearment and heartbreak of Pam. I loved how genuine Heather was (which was refreshing). I LOVED Darcy. I even loved Sonny. What great character development. I seriously couldn’t stop listening. And the mystery was great. Enough of a twist that I saw parts coming but not even piece. And I felt completely satisfied by the end. Very well done. I guess I need to go back and read more by this author!

THE YOUNGER WIFE
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
🎧audio

🤵🏼‍♂️👰🏼‍♀️ domestic thriller
🚀 quick chapters
🎭 multiple POV
🚨 check trigger warnings before— rape & domestic abuse🚨

I finished this one real quick! The beginning was strong and really enticing. I was so eager to find out how everything was going to play out. I was underwhelmed with the ending 😟 felt like something was missing.

This book also covered character storylines that didn’t seem to really make sense with the overall plot. Wish the sorry shared more of Pam and Stephan’s marriage. Overall it was a fun quick read! I’ll be reading more by her! (t)

#MacmillanAudio #stmartinspress #sallyhepworth #theyoungerwife #bookreview #bookstagram #booktok #books #netgally

I found this to be another very readable book by Sally Hepworth. It was engaging and entertaining, which is what I was going for. I enjoyed Hepworth's writing style.

The story is told from the perspective of four different women, all with a relationship to Stephen Aston: Tully (older daughter), Rachel (younger daughter), Heather (wife-to-be), and a mystery woman at the wedding. The book begins near the end of the story. Stephen Aston has just divorced his wife and the mother of his children, who has dementia and is living in a care home, and married a woman the same age as his younger daughter. The wedding party has gone out back to sign the marriage documents when a scream is heard and someone calls for a doctor. The rest of the book is finding out what happened in the back room and how the characters ended up in that situation.

This is a story where you know what is happening before the characters figure it out. So, you need to do a bit of waiting while they catch up. However, I found that the characters all had their own issues that would have naturally distracted them from the truth.

I've seen a lot of discussion regarding the ending of this book. I did not find it to be disappointing. I think the story was leading there. I do think you will have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but that is to be expected with this type of story. Overall, I really liked the way Hepworth pulled it all together.

Once again, I will be interested to read more Hepworth's work in the future.

A note regarding the audio version: This book was narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides. This made it very easy to always know who's perspective you were listening to. Each narrator did an excellent job bringing their characters to life. If you have the opportunity to listen to the audio, I would recommend it.

This is the story of a family that is changing drastically and suddenly. The two adult daughters are being torn between their mother who has been diagnosed with dementia and their father who has divorced her during her diagnosis so that he can marry a woman who is younger than his daughters. However, it is not clear who can be trusted and who can't and what exactly happened during the wedding?

I didn't really enjoy this book. It has a great premise, but I felt like it fell flat a little. I was bored by the characters and while I liked the mystery and the confusion that was present, I thought it was a little clear what was really going on. I was happy when the daughters caught on. It did feel a little scary that he found it so easy to behave the way he did, but it also isn't surprising.

This one was just okay for me. It was not thrilling in any way and was more just family drama. On top of the fact that this book contains the most overdone thriller trope ever- marrying someone very quickly without knowing their backstory- it was an extremely slow burn.

The book opens with the scene of someone dying at a wedding. We then jump back in time to see the events leading up to the wedding. There are really no big reveals or anything. I found myself even while reading the epilogue thinking "please give me something."

This is such an interesting book! The writer excels in character development, relayed carefully as the book progresses. The story is told from the perspectives of Tully, Rachel and Heather in an expertly crafted plot. I could not put this book down!

The book begins with a murder at Stephen and Heather’s wedding. There is a scream while the couple are signing the register and later a body is removed. This part of the story is told by someone other than one of the central characters. Who is murdered, and by whom is not disclosed until later in the book.

Without giving too much away, the characters each suffer from a psychological disorder which for me really amped up the impact of this book. Each woman carries a secret, unbeknownst to others. These secrets are slowly revealed at appropriate moments to keep the reader riveted.

The concept of this book was founded in part by the author’s own experience with her Great-Aunt. If you love psychological mysteries/thrillers or women’s fiction I highly recommend The Younger Wife.

The audiobook version of The Younger Wife which was narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry and Zoe Carides. I appreciate when publishers decide to use multiple narrators as it helps provide another layer of personality to each of the characters. The audiobook version is so well performed that I highly recommend listening to this edition of the book if you appreciate this format.

I binge-listened to THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth in one evening; I could not put it down. This is a solid domestic thriller with well-written characters. Ms. Hepworth started the book with a grand mystery and builds the plot to reveal bit by bit what happened on the wedding day. I loved the way the story came together, but I have to admit that I was annoyed every time Heather (the younger wife) doubted herself and believed Stephen’s lies. I guess if she believed him, there would not be much to the story. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and do not hesitate to recommend it.

The multi-narrators did a fabulous job. I enjoyed this audiobook a lot.

🎧⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Story = 4⭐️. Ending = ⭐️

“Our family is really good at hiding things.” That is the understatement here. “The Younger Wife” was very different than what I thought it was going to be. Told through the rotating narrators of Rachel, Tully, Heather, and Fiona the Aston family and what each is hiding slowly comes into view.

I really enjoyed the narration, but I was let down by the ending. In the end I’m really glad I listened to it.

Thank you @netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook to review with my opinions.

I'll start by saying I think Sally Hepworth is a fabulous writer and whoever does her narrarirations is a gem! So those two elements alone made me enjoy this book. I was so excited that Netgally let me listen to this book in advance because after finishing The Good Sister and The Mother In-Law last summer I was itching to get my little fingers on this one. I was accepted and literally finished it in like 2 days (I was able to listen to anything 1 day--so technically 3)
So obviously the story line was very gripping.Dad (this is going to sound terrible) has divorced his wife because she has dementia and is engaged to marry their interior designer, Heather who is the same age as his two daughters Rachel and Tully. The book opens and there is a wedding and an attack that involves blood......see what I mean?? Don't you want to know what's going on? Soooo Sally leads us through 60 chapters of slow building (but in a good way) family drama to find out what that opening scene was all about!
I was like speed reading! I love how she puts me in that zone!
As you read your concious is going "Heather has to be some young gold digger " after good ol dad. And Rachel and Tully surely are going to hate her....but not quite. And that whole relationship is just so wrong, I mean who honestly leaves their sick wife.....? But I found myself being happy for them.....
Each chapter you get to know more and more about each of the girls. My favorite character of all was Darcy! Oh I could listen/read to his little corny jokes....he reminded me of Wally from the Good Sister.
Each of the sisters has a troubled past or control issues yet somehow have a very loving family and you just can't help return to that opening scene....who would have possibly attacked who? The sisters attack the new young wife? Does demented mom attack Dad or the new wife? What's going on????
Okay no spoilers here, you have to read for yourself.
BUT
BUT
BUT
BUT
THE ENDING I hated. There I said it.
The whole book I was furiously reading expecting a drop the mic moment
Instead I got a failed 4th of July Fireworks show.
Literally. (I know I know you English people, using literally bugs you)
Seriously though, I really did not like the ending. It was just SO blah! L
Maybe it was just the epilogue that made my blood boil

So would I tell you to read this? I think I would say yes because I would hate for you to miss out on Darcy. You may like the ending, but I didn't . Otherwise great book and I will definatly read Sally Hepworth automatically!!

Thank you neutrally for this advanced audiobook. I received no compensation for the review of this book (honest!)

I really enjoy this author’s writing, and I’ve read several of her books. I thought this plot was interesting and fresh, and for the first 2/3 of the book I was completely captivated. I found it suspenseful and I found the characters very interesting, if not all likable. It was definitely a page turner for me.

Stephen and Heather are about to be married. Stephen’s two adult daughters (who are actually older than Heather) are in attendance. But so is his first wife! Yikes! This is as good a beginning to a psychological thriller as I’ve read in a while.

I will admit that I was a little disappointed with the ending. I think people will either love it or hate it. But either way it gives you a lot to think about.

I traded off between an e-copy and an audio copy. I definitely enjoyed the reading experience on my e-reader, but I think the audio narration was even better!

Thank you to net galley for an arc of this book.