Told from the POV of three women, this was an interesting study in humanity. The Younger Woman is a family drama about the relationship between a successful doctor and his new, younger girlfriend. Their engagement and impending nuptials bring about serious family drama and dark, hidden secrets that lead to a bloody and startling conclusion.

Pamela has dementia, and her husband Stephen is read to divorce her so that he can move on to his next wife. He becomes engaged Heather, a woman younger than his daughters Rachel and Tully. As we read the POVs of three women we realize all of them deal with serious issues, keeping secrets from each other. Not everyone will make it through the wedding unscathed. I highly recommend this book. It is an amazing psychological thriller that will keep you hooked up till the end!

Sally Hepworth is an expert at crafting domestic suspense stories. She can craft such a twisty tale. The Younger Wife is about a close-knit family (with two adult daughters) that splinters when the dad announces he’s getting married. The problem–he’s still married to their mom, even if she lives at a dementia care facility.

The new woman–Heather– is the same age as one of the daughters–and they voice their strong reservations of their father’s new relationship. Heather may be young, but she knows what she wants, and how to get it. The girls know she must be hiding something, and they’re determined to dig deep enough to find out what.

Sisters Rachel and Tully each have their own secrets, some from the past and some from the present, that are quickly rising to the surface. We mostly rotate through chapters alternating between the sisters and their soon-to-be stepmother Heather, but get a few chapters from a mystery wedding guest. The guest’s chapters bring us to the present every once in a while, where we know something terrible involving the other characters has happened, then we go back to unraveling more and more of the past, until finally the timelines merge. It’s such an interesting way to tell the story, and super effective at keeping the reader totally invested.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy.

Sally Hepworth is is an auto buy author for me so I was delighted to receive this advanced reader copy to review from St Martins Press. This one is a fun and fast read - I could not put it down But as with all her books, the characters are so well developed and I feel like I know them. This domestic suspense book takes us through the lives of the main characters' family where two adult daughters are faced with their mother's dementia and their father's new relationship with a much younger woman as well as their own secrets and struggles. Things aren't always as they seem. Highly recommend!

I admit I didn’t love this one as much as THE GOOD SISTER. But I still enjoyed the layered characters, and serious topics brought to light here.

Tully and Rachel are shocked to learn that their father, Stephen, is getting married again. A couple of things don’t sit well with them. First of all, Heather, his fiance, is around their age. But what is really upsetting is that their father is still married to their mother. Unfortunately, their mother suffers from dementia, and Stephen is requesting a divorce.

The book begins with an act of violence, and we are left wondering what happened. As the story unfolds, we learn that both sisters have unresolved traumas and issues. We also learn of Heather’s traumatic past. But what all comes into question is Stephen’s big secret, and is it true?

I feel like I don’t know for sure what happened, and with this serious of subjects (emotional and physical abuse), it left me a bit unsettled. There are some interesting elements here, and the pace moves along quickly. I just felt like the unreliability factor was a little overdone.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞 is a tangled domestic drama, with compelling characters, and I look forward to reading what Sally Hepworth writes next.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for this gifted ebook.

I'm a Sally Hepworth fan! I love the way her books revolve around family but have unique, mystery twists to go along with it. At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about The Younger Wife. It took me several chapters to feel fully invested in Rachel, Tully, and Heather. I also kept wanting more from the wedding scene that starts off the book. They were like the cracker crumbs of Hansel and Gretel, leading us to the witch or in this case, the reveal of what exactly transpired on that day and why. All in all, I was never confident in my decision on what I thought was going on, and while the ending was a bit shocking, I still can't decide if I liked or agreed with the ending. I sort of wish she had left me with doubt in this case instead of an answer. Still a fun read that I read in no time.

I have read and loved ALL of Sally Hepworths books. I was SO excited when St. Martin's Press sent me a gifted copy!

Hello dysfunctional family dynamics! That's putting things lightly. Hepworth sure knows how to create interesting characters. Annnd we've got my fav, multiple POVs! Yes please!

Domestic Suspense fans, this one is for you!

That ending though. This would make such a fantastic book club read. The discussion would certainly be lively!

Thanks again to St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy!

Trigger warnings: family violence, rape, gaslighting, alcoholism, eating disorders, dementia & kleptomania.

Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I flew through The Younger Wife in a few sittings. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you uncertain of what actually happened in the past and what will happen next.

Beyond the compelling plots, Sally Hepworth’s characters are what make her novels great. Each of the point of view characters are deeply flawed and completely relatable. Tully, Rachel, and Heather each have their personal demons and are coping as well as they can, albeit a bit dysfunctionally. It is rare to see compulsive behavior traits depicted with such sincere empathy.

If you like Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s novels, you will love The Younger Wife.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel for review.

The Younger Wife opens at a wedding between Stephen, a man in his 60s, and Heather, a woman in her 30s. Stephen is not only marrying a woman 30 years his junior, but she is younger than both of his 30-something daughters, Rachel and Tully. He also recently managed to secure a divorce with his ex-wife, who has advanced-stage dementia, in order to marry Heather. Generally...it's a super questionable situation. After the ceremony, the newlyweds, the officiant of the wedding, and several family members file into a room, where the couple is to sign their paperwork. The wedding guests hear a woman's scream and a loud thud. Ambulances are called.

Then the book rewinds to one year prior to the wedding and we rotate between three perspectives: Heather, and the two daughters, Rachel and Tully, as we try to piece together what occured at the wedding.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hepworth's writing, and this was definitely a page-turner that I could not stop reading. I think Hepworth did an incredibly good job creating three very different, very multi-faceted and complex female characters. I was rooting for all of them even though I found them all incredibly imperfect in their own ways. I thought this book discussed addiction, relationship violence, domestic abuse, and gaslighting in a very realistic way (although, admittedly, these are not things I've personally experienced).

The plot twist was somewhat anti-climactic (I guessed it at about 60%), but it didn't bother me. After reading a few thrillers with totally unbelievable twists and conclusions, I actually found this one really refreshing. Four stars!

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review**

Note: I will also review this book on my YouTube channel in early May.

I thought this was a solid effort from Ms. Hepworth, but this story fell way short of my expectations. My first read of hers, and I was very intrigued. I heard such glowing reviews for The Good Sister, it had me anxiously wanting to read this book. As I was reading this story, the thought that kept running through my head was, this is one dysfunctional family! The father, Stephen, may be a renowned heart surgeon, but that doesn’t automatically make him a good person, husband, or father. In fact, I was not a fan of his, at all.

I was drawn into this story immediately by the unnamed female narrator describing the wedding she’s attending of Stephen and his new bride, Heather, all while his ex-wife is sitting in the front row. Something is described as happening off page by this narrator that leads the reader to believe someone is killed at the wedding.

I was not so much a fan of reading the scenes that took place in the past, although they’re all meant to make me understand why Tully and Rachel are the way they are now. I never was able to form a connection with Tully, only partially with Rachel, and just downright didn’t like Heather at all, most likely because I had created a preconceived notion of her for stealing a defenseless woman’s husband. Not all is as I thought, though.

I admit I was shocked that the women in this book were painted in such a poor picture, but the men were all wonderful. Except for the gaslighting that was going on, of course… I mean, making these women feel like maybe everything that happened to them truly didn’t happen? Or that they’re not remembering events correctly? Possibly because they’re maybe crazy, or drunk, or any other undesirable trait?

Worst ending ever, in my opinion. I don’t even want to talk about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This is my first read from Sally and I have already ordered her other books because I enjoyed this one so much. I love her writing style. It’s very engaging. Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only issue is that he’s still married to his first wife, who is in care facility for dementia. This are 3 main POVs.. These characters are complex with realistic and relatable lives. It’s fast moving plot that will keep you up all night. My favorite kind of reading.

Is it just me, or did this one not end? Or it did and it was left for my interpretation?

In any case, it was a good domestic suspense thriller despite the let down of an ending. I was just hoping for that big twist at the end - that just never showed.

If you enjoy:

- Character Driven
- Family Drama
- The constant Whodunnit
- Multiple POVs

Check this one out. You will be flipping through the pages.

Special thank you to @StMartinsPress for this ARC in exchange for an Honest Review. This was my first Sally Hepworth novel and it won’t be my last!

The Younger wife is a domestic suspense narrated by three of the main characters: Tully, a kleptomaniac; her sister, Rachel, who is a survivor of rape; and Heather, the woman marrying the father of Tully and Rachel. I was immediately drawn into these women’s worlds and enjoyed learning about the challenges they each faced. I devoured the pages of this book quickly.

As the end drew near, I kept waiting for…more. I did feel a little disappointed in the ending as I had hoped for confirmation that the outcome for the girls’ father was justified. This never came.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

Messy family matters are often crazy and sometimes hilarious (as long as they aren't happening in real life.) Author Sally Hepworth excels at weaving a story so intricately connected and dramatic and The Younger Wife is a perfect example of her storytelling skills. Two daughters are coming to grips with their dad divorcing their mom and getting ready to marry a woman their own age. Secrets are never as fun when kept, and they seem to explode just before the wedding. Daughters Rachel and Tully as well as the newly engaged Heather tell their stories in their narration of this crazy, drama filled novel. Searching for the truth may just reveal more answers than they intend, but you have to read all the way to the end to figure out how this novel ends!! Definitely an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and author Sally Hepworth for my digital review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are voluntary and my own.

The Younger Wife is a wonderful mystery puzzle in which pieces from the past and present are fitted together and by the end you have a completed masterpiece!

The story begins at a wedding and the narrator is unknown to the reader. During a wedding ceremony something bad happens. What? We have no idea. Then the real account begins.

Stephen Aston a prominent well-liked doctor is getting married to a much younger woman Heather Wisher. They met while Heather, an interior decorator was working on he and his wife Pam’s house. Pam unfortunately was in the beginning stages of dementia and is now in an institute. Stephen and Pam fell in love and Stephen has divorced Pam and proposed to Heather.

Stephen has two adult children. Rachel, a baker and Tully, a stay-at-home mom. Both are livid that their father is marrying this younger woman. They think she is only after his money and doesn’t really care about him. How could their father desert their mother this way?

But both Rachel and Tully have their own issues. Tully has been stealing trinkets from stores since she was eleven years old. For some reason when her anxiety gets too high, this calms her down. She has never told anyone about her habit, not even her husband. Now she has just found out that her husband Sonny made a bad business choice and they have lost everything. Her kleptomania has kicked into high gear.

Rachel was a beautiful young athletic woman back in the day who went on constant dates and was a runner. Until something happened and she stopped. She stopped dating and she stopped running. Now, her anxiety is lessened by food, particularly the sweets she bakes.

Heather, the now fiancée of Stephen has herself had a disturbing life. Her father was an alcoholic who beat her mother. Although she truly loves Stephen, she has not told him about her past because she is embarrassed and is afraid of losing him. In the back of her mind, she has always been terrified she would make the same mistake in marriage just as her mother did. She understands Stephen’s daughter’s concerns but wants to try and gain their trust.

Then Rachel finds a hot water bottle in the closet of her parent’s house and in it is almost one hundred thousand dollars in cash and mysterious notes in her mother’s handwriting. As Rachel tries to figure out where this money came from, a difficult feat since her mother has very little memory left, she begins to wonder if this money was something her mother had been stashing in secret to get away from her father.

Rachel begins to think back on all the “accidents” her mother had had while she was growing up and begins to think perhaps, they were actually something else. She begins to see her father in a different light and her concern turns to Heather.

So, what happened right after the ceremony? Someone was hurt, but who?

The Younger Wife weaves this curiously mysterious story throughout the book in true Hepworth fashion and explodes in the incredible last few pages and will leave you shaking your head in wonder!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #TheYoungerWife #SallyHepworth for the advanced copy.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by this author and she’s one I always look forward to reading.

The main characters include Stephen, a well respected heart surgeon; Pam, his wife who’s in a care center due to dementia; daughter Tully, a nervous nellie who handles her stress by shoplifting; Rachel, a baker who deals with a past trauma by sampling a few too many of her desserts; and Heather, Stephen’s fiancé, a possible alcoholic dealing with the abuse she encountered in her childhood home. Quite the family dynamics, wouldn’t you say?

I had an easy time following the story and the characters were well written. I went through the first two thirds of the book thinking “wow” this could be a five star book, but then for me, the last third fell a bit flat. Now that I’m reading other reviewers’ thoughts however, I’ve re-evaluated.

Here’s what readers seem to be pondering. Was Stephen secretly a violent abuser of women, or was he the stand-up guy everybody saw? Many reviewers seem to want to believe he was, in fact, guilty of violence. Because to think otherwise suggests that the author was meanly stereotyping women as hysterical and delusional. I beg to differ. For me, various details exonerate him:

—There’s no evidence Pam’s injuries were caused by him, especially since the daughters never saw signs of their parents arguing in the home, and of course, the final answer to the hot water bottle mystery seemed to disprove the “running away from home” theory.

—I initially believed Stephen strangled a drunken Heather until the medical staff questioned the fact that there were no fingerprint marks. (Admittedly that one is up in the air because my research shows that fingerprint marks are only left 50% of the time.)

—The implication that dad was strangling Pam in the church vestibule didn’t ring true to me. If he was indeed strangling her, he would have been facing her and placing his hands on her throat, but that is not how the author described it. He was behind her and holding her back because she needed to be restrained.

—Aren’t most violent men prone to angry loss of control? Does it seem reasonable that a violent offender would be as stealthy as Stephen was presented to be? I’m not buying it.

It was an interesting mystery left open for readers to ponder and discuss. For that reason, I’m glad I took a second pass on this book and my intended three rating becomes a four. :)

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I will not be putting up a review on my handles so as to not mislead others as I truly feel everyone should make their own judgment and read it still. I will try this author again with another book. Thank you for the chance to read and review this one. I appreciate all the connections I've made.

This one was a highly anticipated read for me, but when I got to it, it didn't quite live up to expectations. It was a hard one for me to decide how I felt and how to rate it because the book left me feeling meh and a bit confused as well after it was all over. It was a mixed bag for me leaving it at a solid 3 stars.
I've never read a book by this author before so maybe this is her style and others didn't get mixed feelings over the story, but it left me feeling uncertain about a lot of what I read and what was the actual story or truth to the story. This very much was like a story with an unreliable narrator for me and I don't know if I've ever read a book with this unreliable of a narrator before and I'm not sure I enjoyed it.
It did keep me guessing to the very end and kept me interested enough to read it all in one sitting because I wanted to figure it out and know what was going to happen and what the ending would be. It is still keeping me guessing about parts of it, which I don't like as much. This did have some possible triggering materials in it for me and others in regards to abuse, divorce, theft/shoplifting/kleptomania, rape - past reference no details on the page, eating to deal or not deal with the effects of trauma/rape and such.
This was about two sisters that have to learn how to deal and cope with their elderly father falling in love and marrying a younger woman while their mother suffers from dementia in a care facility. A lot of things come to a head at the wedding and leave you wondering if the truth you know is really the truth or not.
If you like this author, unreliable narrators, or this type of mystery/thriller then make sure to check it out. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The witty and talented bestselling author Sally Hepworth always has some tricks up her sleeve, and THE YOUNGER WIFE has plenty of juicy secrets and surprises!

Set in Melbourne, Australia, meet the Aston family.

Stephen, the father, is a successful cardiac surgeon. Pamela, his wife has early-onset Alzheimers, and he is about to move her to a nursing home to get on with his life, and the younger new wife, Heather he is about to marry. Of course, he can get a divorce from his current wife since she is not of sound mind.

Heather is the family's interior designer. She comes from a poor background and made her way into the family and especially the catch, Stephen. She will soon have all the status she needs and deserves. She will be the new younger wife and younger than Stephen's two grown daughters.

Next, we meet the two adult daughters. Now, these sisters have plenty of problems they keep hidden from one another and the world.

Rachel is a voluptuous plus-size woman single and never married and has not dated since her teens. She is beautiful and successful and owns a bakery and makes the hottest bridal cakes. She also has an eating disorder and even eats her designer client's wedding cakes and then purges. There is some past trauma that comes out later in the book.

Tully, the other sister is very thin, married, and has two young children. She is always anxious and she has a problem with stealing. Yes, stealing things from friends' homes and high-end designer stores. She really does not need them she just likes the high. She has issues. Plus her husband is also hiding some secrets.

OK, so when the father has brunch with Heather and the adult daughters to announce he is marrying Heather and divorcing their mom, needless to say, it does not go well.

Heather also has a bad drinking problem. The three women decide to have an outing to themselves and a lot of themselves start pouring out. Maybe this woman is not so bad.

It is the day of the wedding, and as we get close to the big day, things do not seem right. Rachel suspects her dad may be abusive. Since her mom has this horrible disease and now Heather seems to be falling a lot. Then they discover their dad has been married before. This is the nameless guest at the wedding watching it all go downhill. Is Stephen not the person he appears to be or are the daughters paranoid?

The wedding ends with someone murdered. You must read the book to learn all the fun details. Also, there is a little unexpected romance between Rachel and her hot new delivery guy.

The best of all is the Hot Water Bottle! Who knew a hot water bottle full of cash could be so wickedly funny. A huge fan of the author, and have read every book. What I enjoy about her novels is each one is something you do not expect and quite unique.

She combines domestic suspense with humor for a rip-roaring good time and is always highly entertaining!

A special thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an ARC digital copy and Goodreads for a print giveaway copy!

Reading Experience:
I was grabbed from the first page and loved the Author's Note and inspiration for the novel. That mysterious water bottle full of cash. We miss you Aunty Gwen and hope you are enjoying heaven— and keeping everyone on their toes. Please feel free to send me a money-filled hot water bottle at any time. Greatly appreciated!

This was my Valentine's weekend read and it was the BEST! A must-read! When nothing is as it appears with Sally's unique winning signature style, she always keeps you guessing! I think her family needs their own TV show, but Sally will need a stand-in because she must have time to write because I always look forward to her next exciting adventure. Every book she writes— lands on my top list of the year. Love her humor. A Must-read and top books of 2022!

Blog Review Posted @ www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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Pub Date: April 5, 2022

Sisters Tully and Rachel are shocked when their dad, Stephen announces he is marrying his girlfriend, Heather. Their first concern is her age. Heather is the same age as his daughters. Not to mention, he’s still married to their mother, Pam, who has been living in a home due to her advanced case of dementia. He requests a divorce quietly and is granted one, so wedding preparations begin. At the wedding, a horribly tragedy occurs. What led to it and was it planned?

The wedding tragedy is discussed in the first chapter of the book, then the following chapters alternate between present and past and the four points of view as the wedding is planned and the aftermath of the tragedy is revealed. The Younger Wife is quite the domestic thriller, keeping me on the end of my seat while reading with several unexpected twists and an ending that still left me wondering! Highly recommend!

I will let you know now that this book will not end how you think it will end. You will be confused and possibly even upset about the ending. You will go back and re-read the last few chapters to see if you missed something. If you are like me, you will curse out loud that you wish you were part of a book club so you could discuss it with someone. That being said, I am not sure how I feel about the ending. I think that is exactly how author, Sally Hepworth, wanted it to be.

This story is told from multiple different perspectives. The first perspective we are introduced to is a complete mystery and remains so until about 3/4 of the book. The other perspectives are via the two daughters and the younger (almost) wife.

I like the different perspectives because it did help round out the characters and give the full view of each of their lives. All three have very deep, unresolved issues from their past they are dealing with. All three's unresolved pasts stir together and create complete and utter dysfunction in all lives involved.

I do want to let readers know that this may have triggers for some- rape, domestic abuse, mental abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders, and kleptomania are all topics in this novel.

This was not my first Sally Hepworth book. "The Good Sister" I read and reviewed last year and gave 5 stars! Hepworth is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. She knows how to build diverse and complete characters that make the story unique. She is great at setting the scenes and creating the atmosphere needed for the twists and turns in the storyline.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me a digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 4 star read for me!

"The Younger Wife" is available for purchase today, March 5, 2022 here in the U.S. so get your copy now!

Happy Reading!