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?

The Younger Wife is my fiftieth NetGalley review, and what an honor it was to get to read! The Younger Wife, releasing in April 2022, is a brilliant domestic thriller with a highly unusual twist -- a twist, I'd say, that I've never seen before in this genre! Tully and Rachel are aghast that their father is marrying a young woman younger than them while their beloved mother suffers from end-stage dementia. Heather and Stephen, the happy couple, seem to have it all. Heather is running away from a difficult childhood and is thrilled to be marrying charismatic doctor Stephen. Stephen is in turn thrilled to be marrying a beautiful, successful woman half his age as he struggles with his ex-wife's tragic diagnosis. Is the happy couple just a little TOO happy? Will their pasts come to haunt them in more ways than one?

I truly enjoyed this domestic read! The characters all had their own storylines, but they all intersected in the best ways. If I could have one complaint, it's that I'd actually liked to have seen a little MORE character development and a longer read. I finished this quick, fun thriller in just one afternoon! This is the perfect escapist read. While waiting for this release, I highly recommend Sally Hepworth's prior novel The Mother-in-Law -- you will find a similar writing style and similar twists.

Ms. Hepworth is one of my favorite writers in the domestic thriller genre, and this book is not to be missed! Add it to your spring must-reads now!

I’m not entirely sure what to say about this book, though I feel a little sad after finishing it.

Sally Hepworth is one of my instant one click authors- she’s incredible and the writing in this one is no different.

The story of The Younger Wife, however, isn’t up to her normal thrilling stories. I found the timeline a little bit difficult to follow- some chapters were before and some were after the wedding? The plethora of characters having their own POVs was important to the overall story, but also felt kind of messy.

Tully’s POV seems a bit unnecessary, and a lot that happens with her doesn’t directly affect the mail storyline; and seems more like filler than anything.


Since I’m reading an ARC, I hope it’ll be a little better come publication time- and honestly, I’ll absolutely buy the book and reread it, because I love Hepworth’s work that much!

I say take a chance on this one- and let me know what you think!

What a great book! Thank you NetGalley for The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth. I just finished it and I am so sad it’s over. Each character in the book was so quirky and weird with odd ways of dealing with the many stressors present in their lives. The ending was great and since I don’t want to give any spoilers, I’ll just say, that you question if Stephen really was a bad guy good at hiding it, or was he a good guy that everyone just thought was bad. I highly recommend reading this book! Loved it!

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors so I was very excited to get an advanced copy of The Younger Wife. Told through the eyes of multiple characters, this novel tells the story of two daughters dealing with their mom having to be moved into a care home due to dementia while there father is marrying a girl who is younger than them. I loved how each character had a good story line and this book kept me guessing right up until the end.

Sally Hepworth is a new author to me and I must say she has a fan! This book was fast paced and grabbed my attention from the first page! Very well written and easy to read! A dysfunctional family with their own secrets that come out on the pages of this book! I'm still wondering about Stephen and what kind of person he really was. I highly recommend reading this book!

I am still thinking about this novel even though I finished it days ago. Well written and thought provoking. Kept me guessing…and wondering.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693338

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy! I could not put it down, finished within 24hrs!

We follow sisters, Tully and Rachel, and their soon to be stepmother, Heather (who is younger than them). We learn about each of their secrets and how they are scared to share their past with each other, even though they are family. The sisters are obviously weary of their soon to be step mother and her motives of joining the family. When the sisters reach their breaking point, for their own reasons, they share their secrets with each other and their bond becomes even stronger. During this time they learn more about their mother, who is unfortunately struggling with dementia, and their doctor father. While they investigate the past, Heather is coming to similar conclusions about her soon to be husband but doesn't know what to believe. This book is filled with secrets, money, and makes you question who to trust up until the very end.

Sally Hepworth does it again!! So well written and a pleasure to read. But don’t be fooled when you think you have it figured out! Twists and turns until the very end! Great storyline and amazing characters!
Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.