
Member Reviews

When heart surgeon, Stephen Aston meets interior designer, Heather, he decides to divorce Pam, his older wife suffering from Alzheimer’s. Daughters Tully and Rachel wonder if Heather is after their father for his money, but as they dig deeper darker secrets are revealed and everything comes to a head at the wedding. Once again Hepworth takes us on a ride worth taking. Voiced by four distinctly different women this book was one that was very difficult to put down!

Well I have to admit I'm in line with those who did not like the ending and feel as though the book as a whole made me feel very uneasy in the current climate of women and gaslighting. I didn't find the writing of this one to be as engaging as I normally do with Hepworth's books and was hoping for some stronger/more shocking twists. The characters were well written in a way that one could generally understand where they might be coming from. Not my favorite of Hepworth's but as I'm a fan of her other works I would be eager to see how the next one is.

Sally Hepworth’s thriller The Good Sister was one of my favorite books of 2021 and my five-star review reflected my enthusiasm for that unique, well-written story. When I had the opportunity to read and review The Younger Wife I could hardly wait to start the book. I knew great entertainment was coming my way.
Sally Hepworth delivers another compelling story with The Younger Wife. Her writing is flawless and her damaged, but relatable, characters once again take us on an emotional journey. Each woman tries to cope with her personal demons while also creating a united front to support the man they all love–a father, a husband, and husband-to-be as he prepares for his wedding to a woman half his age. No easy task for any family. But is Stephen Aston truly the loving father, husband, and beloved surgeon they all imagine? Are his needs and desires worthy of the angst they cause others? The women rally around him, despite lingering questions.
The Younger Wife kept me turning the pages until the very end–and that’s where Hepworth delivers what I consider the book’s single flaw. The author lets the reader decide the answers to the questions about Stephen. I like story endings tied up in a tight bow, explained with the same detail as the beginning and the middle of the book. The author knows the answers and I wish she’d shared them. Except for this issue, The Younger Wife is a page turner worth reading, and I’ll definitely be looking for Hepworth’s next novel.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press, consistently one of my favorite publishers, for providing an ARC to read and review. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*. This review will also be posted to https://BaysideBookReviews.com on release day.

Loved loved loved! Wonderfully written, fast paced, great characters, exciting storyline. It was hard to put down! And an ending that will leave you yearning for more! Highly recommend!

Stephen Aston is getting married. Once he divorces his current wife that is. His daughters, Tully and Rachel, aren't thrilled to meet Heather, the new wife, who is the same age they are. Heather is finally about to have the life she's always dreamed of. But it might not be any better than the life she's escaped.
Oh my goodness, Sally Hepworth does it again! I am quickly becoming OBSESSED with her. (Not in a weird way, honestly, please don't write a book about me!) Combined with short chapters, this action filled book lets us look inside the minds of all three women as the wedding inches closer. Everyone has a secret, of course they do, and combined with the Alzheimer's of Stephen's first wife (and Tully and Rachel's mother), it makes it hard to know what's real.
Some readers found the ending ambiguous, but I didn't think that. I thought it was pretty straight-forward.
Don't miss this one!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Available April 5, 2022.

When I first read the synopsis of this book I got to say I was not particularly that interested, but I’ve loved all of Sally Hepworth’s book so I requested it and boy am I glad I was approved. What a wonderfully written domestic thriller that took on real world issues. This was not your typical younger woman, older man book and it definitely had some dark turns that made this read unique and cringy at times. I love cringe! The book is told by Heather, Tully and Rachel and I loved the shifting perspectives this provided. Heather Wisher’s character is actual named after a real person who won Sally’s Instagram contest. How cool to have your name in a book!
Stephen Alston is a renowned heart surgeon and he has fallen in love and is going to marry, Heather Wisher even though she is significantly younger than him and he is still married. Stephen’s current wife was diagnosed with dementia and is at an assisted living home where she can get proper care. Stephen’s daughters, Tully and Rachel, are not thrilled about their father marrying someone else especially someone younger than themselves. Everyone seems to be hiding secrets and with the wedding approaching everyone is trying to come to grips with their truth before someone gets hurt.

The Younger Wife is the second book that I’ve read from Sally Hepworth. It certainly won’t be the last as Hepworth has the remarkable ability to craft suspenseful stories that hooks you at the beginning and reels you in for the landing.
I can’t say much about the story without giving away the whole kit and caboodle. But the blurb does provide enough mysteriousness to get your attention.
The story unfolds from multiple points of view — from Tully, Rachel and Heather. I loved that it was written this way. Especially since I got to learn the background of each character. There is an unknown third party observer in the narrative who isn’t revealed. But with the powers of deduction, one will be able to determine who that mysterious observer is. A very nice touch to an already engaging story.
The plot is absorbing from the prologue to the epilogue. And everything in between is sprinkled with twists that will keep you wanting to read the next chapter and the next.
As much as I thoroughly enjoyed The Younger Wife, I didn’t care too much for the ending. Not sure if was purposely written this way or not. And I’m still questioning whether I missed something. Maybe that “aha” moment will come sometime later. Until that time, The Younger Wife is a superb four star read for me.
I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Great domestic thriller featuring two daughters, their mother who has dementia, and their father who wants to re-marry. It's hard to say too much without giving away the plot line, but this cast of characters was great and I was engrossed! I always look forward to a new Sally Hepworth!!

This one was a bit of a surprise for me, in that I didn't expect to like it quite as much as I did. I really enjoyed the characters, with all their flaws and issues and simple crap they were dealing with. They were incredibly real and human and relatable in a way I didn't expect. I loved Rachel, and really enjoyed Darcy and how their relationship began and then evolved. Even Tully, as annoying as she could have been, was sympathetic and sweet in her own way. I had more lukewarm feelings about Heather, but even she grew on me after a while. The story felt comfortably predictable, until it wasn't. This book sort of lumbered along as an easy, interesting read, until you suddenly realized that this book was going to twist things up in ways you might not expect. And I liked the fact that the ending made you think, made you have to decide which direction you thought it was going, and then wrap it up in own bow, depending on your interpretation. It wasn't entirely open-ended, but left the reader to interpret it the way they chose to. So closure, but in a flexible way.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
How trusting are you?
The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth makes the reader question which of the well-crafted characters can be trusted and which are covering things up - my favorite kind of thriller!
First, there’s Pam, suffering from dementia, living in a care facility. Tully and Rachel are her daughters - Tully has some neuroses that are becoming more apparent as her two young sons grow up, and Rachel is a pastry chef who turns to food for comfort. Stephen is the father of the two women, and he has recently divorced Pam in order to marry Heather, the former couple’s interior designer. Heather is younger than both Tully and Rachel.
The book starts at the wedding of Heather and Stephen. After they have been pronounced man and wife, there is a commotion in a side room and the officiant, covered in blood, emerges asking for a doctor. The book’s focus goes back in time and covers the year leading up to the wedding.
This book took me longer than usual to read, and I’m going to blame my work schedule for not being able to ignore everything else and read like I wanted to! I look forward to meeting Sally when she’s in Boston next month for a promotional event for this book!
I think this is going to be a popular book this spring, both in bookstores and on #bookstagram - it comes out April 5th! Always happy to chat details/opinions/spoilers with anyone else who’s read it - send me a message!

This suspense novel starts out with a wedding where a someone is covered in blood. Then we are reeled back in time. We meet Stephen and his daughters, Tully and Rachel. Their mother lives in assisted living as she’s suffering from dementia. At lunch, the daughters are joined by their father and a woman named Heather, who was their parents’ interior decorator on a project their mother wasn’t able to complete due to her health issues. It’s here that Stephen announces to his daughters that he and Heather, who is around their age, plan on getting married. Both sisters are immediately suspicious of Heather’s intentions to marry their father and their anxieties around this develop in various ways. Turns out everyone in this novel holds secrets that are revealed and lead to rising consequences. This was a fun, well-written, page-turning novel that fans of the suspense genre will enjoy. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I really enjoyed this book! It was my first book by Sally Hepworth, and I'm looking forward to reading more. I thought the characters were well-developed, more so than is often the case with mysteries and psychological thrillers. I also found the relationships between the various characters interesting.

I requested this one based on the fact I thought Mother-in-law was a decent summer read. This one didn't do it for me. I found the writing mediocre and the characters a bit dull with story lines thrown in to make the story more interesting but found them disjointed. I felt the ending was thrown in to try and draw more discussion but ended up feeling gimmickly not thought provoking.
***Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review

Whew! Another great one from Sally Hepworth. I read this on a plane home from Mexico all in one sitting- I couldn’t wait to figure out the end!

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.

“Perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them. And perhaps the very best had some bad.”
Sally Hepworth’s characters shine in her newest domestic drama!
TULLY is a stay at home mom and wife of a successful lawyer. She is raising her two young sons while trying to keep her Kleptomania in check.
Her sister RACHEL is a baker who never dates. She eats her feelings away instead of dealing with what happened to her all those years ago.
HEATHER is very young, yet she is marrying TULLY and RACHEL’s father, STEPHEN. Does she have an ulterior motive?
PAM has dementia and is still married to STEPHEN!
And who is FIONA ARTHUR?
When this unconventional family gathers for STEPHEN and HEATHER’S wedding, nothing will go as planned.
Sally Hepworth knocked it out of the park with her last book, The Good Sister. It was an easy five star read for me and one of my favorites from last year. To say that I was excited to read her next book is an understatement.
The Younger Wife is a domestic drama, so do not go into it thinking it is a thriller. There aren’t too many twists in this one. Instead, most of the plot points are very predictable.
However, once again, Hepworth has written terrific fully developed characters that deal with real life issues. I found myself sympathizing with all of the women in this story and wanting to know more. The family will keep you guessing their secrets until the very end.
And…the real star of this book is the HOT WATER BOTTLE!
3.5/5 stars rounded up
Expected publication date 4/5/22
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC OF The Younger Wife in exchange for an honest review.

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. The ending surprised me and was very cleverly done.
I loved the author's acknowledgement in this one as it provided an extra later of insight, so be sure to check that out, too!
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 St Martins Press for the E-ARC of this book. It will be released on April 5th.
3.5 Stars

Oh I LOVED this book!! Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors so I was so excited I got a chance to read this early. I loved all the different POV given, it allowed the story to have more depth. The overall plot was clever and I thought the characters were interesting. I highly recommend this one!

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.