I was hooked from the very first chapter! I appreciated the multiple perspectives and the mental illness representation. This book was relatable because it reminded me that no family is perfect, and sometimes the most seemingly put-together family can have the most issues. I went into this story blind, so the mystery aspect was quite exciting. I was a little disappointed in how it ended, though, because I felt it was a bit rushed. However, it was an overall fun read!

I’m always a fan of Sally Hepworth’s writing and this book was no exception. I personally didn’t enjoy the ending and there are multiple content warnings you may want to look up before reading, but overall an enjoyable, hard to put down book. If you enjoy thrillers with multiple point of views, unreliable narrators, and an ambiguous ending, this is the book for you!

My first book from Sally Hepworth was The Mother-in-Law and until now that had remained my favorite title from her. I might have a new favorite because I absolutely devoured The Younger Wife in just a couple of sittings. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital and audio copy of this title for review. On a side note, Sally Hepworth was the first author to follow me on bookstagram and I was over the moon to say the least!

Synopsis:

Rachel and Tully’s parents have been married for several decades. Their mum had developed an advanced stage of altzheimers and had to be moved into a care facility for her safety. It was very difficult on the entire family, but what made things worse is when their father started seeing the young interior designer that had been hired to decorate the family home. Tully is the oldest daughter and is married to a successful lawyer with two small children. Rachel is the youngest daughter, and has a successful baking company but has no romantic interest in her life..

The young interior designer, Heather, who is younger than Tully or Rachel, comes from a troubling family and brings a lot of baggage to the new relationship. During the courtship between Heather and Stephen ( Tully and Rachel’s father) many family secrets are revealed concerning the daughters, Stephen and their mum. It all comes to a crescendo during Heather and Stephen’s wedding.

What I liked:
The story is told through multiple POV; Tully, Rachel, and Heather
Most of the characters had issues they needed to work through showing that “people are not all bad or all good”
My favorite character was Rachel and I loved seeing her transformation throughout the book.
I loved the author’s note where Hepworth describes how she got the idea for the story.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is vintage Hepworth as she uncovers the story bit by bit and the culmination is always unexpected and difficult to predict. Each chapter focuses on the viewpoint of a different person, who then lends a little of their own perspective and maybe a grain of a hint toward the larger story. Sometimes there is no hint. It makes it fun to listen to (or to read), as one is never sure where the story is going. Stephen Ashton is a successive heart surgeon, with a wife and two grown daughters. His wife has recently been placed in a nursing home with advanced Alzheimer's and all three of them visit her daily. Sometimes she knows, them; sometimes not. Sometimes she is coherent; at other times she says and does the most outrageous things. Heather is the interior decorator hired to redo Stephen's home: originally in the style his wife favored, and then switched to Stephen's style when he became obvious his wife would never live there. Then, one day Stephen announces to his daughters that he and Heather are engaged. When one of them points out that he is still married to their mother, she responds by obtaining the necessary divorce. Both of his daughters have problems of heir own, which they are dealing with as well as they are able.

Hepworth's style is perfect for writing a thriller. Pertinent things are uncovered layer by layer. It is obvious something is going to happen, but it is difficult to know what or when. Part of the narration is done by Stephen's first wife, someone the daughters and the fiancée had no knowledge of for most of the book. She is a bystander. This turns out to be a classic tale of something often kept behind closed doors. The secret is pretty much secret, until someone ends up dead. A shock for it is several chapters before we discover that has happened, as we wait with other observers for the outcome.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Younger Wife by St Martin's Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #stmartins #sallyhepworth #theyoungerwife

I consider Sally Hepworth one of the queens of domestic suspense, so I was excited to listen to her newest entry into the genre, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝗪𝐈𝐅𝐄. Before I get to anything else, I want to acknowledge the narration of Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry and Zoe Carides. They were excellent! ⁣
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Now to the book: Exactly as the title tells us there is a younger wife, Heather, about to be wed to the father of Rachel and Tully, both slightly older than Heather. The three women alternate telling the story that for me was more of a family drama without a lot of suspense. I guessed where the story was headed almost immediately, but never bought into the way it was covered. Or, perhaps I should say the way it wasn’t covered. The “secret” was largely swept under the rug and not highlighted in a way that evoked the emotion it should have. I know I’m being cagey here…trying not to give anything away, but it was a serious subject that was largely ignored. That bothered me.⁣
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The women were interesting, their backstories strong, keeping me engaged throughout, but in the end 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘧𝘦 was a disappointment. I need a little more suspense and a lot more depth in my domestic suspense. ⁣ 2.5 stars
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Thanks to @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for an ALC of #theyoungerwife and to @stmartinspress for an ARC of #theyoungerwife.

Magnificent as always from Sally Hepworth!
I loved this one! So engaging that it kept me reading constantly! Just wait until the end! Thank you, Macmillan Audio, Sally Hepworth and NetGalley for my advance copy of this amazing audiobook!

I read this book and listened to the audio version some months later, not realizing until I was fairly far along in the audiobook that I'd already read the story. Then I had to keep going because the audio version was engaging and I didn't remember what happened. (Does this suggest I am reading too many novels? Possibly.)

In any case, I loved the audio version; there is something about an Australian accent that makes every story seem more interesting, and this book used four narrators, all of whom did an impressive job.

There are a lot of slow reveals in this novel, and I don't want to give anything away, but I appreciated very much the feminist sisterhood that eventually forms among all the women, a surprise I didn't see coming in the beginning of the novel when several of the women seem pitted against one another. I also felt deeply the ways in which women are made to doubt themselves and to hide the harm that is done to them, to hope that pretending a bad thing didn't happen will be the same as if the bad thing never happened. I appreciated that there was a deliciously good guy in this novel to counter all the villains. I loved how the sisters grow closer by revealing their secret traumas to one another, and I love that the younger wife is a fully developed character, never a caricature. I also laughed out loud many times throughout the book, despite its serious subject matter. This was just all around a most enjoyable story, in which every twist was believable.

I'm grateful to Netgalley, McMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for giving me a free ARC and audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After reading and loving The Good Sister, I had a lot of hope for this one. I have a lot of mixed feeling after finishing The Younger Wife.

One of the things I did love was how much of a compulsory read it was. I didn't want to stop the audio and found myself trying to extend my chores so I could listen just a little bit longer. I'm a sucker for family secrets and family dynamics. Hepworth really excels in this area.

What was really hard to get past was the gaslighting. As someone who has never been in that situation, I tried to be less cynical because I truly don't know what it's like. However, it got to a point where it did seem way too far-fetched. I'm sure Hepworth did a lot of research and incorporated that into the building of this aspect. As a reader, it just didn't work for me and took me out of the story.

Despite that, I think I'd still recommend this to friends. It had an interesting twist I didn't see coming and for that fresh take and the overall dynamics between the sisters and later Heather.

The Younger Wife
A Novel
by Sally Hepworth
Narrated by Barrie Kreinik; Caroline Lee; Jessica Douglas-Henry; Zoe Carides
Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery and Thrillers

I'm a huge fan of Macmillan audiobooks. Hepworth's plot blends well with a talented ensemble cast of narrators for a suspenseful immersion into domestic drama. Kreinik, Lee, Douglas-Henry, and Carides each contribute distinct voices to add depth to the listening experience. I believe in giving credit to the narrators, and I want to read more about these talented ones.

This audiobook is a breathtaking, twisting venture through secrets, questions, and dysfunction in one family's connections. Both Hepworth's writing and the narration are dynamically paced, for an anticipatory and intriguing auditory adventure.

Hepworth takes us first to a wedding like no other in the prologue. Not only is the heart surgeon groom Stephen marrying Heather, who is about half his age, but guests are shocked when blood is shed.

Hepworth then quickly introduces the family members and the drama escalates that surrounds them, both present and past. Heart surgeon Stephen's daughter's Tully and Rachel both have major issues, and their mother Pam has dementia. Heather's past is quite complex. The flaws and challenges faced by these characters are deep, life altering, and serious.

So many perplexing, complicated, and tangled behaviors and actions are presented, for not only readers to understand but also the characters. The inclines, descents, and curves of the plot sequence made me think, ponder, and wonder. It will certainly get readers talking.
Thank you to Net Galley for the advance listener's audiobook copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

Wow! What a book to really hook you from the beginning. I rarely ever listen to audiobooks but it's something that I've wanted to start doing more. If there was a book to get me there, it was this one for sure! From family drama/issues, ex wives that you just know has secrets that they hold to murder, this book has it all and is a fantastic read!

Happy wife, happy life
New wife, new life
I'll let you decide

Loved the back and forth POVs and the narrator's voice. Definitely a book I recommend if you like suspense, along with family and personal secrets.

A big thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review the book.

This is my third Sally Hepworth novel and I’m quickly realizing she’s becoming a must-read author. The Younger Wife was captivating from the very beginning. I loved the subtle clues offered throughout the story but I truly appreciated the larger message of the story. Highly recommend this book and think we’ll be seeing on every beach and at every pool this summer!

I enjoyed this book and the twists it has throughout. Getting a peek into the thoughts of the female characters and all the troubles they keep in. Seeing how even a close and seemingly perfect family can have layers of grief that they keep hidden. Really a wonderful read.

#FirstLine ~ Prologue: I always cry at weddings.

I love all of Hepworth's books. This one is no exception. I loved that there is a significant incident that Hidden secrets, family drama, trauma, illness and love were all themes contained in the awesome story and they were so beautifully woven together! I was lucky enough to listen and read the book. I loved being able to read at times and listen at others. I was flying to/from vacation and this was the perfect book to listen to while zoning out everyone else on the plane. You will be pulled into the story and enjoy learning about the various characters individual stories as well as how those stories intersect with others! It is a sheer delight! A must read!!!

I'm a big, big fan of Sally Hepworth's. She's one of my favorite people to follow on this platform. So when I got this ARC in the mail, I was so freaking excited. I ended up listening to this one on audio and I really loved that narration. I was able to listen to this one super quickly. I especially loved the 3 different POVs.

The one thing Sally Hepworth does a good job of is completely drawing you in. This was no different, but the ending seemed very abrupt and just didn't do it for me. I need more. I had questions that I needed answered. But I have heard that the ARC and finished copy have different endings? Not sure if this is true or not, but I'd be interested to see what was changed!

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

CW: rape, domestic violence, murder, miscarriage, parent death

As usual with Sally's books, I loved this one. I saw quite a few reviews that said the ending wasn't that good, but I liked it. The book touches on some dark topics, which is good to be aware of going in, but doesn't go into excessive detail, which worked really well for the mystery and suspense of the plot. She also mentions the pandemic, which adds another layer to the plot because it's something everyone has been through and can relate to. I just can't say enough good things about Sally's books and I definitely recommend grabbing a copy of this book!

The character growth is detailed and well paced. We are in the perspectives of the two daughters and the younger wife who is trying to find her place among them. Everyone has something they are working through or healing from and there are some real trigger warnings here. While these triggers are traumatic- I have to say I was still able to laugh a lot and love when an author can do that with harder topics involved.

In my opinion, this book revolves more around character development than a fast paced plot. If that's not your thing, it may not be a favorite.

I have listened to the cast who read this audiobook before in several Liane Moriarity books and as usual, they nailed

Props to the Narrator Selection! She was fantastic.

The Audiobook was fantastic and while there are multiple characters to keep track of I did not find it difficult at all with her narration.

I do not understand why COVID was mentioned as it did not have anything to do with the story itself.
But I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to her next one.

A slow-burn domestic thriller with weaving story lines and fantastic narration.

The beginning of the book did start off slowly, in my opinion, when it came to Tully's perspective but it quickly picked up. I liked the way that the perspectives intertwined and how each perspective added both layers of answers and doubt about each character and the events previously detailed. I loved the concept of trying to sort out who the real danger in the family is and finding out if that danger has been present all along.

I would like to continue to read/listen to more works like this from the author and the narrators in the future.

Loved this audiobook. It was a bit confusing at first but I got it after a little while. So many twists and turns !