Wow!!! What a read!!! Dr. Stephen Aston is getting married again to Heather Wisher, who is around the same age as his daughters, while he is still married to his first wife, Pam, who is in a nursing home with dementia. As the wedding is over, the celebrant comes out covered in.blood. Whose blood is it? That is the question.

Story then is told from the perspectives of his daughters, Rachel and Tully, and Heather, his new wife that will reveal hidden issues and draw the story together to reveal the identity of the victim. Highly recommend.

THE YOUNGER WIFE is billed as a suspense novel. I see it more as a character driven expose of family dynamics. The plot line is fairly standard. Rich father, Steven, marries beautiful wife, Heather, who is younger than his two jealous adult daughters. Unfortunately, he has to divorce his wife, who is suffering with Alzheimer’s. This action paints him as an unfeeling, selfish man.
A murder is revealed, immediately. The reader must analyze each family member to find out “ whodunnit .” Who knew that one family could have so many secrets? Each character is dysfunctional in her/his own way. Their extreme problems take precedence over the storyline.
I really wanted to find someone to root for. This is a quick, engrossing read. I have read several of Sally Hepworth’s novels, and have enjoyed them.

3.5 stars

I flew through this book, partially because it’s not very long and partially because you can’t stop reading. That said I do not think this book is as good as the last two by Hepworth. In this instance I think a longer book would have been better. I really wanted to know more about the characters but for reasons that you will understand if you read the book, it was probably not really possible as giving away too much about them would have ruined the twist at the end. And once again there is a surprise at the end which leaves you rather floored in this instance and very, very uncomfortable. I think some people will continue to have questions about what the truth is. What is most obvious is the realization that we often know very little about other people and our judgments may be entirely wrong.

I still recommend the book as Hepworth is a good storyteller and this is a very quick read that is great for a dreary weekend. It lacked the depth of her last two books and I felt the characters were not entirely realistic. Note that this book includes the issues of domestic abuse, rape, anxiety disorder and gaslighting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. There were several typos in the book FYI.

This was another fabulous thriller by Hepworth that kept me guessing! Everyone in this story had their own issues, making it a challenge to figure out who was to blame for the family’s troubles.
When a well-liked doctor/father decides to marry to a much younger woman, the family is beside themselves, especially since his current wife is still alive! So fun!
I highly recommend this one!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy. My opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this book. I had just finished The Good Sister and loved it so when I saw this available to review, I jumped on it quickly. However, with all the time you spend getting connected to Tully, Rachel, and Heather, everything just fell short. The “twist” was honestly just really disappointing and left me going wtf… but not in a good way.

It’s not terrible but this one just wasn’t for me.

This book was excellent. I had read ‘The Mother-in-Law’ by Sally in the past, and really enjoyed that book. This book was just as good, if not better. I love this authors style of mystery, it really keeps you guessing and trying to figure out what happened… right up to the very last page. The book is detailed without being too much. The plot was interesting, and this was a book I didn’t want to put down until it was finished. Well worth the read.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

A sizzling domestic thriller that will have you guessing who the victim really is? Is Stephen the abuser his family and new younger wife Heather thinks he might be? Can Tully and Rachel rely on their mother’s revelations about their father when she is in nursing care with dementia? Heather the younger wife also has her doubts about her new husband. As Rachel and Tully dig deeper to find out more about their mother and father’s past they find things that make them question everything. An enjoyable, juicy read that in the end had me shocked.

Sally Hepworth is hands down one of my favorite authors, I will definitely read anything she writes, no matter what it is.

This book is definitely different for her I think. I was totally sucked into the story and these characters. Told from 3 pov, Heather, Rachel and Tully. Each are holding on to some past secret that’s shaped them into who they are. Each girl is someone we can all relate to which makes them so likable. I wanted more from Rachel and Darcy and less from Tully.

The ending left me feeling confused, I had to read it a few times and then still I kinda said what?

Totally a fast paced domestic thriller from page one!

Thanks to St.Martins Press and NetGalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Sally Hepworth has a wonderful way of creating characters that feel real and are immensely likable - or unlikable, as the case may be.

Stephen is a handsome, charismatic doctor with two adult daughters and a beautiful young girlfriend. His daughter Tully is an overwhelmed mother of two who desperately needs help to manage her children - and her kleptomania, which has been spiralling out of control. Her sister Rachel is a gorgeous but troubled baker who eats her feelings to hide the pain that she experienced as a teenager. Both women are initially wary of their father's newest love interest, especially considering that their beloved mother has dementia and they aren't even divorced before Stephen decides to propose to Heather.

Is Stephen the adoring husband and father that he seems to be, or is there another side to him that has been carefully hidden for all these years? You will be guessing until the very end...

Thriller books are usually my normal genre, but I am trying to branch out and really happy I did with this one.

The ending definitely threw me for a loop! A story about domestic suspense, dementia, and secrets in the Aston family. Stephen, the patriarch is getting remarried once he divorces his wife (who has dementia). Secrets add up and the family starts to think he's abusive and gaslighting them. But is he?

I requested The Younger Wife for review because I love Sally Hepworth. Her book, The Good Sister, is one of my favorite books to date. The Younger Wife, while well written, fell flat for me. I think it was intended to be a thriller but it never quite got there. I wanted to love this book but unfortunately its a pass for me.

I absolutely loved this book! It wasn’t the intense, action packed thriller I usually go for but the characters were soo well developed and the story was told so well that I was hooked from the first page. I loved everything about it and would love to read more from the author!

Sometimes we read a novel that is so engaging, we cannot put it down, but with this book, I could neither put it down nor stop thinking about it. I loved this original and enthralling novel that kept me thinking from start to finish.

Heather, the new wife, is marrying the man of her dream? His daughters are working through serious emotional problems. The entire family dynamic is skewed, Added to this is an ex-wife with dementia and a bagful of money.

Oh, this is a great read, and a great vehicle for post-reading examination. Loved it!

Thank you Netgalley for this excellent book.

"The Younger Wife" is a family drama. Tully and Rachel are sisters and their mother has dementia and starts to make negative comments about their father. Their father divorces their mother to marry a much younger woman.

The book is told from the viewpoint of each sister and the new fiancee/wife. Should the sisters believe what there mother is saying? This book has a big twist at the end which will have you thinking long after the last page. I really enjoyed reading this book and the surprise at the end. I would definitely read Sally Hepworth's other books.

Thank you to #netgalley, #StMartinsPress and #SallyHepworth for an advance copy of this book.

I love all of Sally's books and I couldn't wait to get into this one. I was so excited to get an arc copy. Similar to hurt others hooked me from the get-go and I could not put it down great Thriller and mystery loved all of the characters

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another 5-star read by Sally Hepworth, who is quickly becoming my favorite thriller author!

The Younger Wife is a slow burn read about two sisters, Tully and Rachel, their dad, Stephen, Stephen's much, much younger fiance, Heather, and Stephen's current wife, Pam, who is in a nursing home with advanced dementia. The story follows Tully, Rachel, and Heather as they navigate their own lives as well as their intertwined lives. After a series of events, the three women begin to suspect that Stephen isn't the doting father and partner they thought he was.

What I appreciated about this book was that I didn't fully know what would happen until the very end. Hepworth does a fantastic job at building suspense and not throwing twist after twist for no reason.

Definitely worth a read!

(This review contains spoilers.)
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. First off, I couldn't put it down! I was hooked from the beginning that actually started at the end and then went back to tell the story. I stayed up way too late reading the stories of this twisted family. So. Much. Drama. Mental illness, rape, dementia, abuse. I always like a book that the chapters vary between the character. In this case I like each of the characters equally so I wasn't hurrying through one chapter to get to the next. My only (and biggest) complaint was the ambiguous ending. Not sure I know what even actually happened, which I guess means that it's good that I'm still thinking about the story, but I would like to know what actually happened...

I was given an advance ARC by NetGalley. #netgalley

My thoughts on the book…
The summary of the book barely glazes over what the reader will find in the pages. The book deals with mental health issues, family drama, and has a lot of suspense. Three women: Heather, Rachel and Tully (Natalie) all have mental health issues they they struggle with throughout the book. Stephen, father of Rachel and Tully, lives a double life of sorts. To his friends and colleagues he’s an amazing man. To his soon to be wife, Heather, and daughters they see a much different side of him. The women doubt themselves throughout the book. As the reader I couldn’t decide if Stephen was really evil.
Pam, Stephen’s wife, is in a long term care facility due to dementia. Pam has a part throughout the book, but I feel like her character could have been fleshed out more. It felt like a lot of somethings were missing from the book.

Things I did not like at all: Covid is mentioned. I understand it’s with the times, but when I read a book I like to forget reality. Also, there’s a really awkward paragraph about being “woke” and “wokeness”. To me it was just weird, but I thought about it for awhile. For me it was like Hepworth was trying too hard.

Overall it was a decent book and I think others would like it as well.

Wow this book was a mind trip. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about it except that Sally Hepworth is brilliant and I will read anything she writes. Once again I'd still fall her style family drama as opposed to thriller.

I love that in the author's note she jokes that several of her books were duds. I'd love to compare notes on my reviews of her books verus her own, but I loved her humility.

Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy. You definitely want to preorder your own.

Sally Hepworth strikes again with this suspenseful family drama! Her development of characters, unfolding drama, and surprising ending make this a must read.
Two sisters Tully and Rachel are each dealing with their own internal vices when they learn that their father is getting remarried - and not only is she younger, she’s also carrying a lot of baggage.
As the sisters come to grips with their mothers declining health and their fathers new girlfriend , they will rediscover and take comfort in their sisterly bond. Are they right to question their gut feelings and sanity? Loaded with surprises and questionable behaviors, and lots of drama…will these ladies come together in the end?