Gabe and Pippa buy their dream home in a lovely coastal town. The home sits on a cliff, known as "The Drop" to the locals. It seems this is a favorite spot for those wanting to kill themselves.

Gabe becomes a local hero when he is able to dissuade seven people from taking their lives. Amanda Cameron is the eighth person to come to the cliff. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, did she fall, was she pushed? It is revealed that Amanda was the wife of Gabe's former boss who had fired him. Gabe does not tell the police this information. Her husband, Max, insists that she would not have taken her life.

The novel unfolds from the POVs of Pippa and Amanda, both before and after. It seems that things are not as they seem as secrets are revealed. The author is very good at giving us the twists and turns that keep us engaged. The characters are well written, chapters are short. I missed the humor in this novel that Sally Hepworth incorporates into her stories. This is a fast read and will hold your attention.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The review is my own.

Over the past few years, Sally Hepworth has become a go-to author for me. In her newest book, The Soulmate, she weaves another dark domestic tale with death and complicated relationships. Told from the point of view of two women, this novel follows two different marriages and the secrets the spouses keep from each other.

On the surface, the story has promise but in execution, it falls flat. The narrators jump back and forth in time, which can be extremely disorienting to the reader. Secret after secret is revealed until the reader is sure that there are no more– and yet, the secrets continue, each one even crazier than the last. None of the characters are particularly likable, either.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this thriller! The POVs between the two main women characters really shows the full story and how each woman‘s marriage is not all they thought it would be. I read this so quickly and couldn’t put it down. The characters were well written and their situations were well explained and detailed. I was kept guessing until the end. I appreciated the complexity of each person’s plight and how each person played a critical part in the story. The POVs were helpful in showing more of the characters and how they were reacting to what happens. I would definitely recommend this thriller to read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy of this book. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth will be a good summer beach read. Short chapters. Family drama/suspsense/mystery. It's got a great setting in Australia on a seaside town. Dual perspectives (each with two time periods). It's not super scary or murdery (not to say there isn't murder) but I think this will be good for those who don't want to be kept up at night with bad dreams but still want to be entertained.

Sally Hepworth knows how to write domestic suspense!

Gabe and Pippa, along with their two four-year-old daughters, have moved to a cliffside home in Portsea, Australia. They’re hoping for a fresh start after Gabe’s unstable work history and increasingly erratic behavior have led to yet another move. Unfortunately, the cliff on their property is a well-known spot called “The Drop” for those who want to end their lives. Fortunately, Gabe seems to have a gift for talking people away from the edge … at least he did until this most recent woman shows up. Now she’s dead, and Pippa’s left to make sense of what she saw from the window.

Did this woman commit suicide, as Gabe claims? Is she really a stranger?

Things get a LOT more complicated for Gabe and Pippa when the woman’s identity is revealed!

I’m not going to say any more about the plot since so many reviews have summarized it by this point, but I will jump into what I liked and what I struggled with.

Likes:

* Short, snappy chapters and lots of dialogue kept the pace moving nicely

* It’s a very clever dual narrative mostly from Pippa’s past and present POV, but also from the victim Amanda’s
past and present POV, AFTER her death. It was extra fun to see things from her now omniscient perspective!

* Hallelujah … the men weren’t perfect by any means, but they also weren’t written as complete cretins for once!
Gabe and Max - Amanda’s husband - both had their issues, but there was at least some depth to them and a
rationale behind their behavior.

* The mental health issues felt realistically researched and portrayed.

* Overall, an intriguing and entertaining story that kept me turning the pages to the end!

A few issues … aka a minor mini-rant:

* Please someone tell me the planet that exists where parents of two young, curious children buy a cliffside home
with a bonus window view of occasional suicide attempts? WHAT? WHY? My brain can’t process this level of
stupid.

* Pippa is asked whether she’s heard of ADHD and she says “only in passing”. Is there really anyone who’s still clueless about what ADHD is? I found that hard to believe.

* Pippa and Gabe’s devotion (i.e. co-dependency) was more annoying than admirable.
Prude alert: So many books these days have a scene where a woman is being … there’s no nice way to put this …
orally pleasured by her guy. Good for you, ladies! Just please keep that door shut … I don’t need to see that. 🫣

* I don’t love how things ended. It made me sad. I can’t say more without spoiling.

Issues aside, I mostly enjoyed this, and will continue to devour anything Sally Hepworth writes!

★★★ ½ (rounded up to 4)

Wow, wow, wow! Sally Hepworth's latest: The Soulmate is a page-turner! Its a thriller with a bit of romance and I assure you, you will not want to put it down!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤!!! I was HOOKED from page 1, and I DEVOURED it in just over 24 hours! Y’all know that never happens with my hectic, busy life 😂

I LOVED the setup. Two different couples, two different POVs, two different timelines. You get the POV of the wives in the past and present. Amanda’s present POV was so unique and different and I ate 👏 it 👏 up 👏.

Each short chapter ended with a perfect one-liner cliffhanger that made you keep reading. I wouldn’t say the “main mystery” was a shock when it was revealed, but the clues, secrets, my need for information, and the little twists along the way were executed perfectly to satisfy me. There were still at least two pretty big reveals that caught me off guard 😱.

And the ending…I thought it was perfect. The kind that had me gasping 🫢 and rereading to make sure it actually happened.

I loved every bit of it. It was the perfect bingeable book!

I have read every book by Sally Hepworth. She is an automatic read for me every time. This one was no exception! I flew through this one as the plot kept my attention. I enjoyed the characters development and the ending took me by surprise. It was definitely not an ending that I saw coming, but did make sense.

Sally Sally Sally!!!!!

Sally had my attention from beginning to end. This reminds me of why I started reading Sally's books in the first place. There are a lot of life lessons tied into this book, especially around marriage and love. I didn’t like major of the characters but because of the way, Sally writes I still enjoyed the book nonetheless. Also people who I thought were the villains turned out the be the hero or good people the whole time.

This back and forth tale, told through the perspectives of two women is a whirlwind! It unfolds a bit at a time, the secrets getting deeper and darker. This is fast paced and could be read in one or two sittings. Sally Hepworth is such an incredible writer and continues to nail the writing. This would not be my first recommendation to a Hepworth newbie though. The characters aren't very likable. None of them. I absolutely wanted to keep reading to see how it ended, but I wasn't really cheering anyone on.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Pippa and Gabe have moved to what they thought would be a coastal oasis away from their problems to start over again. However, the cliff behind their house, coined The Drop, has been busy with suicide attempts. Gabe has talked many down and has become somewhat of a local celebrity. But when a woman appears and cannot be saved, questions of whether she jumped or was pushed begin.

Told from the perspectives of the woman who dies and Pippa, we are shown past and present nuggets of their connection. The drama and suspense leave you questioning what really happened at The Drop that night. With every twisty revelation, Hepworth shows us that she is one of the best thrilling mystery writers out there.

Don't sleep on The Soulmate. You'll be up all night wanting to finish it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

When Gabe and Pippa purchased what they thought was their dream home, they didn’t realize it came with a dangerous twist: “The Drop,” the cliff behind their house, a well-known suicide spot, with potential jumpers often visible from inside their home or yard. Despite saving every one of them since moving in, one night, Gabe fails to save a woman who arrives at the Drop. But when he explains what happened to police, Pippa realizes his description of events doesn’t match what she saw that night. And once she starts asking questions, her doubts and questions only multiply.

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Mental Illness

This was quite a suspenseful mystery right from the start. It’s one that starts with just that little tickling feeling that maybe something isn’t right, and it just snowballs until you get a huge explosion, with enough twists and turns along the way to leave your head spinning. It’s truly amazing how much story the author fits into this book, which works between two timelines: the present and the past, which leads up to Gabe and Pippa purchasing the ill-fated home.

The ending was a bit shocking, to say the least, though a little convenient. I did not see the final big twist coming. I think I audibly gasped at that scene. It took me by complete surprise. Trust me, this book doesn’t let up once it gets going, which was really great, and kept me craving more.

I was a bit lukewarm on both Gabe and Pippa, they both had faults that made them a bit unlikable, but I was hooked into their story, so I could ignore that. I didn’t need to love them to like the story.

Overall, this was a great story and mystery/thriller fans will devour it. I highly recommend it!

This is Hepworth's best novel to date!

Imagine living in a home with a spectacular cliffside view, only to find out it's a popular spot for people who see no other option but to jump. But since Pippa and Gabe have moved in, so many lost souls have been saved by Gabe's empathy and charm.

Except one. Pippa can't believe what she thinks she's seen. Is Gabe the hero people believe he is or has his fluctuating mental health brought him to his limit?

The character development builds authentically and the suspense will keep you guessing about the price of loyalty and love.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy.

To many, Pippa and Gabe Gerard have an enviable family. They, along with their two daughters, have moved into their dream house in an exclusive beach town. One day Gabe witnesses the suicide of a woman on the cliffs behind their home. Once a connection is revealed between Gabe and the woman, Pippa wonders if there's more to the story than what Gabe has shared.

“It's a rare family which doesn't have a few problems. The Gerard family certainly have their fair share of troubles.”

I was hooked from the first pages of this story. Nothing is what it seems in The Soulmate. Sally Hempworth combines a web of lies with well-timed twists to deliver an entirely unexpected story.

The Soulmate is a fast-paced, addictive read about marriage, trust, and secrets. This domestic suspense tale will leave you pondering the limits of loyalty, the power you give others over you, and the good and bad marriage.

“Ah, marriage, you wonderful, complicated beast.”


I received an early copy of this book. All opinions in this voluntary review are my own.

**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

When I read the synopsis of this book, I thought that this would be promising and it would turn out to be a lot more than just marital issues. I wish that wouldn’t have been the case. I’ve read one of Hepworth’s other books for book club before and I found that to be horrendously boring, so I tried to go into this book with an open mind but it turns out that this book was just as boring as the last. I’m convinced that Hepworth doesn’t write true thrillers, I think she should be classified as more of a domestic suspense author. Being a mainly thriller reader, I expect a lot out of a thriller. Well, I expect to be thrilled. I expect a twist. I expect something to happen that I didn’t see coming. In this book, there was none of that for me. The writing wasn’t bad, the book just wasn’t eventful. The book gets a 3 from me because it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it’s also not the best. Chances are I’ll most likely not pick up another novel by Hepworth and that’s alright, her works just aren’t my thing. Publication for this book is 4/4/23.

A character piece wrapped around a mystery, or maybe the other way around. All of it set against a menacing backdrop that serves as a main character. A slow build that starts off with a bang.

I was surprised by many elements in the book, but not by Hepworth’s masterful imagining of two couples working through broken connections.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

This is page-turning thriller that tackles themes of marriage and how we only get a small glimpse of people's lives and don't truly know the whole story. It's told across multiple timelines and two-points-view, one of which is cleverly the dead woman in question as she looks over beyond the grave.

There were a number of twists and turns as we learned more about the lives of both Pippa and Amanda, and the short chapters made it easy to get through this really quickly. Overall, really enjoyed this and a definite recommend.

A cliffside cottage, where several people have ended their lives, is the perfect setting for this psychological thriller. Dual narrators (Pippa and Amanda), timelines (before and after) and love stories (Gabe/Pippa and Amanda/Max). And a surprisingly sad twist at the end. After being disappointed with Sally Hepworth’s last novel, I’m glad I gave this one a chance! Well done. Releases April 4, 2023! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early digital copy of this book,

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC ebook.

This was a fast paced, thrilling page turner with short chapters that keep you hooked. It’s narration flip flops between 2 point of views as well as past and present, and is perfectly executed.

The characters are relatable, the plot twists are believable and the dramatic storyline kept my attention without any dips or luls. The authors depiction of the Australian scenery/ cliffs were descriptive and came to life on the pages. She also did an amazing job keeping the intertwining relationships of all the characters clear and dramatic.

This one hits shelves this week on April 4th and you’d be crazy not to add it to your TBR or bump it to the top. What a great read!!

I love a good thriller, and Sally Hepworth certainly knows how to write one that immediately grabs your attention.

Pippa and Gabe have survived some tumultuous times in their marriage, but they are soulmates, they are deeply in love, and soulmates can survive anything, right? Any romantic at heart would want to believe that. Mmhmm.

Relocating to a cliffside property in a small community seemed like the ideal way for this young family to start over. This cliffside property, however, came with a reputation and its own set of baggage as a spot that was known for suicides. Even in their short time there, Gabe had been able to talk a few people out of ending their lives. When yet another woman had arrived at the cliff’s edge, Gabe’s compassion and empathy weren’t enough to prevent her from going over into the rocky ocean below. Naturally, Gabe would be upset after witnessing anyone’s death, but as it turned out, she was someone that he knew.

The novel alternates between the past and present from Pippa’s perspective and the victim’s. This allows the reader to get a glimpse into Pippa and Gabe’s marriage, to see what had transpired, and what sparked their move. The victim’s perspective was also an interesting aspect to this novel. The chapters were kept quite short, keeping my interest and my curiosity piqued.

The Soulmate was an entertaining, fast-paced thriller. I never really trusted any of the characters, and in all honesty, I’m not sure if I really liked any of them either, but with this genre, I’m completely okay with that. Sally Hepworth always makes me feel like I am peeking through my fingers into the window of the characters’ houses, as if I’m trespassing and witnessing private moments. It always feels scandalous and so much fun.

*4 Stars