Sally Hepworth does it again! She brings readers an unputdownable domestic thriller with all the trimmings! The opening of the novel is what had me hooked and I couldn't stop reading until the very end! It's no wonder that I keep coming back for more! I highly recommend this one!

I a m a really big fan of Sally Hepworth. She writes incredible domestic suspense stories in a way that engages you with characters that are so fully drawn out, that even when they are unlikeable, will keep you wanting more. The Younger Wife, Hepworth’s latest book (which is due out in April) was a great book, which had me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next.

The story is told primarily from the point of view of three characters: Heather (the titular younger wife) who is marrying Stephen Aston (right after he divorces his wife, who has dementia), and Tully and Rachel, Stephen’s two adult daughters. All of the characters have their own issues, which Hepworth unpacks beautifully. The story starts off with the wedding, followed by a closed door scream, and then backs up to the time leading up to the wedding. So you are left wondering, what happened and to whom.

This book had me hooked from the beginning and constantly guessing and second guessing what happened. The ending wasn’t perfect, but it did answer most of my questions.

The Mother-In-Law is still my favorite Sally Hepworth book, but I definitely enjoyed the Younger Wife and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a whodunit and a good family suspense book.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A huge thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an earc in exchange for an honest review.

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I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. This did not effect my review.

Got to 21%. I am not finding the characters engaging and I'm not getting into the story. I probably shouldn't have started this book as the disease of dementia is close to my heart and I'm not finding the descriptions of this to be all that accurate in this book. This makes it hard to read this book for enjoyment. Moving on.

The joys of reading a book about a man who’s actually marrying someone much younger then him while having another wife...who he hasn’t even divorced. This was great. I had a lot of fun and everything I was looking for in a fantasy book. I did get a little eager to read when I was looking for domestic thrillers and this satisfied the need that I had and again, this is a 5 out of 5 star read!

Ambiguous endings aren't my favorite, but I get why the author left it the way she did. I enjoyed the story and the different issues each person had and how they were making progress.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC. While this book kept my interest I didn't really enjoy it. I would describe it as a family drama - and this family certainly had drama. There were way too many dysfunctional characters - the three main characters suffered from eating disorders, kleptomania and alcoholism. That's not to mention that there are also storylines regarding dementia, rape and abuse. It was just too much.

This was my second Sally Hepworth book. I enjoy her fast-paced writing style. and think she does a great job of character development. I liked The Good Sister much better. I will definitely read more of her books.

This is a good book! Sally Hepworth does psychological family drama the best. Everyone has an issue in this family. Very messed up! You are hooked in at the very beginning wondering who did it!

Sisters Tully and Rachel love their parents, Stephen and Pam. Stephen is a very respected, well liked doctor. Pam has dementia. Dad is getting married to a younger woman named Heather. The more you read, more secrets are uncovered from each of these characters until you get to the explosive and surprising ending where everything connects in a stunning way. This is an awesome book but it does not surprise me. Sally Hepworth wrote another masterpiece. Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author, for allowing me to read a free copy of this awesome book in exchange for my review.

I am starting to LOVE Sally Hepworth. This is my 2nd book I've read of hers and I devoured it. It had so many of my fave elements: domestic suspense, fast-paced, family drama, likeable characters, alternating perspectives, SHORT chapters (which is a personable preference for me), I seriously enjoyed this one!

CW/TW- Miscarriage

Meet the Aston family. Stephen is a successful doctor in his 60’s, and is getting remarried to the much younger Heather. Rachel and Tully are leery to meet their new soon to be stepmother, who happens to be the same age as they are. To complicate family matters further, Rachel and Tully’s mother Pam (and Stephen’s recent ex-wife) is presently residing in a nursing home as she has advanced dementia. The drama comes to a head at the beginning of the book, when some sort of accident occurs in the church immediately following Stephen and Heather’s wedding ceremony.

The book jumps back in time as events unfold leading up to the wedding day. Heather has left behind a complicated past prior to meeting Stephen, and Rachel and Tully are each secretly dealing with their own complex life issues. After a large sum of money is mysteriously found in their mother’s things, questions arise in regards to their father, and suddenly suspicions are running rampant amongst all three women.

I really enjoyed this book! I find Hepworth’s writing style to be very engaging, making it for a fast paced read. I love a good family drama, and the mystery element thrown in made for a fun ride. The only downside for me was the fairly ambiguous ending. I prefer more concise endings to my mysteries and thrillers, but this one didn’t have that. It would make for a great book club discussion!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC! Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming the queen of the family drama and The Younger Wife was no exception. I read this book in a day and loved every minute of it. A wonderful recipe composed of a heaping scoop of family drama, a dash of mystery and suspense, with just a pinch of romance - the perfect combination that made this read a solid 5 stars for me and has officially landed Sally Hepworth on my list of 1-click buys!

This story largely centers around three well-developed female characters. Tully and Rachel are sisters attempting to navigate through their own difficulties and histories while also managing the changing landscape of their family – including their mother’s decent into dementia and their father’s re-marriage to the much younger Heather. The three female leads – Rachel, Tully and Heather – were all very well developed and while some aspects of their characterization were extreme, they were still highly relatable to any woman trying to juggle life, their own self-image, and their image as perceived by others. I related to each character in some way.

Ms. Hepworth always has a way of leaving just enough unanswered that you fool yourself in to believing it’s “one-more chapter” until all hope, and sleep, is lost and you’re turning the last page. This was absolutely no exception and I am already (im)patiently waiting for the next!

Another hit by Sally Hepworth!

This is one of those books where you don't know who to trust and everyone seems so reliable and unreliable at the same time. I enjoyed this book very much, however, based on the title and the description, I was expecting more of a secret from Heather than from Stephen. That may have been done to encourage more questioning of motives, but it made me wonder if I was missing something.

As a counselor, I appreciated how the mental health counseling was encouraged in this book and was written in a very positive light to help and support multiple characters.

I cannot wait to read more from this author!

This was an engaging read. I thought I had read something by Sally Hepworth previously but I hadn't so this is a new to me author that I will definitely be reading again.

The whole family had issues to work through aside from the father deciding to marry a younger woman while his wife is still alive suffering from dementia in a home. I enjoyed getting more about each character as the story progressed and changed my mind about how I felt about them several times. There were many twists and unanswered questions until the very end. I'm not sure I loved the ending because there were still some unanswered questions. I really appreciated the author's note explaining where the idea for the story came from.

Not what I was expecting at all! I spent this whole story wavering in my thoughts. I didn’t know who to believe or what was actually happening.

A few intersecting plots keep you on your toes and a bit off balance.

I do have to say Tully’s parts were a little annoying, but I think it’s just because of my headspace right now.

The ending was brilliant as it was written to keep the story going in your thoughts long after you’ve finished with the book.

I guess this book is technically a domestic thriller, but it’s very light on the ‘thriller’ while being gratuitously heavy-handed with the ‘domestic’… a/k/a it’s basically just another family drama. Domestic thrillers tend to be super hit or miss for me and this was definitely a miss, especially thanks to the incredibly vague and unsatisfying ending.

Stephen is getting married again to a much younger woman; while he's still married to his current wife, who has dementia. Not surprisingly, his daughters, who are near the same age as his fiance, are none too happy about the engagement..

I picked this up expecting a super sinister, dark thriller, and this just wasn't it. I'm not sure where the marketing is going wrong with some of these thrillers lately, but this was absolutely just a family drama. It was messy, chaotic, and if we are looking for this kind of storyline here - okay, you got it. But if I want that twisty, suspenseful, what-is-gonna-pop-out-next-kinda-thriller, this didn't pass the bar.

50% in, I just couldn't do it anymore, and opted to ask a friend what happened, who concluded that it was, in fact, just a family drama.

I think that fans of Hepworth will like this, and personally, I love Hepworth as a person, and want to support her. Overall though; this just wasn't for me - I need something a little more dark and suspenseful.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

I have loved Sally Hepworths previous books so was thrilled to dive into this one. Her writing is the perfect level of suspense for me- an entertaining combo of family drama, mystery and intrigue. She keeps you turning the pages while also giving you the details I often long for in the "thriller" genre.

I especially enjoyed how she incorporated so much into this one- romance, addiction, parenting struggles, aging parents, and more. While I did see the ending of this one coming, that didn't stop me from fully enjoying my reading experience.

Sally Hepworth's books never disappoint and are quickly becoming my go-to "get back into reading" recommendation, and I highly suggest adding this one to your 2022 TBR list!

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy.

I have loved every Sally Hepworth book I have read. I pick them up and I quickly finish them. They just flow for me and I am always intrigued by the plot. The Younger Wife is no exception.

This is the complicated story of Stephen and Pam, their daughters Tully and Rachel, and Stephen's girlfriend, Heather. Are you with me so far? Stephen is about to marry Heather who is a bit younger than his daughters. He is a fine upstanding man in the community who is a doctor and is about to divorce his wife Pam, who has Alzheimers, to make this possible.

Are Tully and Rachel ok with it? Oh - there is so much Tully and Rachel are not ok with.

This book just keeps going with the complications and twists and even a murder (Let me just say it has something to do with the sacristy and a candlestick...) and I just hung on for the whole ride. In classic Hepworth style - it is written with humor and snark and great plot. I am pretty sure you will love it.

Wow! This is spectacular novel with impactful, scandalous opening scene at the wedding, slow burn- character driven- balanced pace with impeccable psychological character analysis which powered by three narrators who are suffering from different mental health issues and look the part by hiding their struggling pasts.

And the mind blowing conclusion of the story made us remember we’re reading another remarkable story of ultra talented, extremely brilliant author!

For 2021, her novel “good sister” was on my top 3 favorite thrillers list and this one already guaranteed its place at my top 3 thriller reads of 2022! ( you may think it is early to decide but when you get the taste of great literature you already know other books can hardly outshine its brilliance)

The story starts at the wedding ceremony of charming and successful doctor Stephen Aston. He marries with a beautiful and very young woman: actually she’s at his half age and she’s even younger than her two daughters. But who cares the age when you find your real soul mate?

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.

Then we realize Stephen’s ex wife Pam also attended the wedding and after Stephen and his new wife tell their wows, she follows the couple to the back alongside with daughters and grand kids. Then a young woman’s scream cuts the entire cacophony! The celebrant reappears as her face is ashen and her pantsuit is covered in blood.

Then we go one year back to witness Stephen’s dinner with her eldest daughter Tully and younger daughter Rachel to introduce them his new girlfriend/ soon to be wife Heather !

They met when he hired her as interior designer to remodel their house he was living with his wife Pam. But as soon as his wife Pam’s dementia deteriorated, he reluctantly sent her the nursing home where she still lives without recognizing any of her family members. Thankfully Heather gives her entire support to console the poor/ heartbroken doctor and now Stephen declares he’s gonna divorce Tully and Rachel’s mother to marry his beautiful girlfriend.

Of course her daughters find this decision too soon and get suspicious about Heather’s motives: she might be a golddigger who is after his father’s money.

As we read the POVs of three women we realize both of them deal with serious issues, keeping secrets from each other.

Tully’s husband lost his money to a real wrong investment : they can loss their house and everything they cared for. But Tully hides more serious mental condition till her teenage years just like Rachel who never dates with anyone, acting gluttonous to cover another traumatic secret about her teenage years. Heather’s mental state is also fragile because she lies about her past and her family and dear Stephen is so worried about her alcohol consumption level.

In the meantime we return to the present time and learn what happened during the wedding ceremony.

This is amazing psychological thriller keep you hooked up till the end! I liked how the author wrapped up the entire execution! She’s fantastic storyteller!

No more clues! I already gave too much away! I highly recommend this unputdownable read by giving my shiny five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.