This is the third book I’ve read of Sally Hepworth. It was propulsive just like her other books. The audio was well-done and I had to keep listening to find out what happened. I will say that the ending isn’t as shocking or satisfying as her other books, but I still really enjoyed this story and the characters. Tully and Rachel were lovely.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed the author’s last few books, so I was looking forward to this one. I enjoyed the characters and the depth that was added by their issues they weee facing. The main story was a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. Definitely not my favorite book by Hepworth.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Younger Wife. This is a book for fans of The Good Sister and The Good Mother. Not as good as The Good Mother though.

I really like Sally Hepworth’s writing. I look forward to every new book she releases because I know it will be a captivating book. The narrator for the audio was great as well.

The Younger Wife kept me on the edge of my seat, I finished it in less than 2 days because I had to know how it was going to end. Stephen is still married to his current wife (with dementia), his 2 daughters are older new woman he wants to marry, this is just a set up for disaster! Anyway, the plot was great and I loved the book. It was a solid 4-4.5 stars for me.

***Thank you Netgalley & St Martins Press for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

WOW! I was gifted an audiobook copy of this book. It generally takes me 1-2 weeks to finish an audiobook but I finished this in just over 48 hours. I absolutely DEVOURED it!

I love a full cast audiobook and every narrator is as good as the next on this one. Their voices, their emotions, and the story itself all unfolded so effortlessly and naturally, it was so delightful to binge.

All in all, an addictive story, a very bingeable read, a satisfyingly frustrating ending.

This was my first Sally Hepworth but it will NOT be my last.

Author: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Mystery Thriller (although I consider it a mystery/domestic suspense for sure)!
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 (3/5 stars)
Goodreads Rating: 3.94
TW: Yes, DM me!
*Thank you SO much to @netgalley for my audio ARC, and to @stmartinspress for my #gifted finished copy!*

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🖤Multiple POVs
🖤Woman-driven plot/narration
🖤Slow-burn mysteries
🖤Domestic suspense
🖤Families full of secrets
🖤Dual timelines
🖤Ambiguous endings

SHORT SYNOP:
Sisters Rachel & Tully are less than thrilled to find out that their well-known heart surgeon father, Stephen, is getting remarried - mainly because she is basically THEIR age, and… he is still married to their mother.

MY THOUGHTS:
I want to start out by saying I really love Sally Hepworth. This is the third book I have read of hers (and I own two more). The Mother’s Promise was a five-star read for me last year, and is a book I still think about often (although it is not a thriller and VERY different than her others- I see a before booksta review coming for that one in the future)!
I REALLY wanted to love this one, and had my hopes set high. I listened to this one on audio (before receiving my surprise physical copy) and really enjoyed the narration. The book started out strong for me, and I loved the premise of the whole “husband dating younger woman before he’s even divorced” - sounded like such a juicy thriller plot!

This isn’t going to be a negative review- I really just didn’t love or hate this one! I enjoyed it, but didn’t find it very memorable- just wasn’t my fave of hers. It was more of an over-arching mystery vibe for me, rather than a thriller. I did enjoy what the reveal/twist at the end was, but it felt somewhat rushed and kind of *thrown-in*, once I finally got to that point. The ending is also ambiguous and left to reader’s interpretation (I know some stray from that).

*I also must say, I know a lot of people have mentioned they did not like the ending and/or felt like the voices of abuse victims were not heard in this novel- this in and of itself may be a trigger warning for some. Please read up on the TWs or DM me for more info before reading!*

Stephen Aston is getting married again, to a woman younger than his daughters. He is still married to his first wife, in a care facility with dementia, but he has no qualms about getting a divorce. Tully and Rachel Aston can’t help but be suspicious of their soon-to-be mother-in-law, who they are certain is a gold digger. Since their mom can’t stand up for herself, the sisters are determined to get to the truth of the matter. Meanwhile, Heather, the bride-to-be, has her own secrets and reasons for wanting to marry Stephen.

This story is told from multiple perspectives, and I like that the audiobook had a different narrator for each person. Unfortunately, I was lukewarm about the story itself. It was mildly entertaining, but the ending did not do any favors to the story. If you want to read a Sally Hepworth novel, I suggest checking out <i>The Mother’s Promise</i>, <i>The Things We Keep</i>, or <i>The Family Next Door</i> instead.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I went back and forth between reading and listening to this book. Sally Hepworth did such a great job with providing a window into the minds of her characters. This book kept me guessing on who done it, as well as who it was done to, until the very end. Sally is definitely an auto-read/listen for me from now on! Also, the cast of narrators were SO well chosen. Tully's voice actress... perfection!

I started this one & couldn't get into it. The older man/younger NEW wife trope feels so overdone and I just found myself not caring.

Get ready for another page turning “women’s fiction “with beautiful characterization and just enough suspense to keep readers needing more. With an ending that will have readers scratching their head, throwing down their copy of the book, or smirking with surprise Sally has penned a perfect book club pick! The interpretive ending of The Younger Wife is sure to result is polarizing debates and readers wanting to jump right back in to chapter on searching for the truth.

4 stars for another captivating mystery from the talented Mrs. Hepworth with a 14+ rating for mature themes.

This is my second book by Hepworth, and as with her previous one, it fell a little flat for me. I know other readers love it, but I felt it was very predictable and more of a domestic drama than a thriller. That being said, i liked the multiple POVs and the characters were engaging.

This is my first from sally and I really liked it. It was a little slow in the beginning but picked up quickly. I loved the twist and the ending. Highly recommend

This was a great guessing game that shows how family secrets can lead to very devastating outcomes!

We all know that no family is perfect even if it looks convincing on the outside. The Aston family seems like the ideal family. But as we follow each member we learn that the lies run deep. I loved the insight we get into Tully, Rachel, and Heathers lives.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. It kept my head in the book without throwing to much at me at once. Some parts of the end caught me by surprise which is always good. The narrator did a great job with all these characters if you are an audiobook listener!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for and audio ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely LOVED this book!
This book starts at the beginning! Stephen's wedding day to Heather - his second wife who is younger than his daughters...oh yeah - his first wife is in attendance too... and she has dementia!
The book goes back in time and tells us all the dirty little secrets of this family - who outwardly look like the perfect little family, but as we all know - no one is perfect.

The twists, turns, ups, and downs were fantastic. The audible was narrated so well, and I could listen to an Australian accent for days! I couldn't stop listening - I needed to know what in the world happened in the sacristy after the wedding1

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Heather is a young interior designer, who upon first meeting her new client, physician, Stephen Aston, is impressed with the man's patience with his wife struggling with dementia. He treats his wife with such care, always including her in the meetings regarding the project and seeking her input, in spite of her struggles. Heather can't help but warm to the gentleman.

Stephen is also quite taken with Heather. She's young, beautiful and is always kind and open with him. Stephen's two adult daughters, Tully and Rachel, are taken aback when their father confirms to them that he is now in a relationship with Heather. What about Mom?!

Heather is younger than the two girls. She must be after Dad's money, what could they possibly have in common? Stephen pushes his daughters to get to know Heather and frankly, they're a little curious about her themselves, so they agree. That's what I will leave you with. Well, that and the fact that this is a bit of a murder mystery...

I listened to the audiobook for The Younger Wife and definitely recommend that medium. There are different narrators for the various perspectives and it made me feel like I was actually part of the action. The drama level is a bit reality television, but who doesn't love that as a bit of a guilty pleasure?

I found the drama to be completely addicting, but more than that, this story turned out to be grander than the petty squabbles I anticipated given the set-up. From the vague description of the narrative given above, you may think this will go a certain way, but Hepworth actually gave me something unexpected. I was impressed with that. Also, Hepworth loosely explores some powerful real world issues in this that I think would make it an excellent choice to read with friends, or a book group. There's definitely plenty of topics to discuss while reading this one.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is the second novel I have read from Sally Hepworth and it's definitely safe to say that I will happily pick up anything else she writes!!

Sally Hepworth is becoming a new favorite of mine. She does an amazing job at creating characters that you care about and makes you want to find out what will happen in the story. This one is definitely character driven and I loved both the sisters and their flaws that made them more human. I loved how the ending sort of leaves it up to you on what you believed really happened. I got an audiobook version and I listened to, and the audiobook was amazing! I am a sucker for Australian and Irish accents.... but it is really well done and had me wanting to listen to it nonstop until I finished. The suspense really builds in this one with your perception of the events constantly morphing.

When Rachel and Tully's father, esteemed heart surgeon Stephen Aston announces that he's getting remarried, it should be a happy occasion, but it's a little more complicated than that. For one thing, Stephen isn't quite divorced from Rachel and Tully's mother, Pamela. And for another, Stephen's fiancée, the beautiful and poised Heather at 34, is younger than both of Stephen's daughters. The only reason Stephen is able to pull this off is that Pamela, his wife, is in a fairly advanced stage of dementia and his care of her has been well above reproach. Who could blame him, if he's found love again? Doesn't he deserve it? Especially when everyone knows Pamela will never recover?

At least that's what Rachel and Tully tell themselves, even while they struggle in their own ways to come to terms with their father's decision. And also ... Heather, who common wisdom would dictate is more than likely a gold-digger, appears surprisingly ... normal, and even sweet. But there is undoubtedly something awry with the Alston family, and Stephen's unconventional engagement is only the least of it.

Sally Hepworth really hit this one out of the park. It's the best kind of domestic and psychological suspense---entirely believable situations and struggles and a twist that isn't so farfetched that it leaves you rolling your eyes. Even though I had the e-book galley, I listened all the way through because once I started I couldn't stop. The voice actors were pitch-perfect, conveying the quirks and personalities of all the characters so that from their tone, it wasn't difficult to understand what you were supposed to think of them. From voice alone, we realize that Rachel is steady yet tortured; and Tully somewhat of a frenetic mess. And Heather, the fiancée ... well, I can't say anything about her because that would give too much away.

I will say this: if you're not Australian, and have trouble with accents, you may struggle a little with this listening experience. The Aussie inflections are pretty strong. But if, like me, you enjoy the reminder that this is happening in a place unlike those you may be familiar with, the accents heighten that effect. Recommended.

Winner! I liked this book very much. I loved the narrator. LOVED the daughters and younger wife. … great side stories! This was a very solid, enjoyable read! Definitely recommend!

At first this seems like a bizarre story but keep on reading. The new wife is younger than his daughters and he also invites their mother who is suffering from dementia to the wedding. This has the makings for a disaster.
Everybody seems to have secrets and dealing with their demons in different ways.
The story deals with some hard to portray issues such as domestic violence, rape; trust issues in a marriage and much more.
The author did a great job of describing the emotions of the main characters.
I listened to the Audio version of this book and loved the different voices given by the various narrators.

Two daughters, Tully and Rachel, are shocked when their father announces that he is remarrying a much younger woman named Heather. Tully and Rachel worry that Heather's motives with their father are malicious given the significant age gap. The girls' mother is still alive but is in an ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s which has brought their marriage to an end. As Heather integrates into the family, secrets are revealed and the truth is uncovered. This story was a nice and simple read, yet kept you intrigued with each chapter. The author keeps you guessing the next revelation as the plot thickens and the characters build upon the madness unfolding in front of their eyes.