Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this novel! I could not put this one down. I just peaked at the first paragraph and was sucked in right away. A mighty suspense domestic drama of a book. A man called Stephen, practically oozing with charm and eerily observant, is marrying a young woman, younger than his grown daughters. So we are all assuming she's the problem.
And we meet his daughters Tully and Rachel. They are interesting fleshed out characters. One is a bit neurotic and the other is a bakery wiz who uses food to deal with a rape that happened at age 16.
But then there is Pamela who is Stephen's wife who he is divorcing to be with the new one. Pam is also dealing with dementia so she hardly knows what's going on.
And what is going on?
Some hints and gaslighting pointing towards some physical and wicked emotional abuse. Is he or isn't he an abuser.
That's what people are complaining about, the ending. We don't really know. And there is a death to answer for which leaves the open endedness a little unsatisfying. But to me, the ending, although yes, not so tidy, still I give any book at this terrible reading time in my live (I'm looking at u pandemic) that keeps me glued to the pages and I can burn through in two sittings gets all the stars.
Sally Hepworth is everything that I continue wanting Liane Moriarty to be. But Liane seems to be losing her edge. Sally had me at Midwives and I'll follow her anywhere.

The Younger Wife
By Sally Hepworth

Stephen Astor is a successful doctor, a great husband, a wonderful father and attentive grandfather. Pam, Stephens wife, started a remodel job on their family home with a young pretty decorator, Heather. It wasn’t long before Pam’s dementia took hold and the family moved her into the care facility for her dementia.
Rachel, daughter of Pam & Stephen, is a remarkable baker but has her own issues she deals with while Tully, the other daughter, married to brilliant lawyer Sonny, is a lifetime kleptomaniac. On the outside, they all seem like a perfect family. But are they?

Stephen requests a lunch with his daughters Rachel and Tully. To the girls surprise, Heather accompanies Stephen and they announce that they are getting married. He will divorce their mother and marry Heather.
Is Heather only out for the money? Why did Rachel find a stash of money her mother had hid? Secrets are coming out but who has the answers.

I really enjoyed reading The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth. As the first story of hers that I have read I am excited to read some of her other stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy for my honest review.
#netgalley #theyoungerwife #sallyhepworth #stmartinspress

It hurts me to give this book this rating, so I'm going to try to explain why the best I can.

I'll start with what I loved about it... Like every other Sally Hepworth book I've read, this is more of a family drama than it is a psychological thriller. Also, like every other SH book I've read, the plot never goes where you think it will. It never fails, just when you think you've got it all figured out, BAM!, she inserts the mother of twists. Her character development is like no other. You really get to know the ins and outs of these characters, even if you don't necessarily like them. Her characters' relationships are always complicated and convoluted, yet somehow hearty and strong. And finally, I'm a sucker for unreliable narrators, I just can't get enough of them.

Ok, so now to where it all went south for me: THAT ENDING!!! UGH! That's pretty much it. I'm having a hard time getting past or over that ending and I felt it pretty much ruined it for me. :(

Bottom line, was I captivated and entertained while reading The Younger Wife? Yes!
Will I read anything and everything Sally Hepworth writes? Absolutely!

A big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this novel.

Release Date: APRIL 5, 2022

The book takes off from the first page and will have the reader engaged and reading late into the night. The Aston family has issues. Stephen is a successful cardiac surgeon, still married to Pam, who suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s disease and resides in a care facility. Imagine the shock and surprise of his two grown daughters, Rachel and Tully, when he invites them to a luncheon to meet Heather, his very young fiancé. Tully and her husband are about to lose their home due to a bad investment. Tully also has a shameful secret. Her sister, Rachel, is obsessed with cooking/baking, and hasn’t dated anyone since she was 16...almost 20 years ago. Nobody stops to think there could be a reason for it. Tully and Rachel’s father, Stephen, is about to get married to a woman named Heather. The only problem is, he’s already married to their mother, Pam. However she has dementia and he plans on divorcing her. As for Heather, she’s younger than both Tully and Rachel, but is going to marry their father. Heather has a dark past, and she wants to keep it hidden. Not everyone will make it past Stephen and Heather’s wedding unscathed. This is a brilliant exploration of memory, as well as early trauma affecting our perceptions and beliefs. An uninvited guest narrates the opening scene: she might be middle aged woman and till the first half we don’t learn who she’s and what her intentions to attend this wedding. But it seems like she knows a lot about Stephen and her family. As we read the POVs of three women we realize both of them deal with serious issues, keeping secrets from each other. This is amazing psychological thriller keep you hooked up till the end. I liked how the author wrapped up the entire execution.
The author is a fantastic storyteller. Special thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy,

Rachel and Tully, sisters in their thirties have reluctantly agreed to have lunch with their father, Stephen and meet his new girlfriend. Interior designer, Heather. Heather met Stephen and his wife Pam while working on a makeover for their house. Pam unfortunately is now living in a nursing home and Stephen and Heather have become close while the design work was being completed. Nevertheless, Rachel and Tully are shocked when Stephen announces that he and Heather are getting married, just as soon as he can divorce Pam.

The novel opens with Stephen and Heather’s wedding, where not all goes as planned. It’s such a riveting beginning that it dragged me right into the book, wanting to know about all these interesting characters and their lives. And boy, does this family have some issues! I felt compelled to keep reading to find out about all their secrets and how these were all going to resolve. The novel is a perfect mix of character driven domestic suspense with a touch of psychological thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Younger Wife. Highly recommend this book to others.

I will pretty much read anything Sally Hepworth wants to write, so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. I love a good domestic thriller. I love a good unreliable narrator and a cast of less than trustworthy characters. I love a good death and controversy scenario in the opening pages of a book.

I feel like Hepworth nails it when it comes to books involving complicated family dynamics and relationships. If you have less than ideal family relationships, there's a good chance she is going to hook you with one of her many books. I was less than sold on the ending, but I feel like the ambiguity and uncertainty of the ending actually paired well with the uncertainty of the characters throughout the book.

The only thing that bums me out about getting this early is that now that I've finished the book, I have to wait even longer for her next one.

We’re off to the chapel to celebrate the wedding of Stephen and Heather.

On the guest list, of course, are Stephens’ two daughters, Tully and Rachel. Also on the list, is Stephens’ first wife. Yikes!

As the ceremony concludes not everyone will make it out of the chapel unharmed.

This was an extremely well-developed thriller. First and foremost…it kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly guessing who was hurt. And never knowing who the real culprit was right up to the very end.

So…Who exactly is the victim here? Or for that matter who was the culprit?

Once again, Sally Hepworth has knocked it out of the ballpark with a top-notch thriller that everyone will be buzzing about!

A buddy read with Susanne.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

This book was so unexpected. I spent the entire story trying to figure out the villain. Was he or wasn't he? Very intriguing story and it kept me guessing.

Sally Hepworth is a master of the domestic thriller. The Younger Wife follows the Aston family as they navigate the father, Stephen's, upcoming nuptials to Heather. Heather is younger than Tully and Rachel, Stephen's daughters, which is one of the reasons they are not thrilled with the match. We know that there is an "accident" of some sort at the wedding, but we are then taken back in time to when Heather is introduced to the family.

I think one of the best parts of this story is the level of uncertainty the reader feels as it progresses. Are things as they seem? Are the women being gaslit? I did not see the ending coming and was left thinking about it after it was over.

Intriguing read. I must say this one kept me guessing on what was going on to the very end. It was also very hard to put down! I would of loved to have had a couple more chapters with Rachel and the ending was a tad bit confusing but overall I really enjoyed this book!! Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advance copy!!

When their Dad announces his engagement, it all seems utterly inappropriate to his two 30-something-year-old daughters. First of all, his fiancé is their age and second, their dad is still married to their mother who suffers from Alzheimer's. But that is just the start. As the story goes on, we discover that the two sisters and the fiancé all have additions that are threatening to ruin their lives and rob their happiness, and then there is something off with the Dad as well. Lots of issues and twists with this one and as always, Hepworth's books are so very readable and hard to put down.

Book review posted to blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

WHOOP!!! Sally Hepworth is BACK!!

The Younger Wife will keep you on your toes till the very end..and that my friends is wholly gratifying!

I adore Sally Hepworth. I cannot tell a lie. She is one of my favorite domestic suspense/mystery writers. That said, a few of her books have been what I’d call stinkers. (So sorry!). Most however, have been absolutely brilliant and I’m happy to say that The Younger Wife falls into that category.

It’s got drama and lots of it!

Tully and Rachel are sisters. They’ve never been particularly close, but that’s about to change - now that their father Stephen is about to get married again. The problem of course is that he’s still married to their mother, Pam.

You seriously can’t make this stuff up! (Ha!!!....Or Well, I guess Sally Hepworth actually can!!)

Baaawaaahhhhaaaahhhh!!

To say this was a wild thrilling ride is an understatement! While I consider myself quite the armchair detective, I admit to getting this one wrong. Kudos to Sally Hepworth for keeping me on the edge of my seat!

A fabulous buddy read with Kaceey!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the arc.

Posted to Goodreads and Twitter.

Hope is a middle aged baker from Cape Cod with a dying grandmother, Rose. When Rose seems to reveal some shocking family secrets, Hope travels to Paris in order to investigate. She finds the long-hidden love story about Jacob and Rose who fell in love during war time when Germany occupied France during WWII.

Well written and timing worthy of being called a page-turner. I historically based novels are your thing you’ll want to add this to your list.

I am still digesting the ending and I'm not sure how I feel about the ambiguous nature of it given we can't be sure if the women are delusional. I wish we had gotten more childhood memories from Tully and Rachel so we had more information. But, it was propulsive and a different enough take on the unreliable narrator to make it interesting.

Thank you so much to the publisher for a free netgalley of this!

I enjoyed this one! Sally Hepworth always gives me a book that I can read in one sitting. And sometimes this is just what I need.

This one had many twist and interesting plot lines. I loved the two sisters in this story, and how the story unfolded. While The Other Sister (Hepworth's last release) was one I easily figured out, this one kept me guessing. I thought I knew where it was going and then at the end, Hepworth took it some place else. And I was like "Oh my word".

Highly recommend Sally Hepworth's newest book!

Did he or didn’t he?
That’s what keeps ringing in my head twelve hours after finishing this book.

Steven Astor is getting married to the much younger Heather. His two daughters Tully and Rachel are a bit upended by this, considering he’s still married to their mother, Pam. Pam has early onset Alzheimer’s and doesn’t know her family most days.

Tully and Rachel have issues, MAJOR issues that I feel we’re a little glossed over, rushed through, not given adequate closure to.

The ending just … I can’t. It really would have been golden if not for three things that stick in my mind and none were resolved or explained.
A great quick read no doubt, and I’m so grateful to the publisher for access to my review copy.

Another great read from Sally Hepworth. Tully and Rachel are having lunch with their father, Stephen, and are meeting his new, younger girlfriend, Heather. And at this lunch Stephen announces his engagement to Heather. The only problem - Stephen is still married to Pam, Tully and Rachel's mother. Pam suffers from dementia and is currently living in a long-term care facility. All Stephen needs to do is divorce Pam, and then he can move on and marry Heather. This set up starts this twisty story that leaves the reader questioning everything.

Sure, Tully and Rachel are not happy that their father has moved on from their mother with a much younger woman. Tully has developed a nasty habit of shoplifting, and Rachel has gained some weight from eating her feelings after she suffered from sexual abuse when she was younger. Heather had a challenging childhood too, and maybe she looks at Stephen as everything her father never was. But strange accidents start to happen, and everyone starts to reexamine what happened in the past, and if their memories were exactly as they seem.

Each chapter of the book is told from a different character's perspective, alternating between Tully, Rachel, and Heather. Interspersed are scenes from Stephen and Heather's wedding where the reader sees the ceremony occur and then something happens off camera. I enjoyed the method of telling the story and appreciated the author's ability to lead the reader into many different directions. Hepworth keeps you guessing and leaves the ending open to interpretation.

This is the second Sally Hepworth book I have read and I am never disappointed! The characters and the storyline of The Younger Wife were so well written and the book kept me engaged all the way through. I enjoyed the back and forth storyline and the different perspectives portrayed throughout. This was a book that I wanted to come back to as soon as I could after putting it down each time...I couldn't wait to find more time to read.

The ending of this book may divide those who wanted a clearcut answer, but I loved this novel as I've come to love all Sally Hepworth's writing. The plot was clever and I found myself enthralled with Tully and Rachel's quirks. Nobody does complicated family dynamics like Hepworth!

I am so so bummed to give this book 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3). Up until the last 10-20 pages, it was my favorite Sally Hepworth novel. The pacing is excellent and the characters are complex and engaging. I found myself captivated by their outwardly perfect lives, their very well hidden secrets, and how each character comes to terms with their issues through the story.

The ending though… it really upset me. It wasn’t that it was ambiguous - I typically don’t like an open ending, but in this case, it was structurally well done. It was more the exact topic that she left open ended. It’s a topic that people doubt themselves on to begin with, and by casting doubt on the characters’s interpretation of the issue, real women facing this issue may doubt themselves. Why, Sally! Why!

Thank you to St. Martins for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.