“The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth is about a family that from day one has a lot going on. You have the successful father who has a new younger girlfriend (turned fiancée) while still married to his wife who has advanced dementia. His two grown daughters both have deep rooted problems mostly stemming from their past. Then in steps a mysterious water bottle filled with cash and a note with a stranger’s name on it. What unravels next is the cumulation of different minds focused on one thing - but is it the right thing or have they got it all wrong?

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Net Galley and this is my honest opinion.

This is a amazing story that kept me on the edge of my seat. Rachel and Tully's father is getting remarried to a woman who is even younger than them. Sad thing is, their mother is still alive and suffering from dementia.

I enjoyed that the story was told by the sisters and their new "Mother's" point of view. There are a lot of trigger warnings though for this book such as rape, eating disorders, abuse, anxity etc.

As with any of Sally's books, there always is a secret and in this book, Heather carries that secret. Her past is something that she's not exactly proud of and she tries to hide it.

Great read

I love Sally Hepworth! I have adored every book she has written. I don’t even need to read the summary to know I want to read all that Hepworth writes! She develops such unique and real characters. This book was a wild ride where my mind flipped back and forth with what was going on.

I highly recommend giving, The Younger Wife, a read.

Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for inviting me to read, The Younger Wife in exchange for my honest review.

Altizmers, abuse, kleptomania. Bankruptcy, so much going on it was hard to put the book down..there was so much to resolve. Loved it

Sally Hepworth has done it again with her new domestic thriller. The characters were very well developed. The ending wrapped it up very nicely. Thank you NetGalley.

I'm not even sure I will be able to do this book justice with a few words.

Last night I opened this saying to myself "Lisa, you're very tired, you should try to go to sleep early. Read a couple of pages, so you're anxious to get up in the morning and if it's amazing, you'll read on the treadmill tomorrow."

Well, a couple of hours later and I finished it and it is EXTRAORDINARY. First of all, you're sucked in my the third page. Sorry. If you've got something to do, you're going to have to put it off, there's no getting out of a one session read here.

Second, I'm not sure if it's me, but I think Sally Hepworth is getting better with each book. I've loved her since The Secrets of Midwives, but maybe she's getting more confidence? Maybe it's covid, and we're all thinking "well, we are living in pandemic times, let's just throw it all out there and see who likes what?". I do not know her formula, or how, but I could not put this book down.

The characters. Oh my. No one does a family driven story like Sally Hepworth. Rachel, she is EVERYTHING. Tully? You think you aren't going to like her, but then you love her. Heather? Absolutely no idea what to think of her but in the end she is just a part of the family and always has been.

This is a must read. Just go, pre-order it now, get it into your little paws. You're going to love it.

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

3.5 stars rounded up!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Younger Wife. The characters were all flawed but likable. The writing style made this messy drama so much fun to dive into! The varying perspectives between all the women flowed seamlessly.

My issue lies in it being labeled as a thriller. This is not a thriller. This is a dark family drama. I kept waiting for some crazy plot twist that never happened. BUT! The ending was a great shock which has left me feeling both unsettled and wanting more.

Also I would have loved some more back story on Heather. She went through so much which seemed to be glossed over a lot. I think it would have been interesting to give a closer look at her background under the guise of it being Pam and Stephen’s relationship.

Overall- a twisted story with a dark ending.

Stephen Aston is planning to get married for the second time to a much younger woman named Heather. Stephen’s daughters, Tully and Rachel are not on board with this plan, seeing as their mother is in a dementia facility and their father is still legally married to her. Since their mother is unable to take care of herself and the family matters, Tully and Rachel set out to find out everything they can about Heather and their father. Is Heather after Stephen’s money or does she really love him?

Who doesn’t love a good psychological thriller with some family drama thrown in? THE YOUNGER WIFE is a really good quick read book with a great storyline and some very memorable characters. I am typically a fan of alternating POVs and this book has 3 of them! Get ready for a wild ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I like Hepworth's style and have enjoyed her other titles. This one had me on the fence.

Starts out great, with the mysterious ending scene that we work our way towards throughout the book. The whole marrying another woman while your poor advanced dementia patient wife is still around just seemed way too creepy. If Stephen was the perfect husband and father, would he do that? Nah, I don’t buy it.

And then there’s Rachel and Tully. I liked Rachel more than spoiled Tully. Rachel felt more likeable and I enjoyed her storyline, particularly the Darcy scenes.

As for the ending….it just didn’t do it for me. I like a more clear ending. I always feel like these open ended endings are just trying too hard to be clever.

Overall, entertaining, but not a favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Sally has done it again. A mystery that has you guessing all the way until the very end.

We open on the wedding day for Heather and Stephen. It's not your typical wedding, Stephen is Heather's senior by almost 30 years, and Stephen's ex-wife is at the wedding as well, though mentally not at the wedding since she has dementia. After the bride is kissed and they go back to sign the wedding papers, a scream and a thud is heard. The wedding officiant comes out with blood on her clothes asking for a doctor to come help. Who dies? Is it a murder? An accident? You don't find out till the end! And what an ending it is.

Full of second guessing and great characters who all have their own problems, you won't be able to be put it down until you know the truth.

If you haven't read one of Sally Hepworth's books yet, you need to. Currently The Mother-In-Law is on kindle unlimited and I have a copy of The Good Sister. You'll have to wait until April 5th, 2022 to get your hands on this bad boy though! So be sure to pre-order if you want a copy of your own.

Thanks @sallyhepworth and @netgalley for this copy of The Younger Wife in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed my time reading this book. Sally Hepworth created flawed, complex characters that I wanted to get to know better. It kept me guessing until the very end, and I was very satisfied with the conclusion. I enjoyed the dynamic of the sisters, Rachel & Tully, and finding out the things that made them who they are. I found Pam endearing, and the character of Stephen someone I didn't know if I could trust or not. If you're a fan of family drama, domestic thrillers and books you won't want to put down, put this on your TBR!
TW: Domestic Violence/Abuse, Miscarriage, Mental Illness

Huge thank you to @netgalley for my early digital review copy of The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth.

Pub date: April 5, 2022

Although this wasn’t my favorite SH novel, it will still a solid read!

Maybe a little *too* much character development for me and a little bit *lacking* in the thrill department.

While this was a fun, quick read where I was invested on HOW it would turn out, the ending turned out to be just a little bit underwhelming. 😏Hate when that happens.

Don’t get me wrong, I love SH and she definitely has a unique writing style. So I will be back for more. This one just wasn’t a home run for me.

I expected nothing les from Sally Hepworth! A book that kept me turning the pages late into the night. Of course, the author caught my eye, but the book cover is also perfect for this book. A must read for any suspense novel lovers!

I was a big fan of Hepworth's 'The Mother- In-Law' and this new anticipated read did not disappoint.

When Rachel and Tully's father trades in their still alive mother- plagued with sudden onset dementia that has doctors baffled- for a woman their own age, they are suspicious of her motives. Heather, the soon-to-be bride, has secrets of her own, but not all is as it seems in this fast paced domestic thriller novel.

This story kicks off with a bang and an act of violence at the wedding. Who is the victim and who is the perpetrator? The novel takes us back to the weeks leading up to wedding to figure it all out. Rachel, who eats her feelings, and Tully, penniless after her husband's bad investments, each have their own issues they are struggling to overcome, but quickly realize something is amiss in their father's plans for new wedded bliss.

I really liked how the women in this book were well-fleshed out, relatable and smart- so many times women in this genre are portrayed as one-dimensional and naïve. Gaslighting is a big theme in this novel and the author does an excellent job of describing this. The ending will leave you guessing and thinking long after you have put it down. The author's note in the acknowledgements also adds an additional layer of interest.

Sally Hepworth has recently become an auto-buy author for me. Although I was heavily invested in the story and got through it in less than 24 hours because I just could not put it down, I was let down by the ending. It seemed very anticlimactic for me and felt very predictable. However, I still enjoyed this book very much... this one just is not my favorite. My favorite things about her past books include the character development, how relatable her characters are, how short the chapters are, and how easy to read her books are. "The Younger Wife" did not let me down in any of those aspects. I will continue reading her books in the future.

We all have secrets. Trying to blend the people carrying these secrets into one big happy family will bring about events no one is expecting. Enjoy!

Sally Hepworth continues to write books that grab you from the beginning - and keeps it interesting enough that I can't put the book down. Her story lines are unique and exciting, and I'm so glad I had the chance to read this book. Family drama is no novel topic, but when a daughter's dad is getting ready to marry someone your age, while her mother is in a nursing home, drama is inevitable. Add in mystery about who the dad really is, and all of the sudden the daughters are wondering if they are saving their father from a new gold-digging girlfriend.... or protecting the girlfriend from their father. Five stars!

The Younger Wife is a book about Stephen, a doctor who gets engaged to a woman (Heather) younger than both of his daughters, while still being married. Heather thinks she has found an amazing man, but as her relationship with Stephen and his daughters develop, so does her distrust of him.
Is Stephen as perfect as he seems?

The book hooked me in right from the beginning, I am a huge fan of multiple narratives and although I did enjoy that the story was developed through Heather, Tully, and Rachel, I didn't find Tully likable and her character development was limited.

The story is a fast, full of family drama story, although I did enjoy the beginning of the novel, I didn't think the ending had a proper end.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of this book and I loved it! I have liked Sally Hepworth’s other books and couldn’t wait to read this one. This is a domestic suspense story about the Aston family who has many issues. The Father, Stephen, is engaged to a much younger woman, Heather, all while still married to Pam. Pam is suffering from dementia and is living in an assisted living facility. Daughter, Tully, is experiencing financial issues with her husband all while hiding a secret disorder. Daughter, Rachel, is hiding her own secret that has caused her not to date in 20 years and turn to food for comfort. Accusations and allegations abound of domestic abuse between several parties all culminating in a wedding not to be forgotten. The ending of this book is not a clear as Sally Hepworth’s others, but still an excellent, quick read.

Sally Hepworth is a master at crafting riveting mysteries centered around complicated family scenarios.

Rachel and Tully are flabbergasted when their father introduces them to his new fiance, not only because of her age but also because he is still married...to their mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Flashing forward to the wedding, someone in the family is injured, but who is it? And who is responsible?

The book hooked me from the very first page. Switching between the day of the wedding and the months leading up to it created the perfect tension. As unreliable memories and suspicious injuries come to the surface, it is unclear whether this is a case of a master manipulator or just a terrible misunderstanding.