Sally Hepworth's The Younger Wife was such an enjoyable read. I loved the different points of view and the suspenseful plotting. It reminded me of Lisa Jewell's books. I'll be reading a lot more of her!

Thank you for the arc!

🎧: The Younger Wife
✍🏼: Sally Hepworth
💁🏻‍♀️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // 5
🗓: April 5, 2022

🤔💭: First off, thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me this ARC audiobook and I am voluntarily leaving my review! This was my first book by this author and I definitely enjoyed this domestic suspense/drama! I really enjoyed the narration on this one and the three different perspectives this book is told from. For me, the ending just fell a little flat, prompting my one less star but overall I really enjoyed this one. This book centers around heart surgeon Stephen getting remarried to a much younger woman, Heather. Stephen’s daughters Rachel and Tully are not exactly fond of this idea of their dad marrying a woman their age when their mother is battling an illness. Rachel and Tully are on a mission to find out who their father really is, uncover family secrets, and find out more about this soon to be wife closing in on the family, who has secrets of her own.

✅: I would definitely recommend checking out this book when it’s released on April 5th! 👍🏼

Sally Hepworth is really the Queen of domestic suspense. In “The Younger Wife,” Stephen Aston is getting married again to a woman who is younger than both of his daughters, that is as soon as he is divorced from their mother who has early onset dementia. The story is full of family secrets and lies that result in a murder. This book could easily be turned into a Lifetime movie!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

I had lots of fun with this one! I’ve only read one other Hepworth book (The Mother-in-Law) and I tend to dip in and out of reading lots of thrillers in a row before I need a break. I found this to be fairly predictable, but it also seemed to be more interested in character development than a traditional thriller plot twist, which I appreciated.

Sally Hepworth has done it again! This was a great book with many twists and turns. Totally engrossing read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC audiobook in return for my honest review.

I listened to the audio version of THE YOUNGER WIFE and was completely mesmerized with it -- I made up excuses to take walks so I had more time with the characters. I loved how distinctive and real each of them felt, and while the mystery of the prologue kept the book propulsive, I was truly swept up with the characters and their voices and the writing. Really enjoyed.

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.

Wow you don't really realize how much you miss positive relationships in the thriller genre until you get to a book full of them and practically cry with relief. I would say the mystery/thriller aspect of this is pretty weak but the character work was absolutely wonderful. I loved our main characters and all their flaws. Seriously though this might be the most positive-energy thriller I have ever read and I really kind of loved it for that.

Plot wise: Heather is a 34 year old about to marry Stephen, a 63-year old successful doctor with two daughters older than she is. The daughter’s deal with THAT shock while also dealing with their mother who has early on-set dementia and their own deeply rooted issues. At the day of the wedding, a tragedy occurs. But what really happened and who may have caused it? (dun dun dun)

Seriously though, I actually very much enjoyed this more as a character novel than a thriller. The ending is pretty well projected but how it gets there is the interesting part and honestly, this mostly just feels like a story of women recovering from trauma and facing past and present demons. The next twist mattered less than the next hurdle the various characters face within themselves. The presence of such nice and honest character relationships between multiple people, mostly the sister’s themselves, is really the biggest plot twist I have seen in a thriller in a long time.

Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook! The narrators were all Australian and apparently I really love an Australian accent so I might be a little biased in my review.

I just finished listening to the audio version of this book and have to say I really enjoyed the narration. I felt like I was listening to a Liane Moriarity book (partly because Caroline Lee was one of the narrators, if you know, you know)

This was a slow-burn domestic suspense novel which is one of my favorite genres. I really enjoyed the pacing, the characters and there were a few fun twists and surprises riddled throughout the story.

I do need to point out that the way some of domestic abuse/other heavy topics were handled was a little problematic which bumps the rating down for me.

Thanks so much to MacMillan Audio for the advanced listening copy of this audiobook. It will be released on April 5th.

3.5 Stars, Rounded Up

Barrie Kreinick is always a brilliant narrator! The entire cast did fantastic

This is my second Hepworth read, and like the Good Sister- the strength lies in the characters. She writes each wholly, uniquely and doesn't just throw around addictions for plot fodder but deeply explores them without bogging down the plot, but making it and the characters more nuanced and layered.

The dialogue and chemistry is brilliant. Part of what really brings this to fruition is how the characters, their relationships with each other, understanding of themselves and their past, and current situations change overtime.

My only point of issue is with the epilogue, which seemed to muddy the waters of other pieces of character growth/situational clarity that was deftly handled by Hepworth.

I have not felt this about other Hepworth titles necessarily, but this is a total listen-alike to Lianne Moriarty. It may have been influence by the narrator, who is the same for the Moriarty books. Not so much a thriller as a story.

Sally Hepworth hits it out of the park again! Another fantastic domestic thriller full of twists and turns. A must read.

While the character development is spot on, I was not impressed by the story line. (I did very much enjoy the story at the end about her aunt- and the inspiration.) I feel like she is one of the queen of twists, and this one fell a bit short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the brilliant Sally Hepworth for letting me review this audiobook.

This was , for me, a page turner. With the perspective of 4 women within the same family. The secrets that are kept the suspicions deflected. I grew fond of all the women sharing their story. Twists and turns without being obvious. Definitely recommend.. 4.5 stars

4.5/5

Fascinating psychological thriller that has you questioning who and what you can believe right up to the very end. Speaking of the end, if you've read the reviews, you know it's ambiguous enough that you'll wonder what and who you can believe. The strength of the novel is just how well the characters gaslight each other and the reader. There were several times I doubted what I had just read and maybe thought I was jumping to conclusions. Thrilling!

There are some drawbacks, i.e. all the characters have some sort of "issue" that's overwhelming enough to make their character arc seem unrealistic, but the storyline is so interesting that you look past it. You're never truly given the romantic backstory of the couple getting married and you wondering as the book progresses what brought them together. And Darcy, sweet, perfect, corny Darcy is too saccharine, and made even more so when integrated into this crowd. His addition to the story just highlights how bonkers everyone else is.

This would be a fascinating book club selection as I think the ending would be a great discussion point when combined with society's view of domestic violence victims.

Audiobook was well narrated with a full cast, one for each POV, giving each character a distinct voice. As the story is set in Australia, the narrators each have Australian accents which adds to the story, Very enjoyable.

"The Younger Wife" never gets old.

It's a fast-paced, unputdownable domestic drama that starts off with a bang.

A loud thud and a scream are heard at a wedding.

Who is covered with blood and who is guilty of the crime?

So many unreliable characters, so little time.

Family turmoil begins when a 60-something respected cardiac surgeon announces his plan to wed the family's interior designer, a woman younger than his two daughters.

Before the physician can marry this woman, he needs to divorce his first wife, who is currently residing in a care facility for dementia.

(Whatever happened to "Until death do us part"?)

Needless to say, the physician's daughters are vehemently opposed to the marriage.

The book unfolds from the POVs of the two daughters and the future "younger wife". The plotline moves between the wedding and the family drama that took place prior to the wedding.

The author does a superb job of casting doubt throughout the entire book.

All protagonists are colorful, deeply flawed, and unpredictable. All have their own issues and secrets.

My one criticism of the book is its "open-to-interpretation" ending. I much prefer books with clear-cut conclusions.

I listened to the full-cast audiobook and all of the narrators did a superb job with the narration.

This was my sixth "Sally" book and I look forward to listening to future titles by this gifted author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a great audiobook that held my attention the entire time. I loved all of the characters, family dynamics, family drama. The ending was a little light for me but overall loved it.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller! This is a character driven novel with a slow burning plot told by different narrators from their point of view. Sally Hepworth did a great job setting the scenes and creating subtle drama. I think this will be a book clubs favorite due to the ending, You are left questioning your thoughts, almost as if the whole time you have been gas-lighted by the author and are not sure what to believe. I highly recommend this one!

This audiobook was fabulous! I am a huge fan of this author and her newest book was sensational!
Sally Hepworth flawlessly weaved each one of the characters past stories in the book to bring them all together so you understood all of their flaws and their strengths.
The ending is a complete twist and I did not want to stop listening to the book! It kept me on the edge of my seat!

The full cast of narrators really brought the text to life and made it magical!
Their voices were very distinct and helped to differentiate each character well. Each of their reading styles contributed to the overall amazing story.
I have listened to many audiobooks and this is by far one of my favorite audiobooks!
I would highly recommend this audiobook.


,