All by itself, Stephen Aston’s second wedding would have been a classic of mixed emotions. His new bride is slightly younger than his two adult daughters, who are serving as bridesmaids while their mother, struggling with dementia, looks on.

Then, moments after the newly blended family disappears into a nearby office for the signing of the church register, the celebrant emerges — covered with blood.

Whose blood? What’s happened? And why?

Those mysteries drive this satisfyingly twisty tale by Hepworth, an Australian writer whose work may remind you of Liane Moriarty’s — high praise indeed. The effect is amplified by the talented cast, which includes Caroline Lee, who narrates Moriarty’s audiobooks.

If you enjoy a reading experience with unreliable narrators, this is the book for you. It was definitely the book for me.

Meet sisters Tally and Rachel and their soon-to-be stepmother Heather... who is younger than them. This book follows all three of these women's points of view, alternating between chapters. Throughout the story, we uncover that all three of them have secrets, very well-kept secrets and traumas. We even slowly begin to see some fuzzy and questionable memories about the sister's father Stephen and their mother -- memories that leave you confused as the reader as to what the truth really is.

I enjoyed following the quirky and heartbreaking stories of these women, and this book was almost five stars for me. However, the ending brought it back to a generous four stars. While this ending was unpredictable, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know if I am more of justice-junkie, but I think this ending plays into a scenario where the women of the story come across as hysterical. It is never actually confirmed if we are seeing a "bad man" or delusions caused by the mother's Alzheimer's and Heather's trauma. I'm not sure who to trust, but I would have loved a clear ending verdict on the father.

Thank you Sally Hepworth and NetGalley for the early access to this book!

4.5 stars for me!
I love Sally Hepworth books! Her characters always suck me in. Sally Hepworth has a talent for making you like them despite their faults. Oh, and one of the characters makes wedding cakes 🤤
The book switches between characters, and between the day of the wedding and before the wedding. It is full of family drama that will keep you hooked!
While I did love it, I don't know that I'd call it a "thriller". It's definitely suspenseful, and a page turner because the characters suck you in, but figuring out the murder felt kind of secondary to me since you're so sucked into the "before" plot (it worked for me, just warning you in case you're one of those people who doesn't like that The Maid is considered a thriller 🤣)

Thank you #NetGalley and #stmartinspress for letting me listen to the arc! And thanks #sallyhepworth for writing a book that was so fun to listen to that I happily did chores all weekend 👍

Did anyone else who read this have to Google what a hot water bottle is? 😂

4.5 Stars

Another fabulous domestic thriller from Sally Hepworth!

“Perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them.
And perhaps the very best had some bad.”

Sally Hepworth is my go-to domestic thriller author and this audiobook was outstanding! There are multiple perspectives and while sometimes this can get a bit confusing in other books, here, it works perfectly. Each character had a distinctive voice and viewpoint, and the author made me really care and empathize with each one.

The title could be seen as being very clear-cut and rather blunt, but don't assume anything! We also have an anonymous narrator in the mix who adds yet another perspective on the marriage of Dr. Aston to the much younger Heather. Every single character had my undivided interest and empathy. I did guess the big reveal about 60% in but it still came as a total shock.

Without giving anything away, some readers should be warned that this book deals with sexual assault, alcoholism, dementia and trauma. Yet the topics are all woven expertly by Sally Hepworth into a compulsively readable tale about family, parental relationships and marriage.

The conclusion of this fabulous thriller was a touch ambiguous to me, which I have read might have changed a little in the final version. Nonetheless, I absolutely loved this audiobook and highly recommend this perfectly written thriller!

(Thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced listening copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Audiobook Arc review

I enjoyed this family drama by Sally Hepworth. This edition* I enjoyed it however, it was a vanilla suspense and predictable.

I've read and enjoyed a few books by Sally Hepworth - this genre of domestic suspense with a twist or two is just too much fun to read. The Younger Wife was no exception and I found a lot to love about this novel. It was easy to get to know the characters and root for the two sisters in this novel as well as their mother and entire situation. It was well written, and there was a sense of foreboding throughout. I found it hard to put down and devoured the whole thing in a matter of otherwise busy days.

There are a few trigger warnings to be aware of: domestic abuse, rape, miscarriage, alcoholism, murder, child abuse --- some of these to greater extents than others and not really a spoiler when considered generally.

I did feel that the ending lacked a little something but I was still wholly satisfied with the way it all wrapped up and the "future" we could see of these delightful characters and their families.

Thank you so much to St Martins Press and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tully and Rachel are shocked when their father tells them he is remarrying to a much younger woman named Heather. They’ve never met her before and they are immediately leery of her motives. Their mother is still alive but struggles with early onset Alzheimer’s. Everyone has their own secrets they’ve been burying and they start to be uncovered as Heather integrates into the family.

Another Sally Hepworth that I absolutely devoured! There is something about her writing that draws me in. Her very flawed and relatable characters are one. Tully and Rachel were almost comical in their dialogue in parts but also serious where they needed to be. The narrators on the audiobook that was gifted to me by @macmillan.audio and @netgalley was perfect for all the different POVs. I did think that this was misbranded as a thriller, it was more of a family drama (albeit a great one). The length of the novel was short and sweet, and the small chapters kept me turning the pages. Thanks to @stmartinspress for my paper copy!

This was my first Hepworth book, and she is well recommended to me, so I was looking forward to getting lost in the audio.
It starts well, with a woman attending a wedding of her ex-husband to a younger wife. I was gripped and couldn't wait to see how it unfolded.
The narrators were great, although to me sounded pretty similar to each other, so it took me a while to grasp the women's personalities too. I think it would have helped me if they were more distinctive.
The story flowed well and did keep me engaged right the way through.
That is, until the ending. While I felt it cleared up most loose ends, I am actually offended by it. It feels a cop out when the women are portrayed like this and didn't even seem like much of a twist. I'm rather baffled.

This is the third Sally Hepworth book that I have read and it shared one of my favorites things about her writing. There is a bit of a mystery to be solved in this book.. It opens with what is really the end of the story and the rest of the book is the story leading up to it. Like the other Sally Hepworth books that I have read I was second guessing myself about what I thought was true and what was not all the way to the end. I definitely need to get to the rest of Sally Hepworth’s back list. 3.75/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the eARC.

This was a fantastic audiobook! Narration is key to a book being done well in audio format. This one made the book more engaging to me, I honestly think if I had physically read this I would have gave up on it, just being honest, but the narration brought the story to life for me, which is unusual, I highly recommend this audiobook, perfect narration.

Sally Hepworth’s latest psychological thriller, The Younger Wife, is a clever story full of secrets and suspense.

What appealed to you the most in this book?

I absolutely love the way Sally Hepworth can write about family dynamics, especially when it comes to the relationships between sisters. This was a deep and at times darker psychological thriller, but I was surprised to discover that there was so much more than just the main plot. Each character had their own story as they were dealing with their past and mental health issues. I was in awe with the way Hepworth was able to create multilayered characters and then weave their stories together with the main plot.

How was the audio?

The narrators for this book did a fabulous job! They brought the story to life, and since there were different narrators for each character it added even more suspense and emotion to the story.

How was the pace?

The story held a steady pace and the short chapters made it seem fast. This story sucked me in from the beginning! The drama in the first chapter left me wanting more and from there I was held captive.

Do you recommend this book?

I highly recommend this captivating and warped story full of lies and deceit. You won’t want to put it down!

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴏᴜɴɢᴇʀ ᴡɪꜰᴇ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ✨

Thank you @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for allowing me to🎧 to this 📖 in return for my honest review!

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤: The Younger Wife
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: April 5th, 2022
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 ⭐️- I decided to round up on GoodReads)

𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 💭:

This was a slow burning page turner (in my case metaphorically), with adequate narration.

After talking to @kellyhook.readsbooks I realized this book shouldn’t be categorized as much a Thriller as it should be Domestic Fiction.

The larger part of the narrative switches between Stephen's daughters, Tully and Rachel and his younger fiancé Heather. The author dives deep into these characters and we get to know more about each of these women — their relationships, childhood traumas, on going struggles and their motivations — through a sequence of events leading up to the fateful day of the wedding.

Each woman has their secrets-some from the past and others in the present, and we get to hear them all.

Overall, I would say this is a fast paced domestic read!

I highly suggest going into this one NOT expecting a Psychological Thriller or lots of Suspense — and I believe you will enjoy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbuzFoprjT6/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This was the third book by this author that I have listened to or read. Her books always have something of a twist at the end. I liked this one. Evil got it’s just reward and everyone who survived seems to wind up doing pretty well.
The audiobook was very well performed.
Some reviewers seem to think the ending was open for interpretation but I did not. You’ll have to make your own decision.

Picture this. Your mother is losing a battle with dementia and your family — you and your sister and your father — have decided to put her in an assisted living facility. Then, over lunch one day, you find out that your father (still married to your mom with rapidly declining health) is engaged to the interior designer who's actually younger than you AND your sister. What's a mildly traumatized upper-middle-class lady to do?!

I love Sally Hepworth because she does the domestic thriller so well. She's my go-to rec for people who say they don't like thrillers because I want to convince them to start liking thrillers. Sally Hepworth can create intrigue super well but also sprinkle in all the things people love — likable (albeit problematic) characters, mental health (but not in an overly preachy or sensitive way), and complicated family dynamics. There's not a perfect family in the world and there sure as hell ain't a perfect family in a Hepworth novel.

Overall, if you love the super dramatic, twisty thriller world, you might be disappointed. But if you've loved anything else by Sally Hepworth, I'm willing to bet you'll like this one too!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚘𝚗, 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙰𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚎𝚜,𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚎. 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝. 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚋 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚋 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 @netgalley 𝒂𝒏𝒅 @macmillan.audio 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘❣︎

“The Younger Wife”
By Sally Hepworth

One Man, Four Women, and a Plethora of Secrets

In Sally Hepworth’s latest domestic suspense, “The Younger Wife,” the main characters project perfect external personas while hiding dark, complicated physical and emotional scars.

This modern Australian family saga is presented from multiple points of view in a neo-Gothic noir style with numerous themes—some similar to those found in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Jane Eyre.”

Stephen is a married cardiologist engaged to be married; Heather, his fiancée, hides the shame of her poor background by wearing thrift shop Louboutins; his affluent daughter, Tully, steals trinkets for kicks; his daughter, Rachel, an esteemed baker, binge eats; and his Alzheimers-stricken wife, Pam, has thousands of dollars stashed in a hot water bottle.

Listeners sensitive to issues of physical and emotional abuse may not enjoy this story because these are the underlying narratives of each of the main characters. That’s my main objection to the novel. The characters and their background issues are intriguing and could be expanded more thoroughly.

The audio version of “The Younger Wife” is well-enacted by four distinct narrators that make listening enjoyable while keeping the characters distinguishable. The audio’s nine-hour length makes it a perfect companion for a long trip. This is a compelling story with heart-wrenching undertones.

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The Book Maven’s Journal—Reviews for Word Connoisseurs
STAR RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: “The Younger Wife”
Author: Sally Hepworth
Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides
Unabridged Audio Length: 9 hours and 18 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Literature & Fiction (Adult) | Women’s Fiction
Publication Date: 04 April 2022
Publisher: A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes to NetGalley, Author Sally Hepworth, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for this Advance Audio Copy for review.

I really don't know what to say about this book that is good....

Let's start off with the characters, I disliked every single character - not even any room for like "aww but what about this one." I really couldn't stand any of them. All of the female characters had "something wrong with them."

You have Tully who is suffering from a shit husband who gambles away their f'ing HOUSE but she's the one with "issues." She's a kleptomaniac, who definitely needs help but her husband is a POS who does nothing but complain about how horrible she is.

Next is Rachel, who was sexually assaulted, it was definitely glossed over and there was a major plot hole with her situation (Heather mentions that Rachel was assaulted by her uncle, while Rachel says that it was a random man). She almost certainly has an eating disorder that was not discussed, and IF I HEAR ONE MORE TIME ABOUT RACHEL'S CURVES I'M GOING TO SCREAM.

Heather, who is THE younger wife is marrying, Rachel and Tully's father, Stephen. Heather is "hiding her background" because her father killed her mother and she's ashamed and doesn't want anyone to know. While simultaneously getting into a relationship with an abuser who is gaslighting the ABSOLUTE SHIT out of her. But of course, Heather drinks too much and that's her "issue" which then turns her into the "crazy drunk who is imagining the abuse." ALSO IT WAS MENTIONED THAT BOTH HER PARENTS ARE DEAD BUT SHE VISITS HER DAD IN PRISON???????? bro he's not dead then.

Honestly, I really just don't know what this book had to offer. It is labeled as a mystery/thriller, but essentially gives you Chapter 1: a murder occurs at the wedding of Steven and Heather, oOoOoOoOoOo who could be dead??? The entire rest of the book doesn't lead up to who the killer is at all....we just get everyones side stories (a family drama would've been wayyyy more fitting). And then in the last chapter we get the answer of who died, and who the killer is. Again, no part of the book leads to this moment whatsoever.

The ending was just annoying to me, and once the narrator said "epilogue" I sighed and said "finally" out loud. What that means, you ask? I was thrilled to finally have this book over.

The epilogue, mind you, gave absolutely nothing to the story. If I have to hear the word "hot water bottle" one more time, I will actually run into traffic.

SO MANY TRIGGER WARNINGS AND NO GOOD REASON WHY - triggers aren't something to add to a book for *spice* it honestly got old. This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I can guarantee you, it will be my last.

Save yourself the time and skip this one entirely.

Rating: 3
Author: Sally Hepworth

This book was okay if you don’t view it as a thriller/mystery book. If I was never told this was supposed to be a thriller I wouldn’t have known. In my opinion, it didn’t really feel like one. I was expecting something with several twists and turns and a plot that would keep me guessing. But I didn’t get that at all. I enjoyed this book because I liked the characters. This book is told from 3 different POVs and I thought each character had an interesting background/personality. I found myself invested in them more than the overall story. They definitely each made stupid decisions but I think the decisions they made fit their character. The one character I expected more from was Heather. There were certain situations where she was really observant but at other times she wouldn’t notice obvious things.

I listened to the audiobook version and that did help with my overall enjoyment. All of the narrators did such a fantastic job. They each brought life to their character. Even though I enjoyed the narration and the characters, the overall book fell flat. I’m honestly not sure if I would recommend this one. I think it’s the perfect book to listen to if you're at work because you don’t have to hold onto every word. You can zone out and you still will not miss anything. I haven’t read anything else by this author but I have heard her other book ‘The Good Sister’ is good, so you might want to check that one out instead!


Thank you so much @stmartinspress , @macmillan.audio & @netgalley for a #gifted copy on #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

To start I was invested in this mystery. Death at a wedding? Yep I'm there. But as The Younger Wife drug on, it seemed that nothing was happening for a very long time. Parts felt a bit repetitively, and there wasn't much thrill or mystery. The story was solid, and I enjoyed the characters, I just feel like it should have been labeled a family drama not a mystery. The ending was SOOOO disappointing, though I've heard the final print had an alternate ending so maybe that helped a bit. For wanting a thriller/mystery, this one just didn't live up to my expectations for me.

The Narrators were good, and I enjoyed that there were multiple ones for the different POVs.

This story was captivating from the start. There are so many things to love about this book. I loved the multiple character perspectives in this novel. I also loved that Hepworth tried to unpack so many complex family dynamics and issues into one book from sexual assault to spousal abuse to familial money troubles. I think the overall sense of ambiguity I felt throughout this novel, contributed to why I enjoyed it so much and it kept me hooked. That being said, the ending just didn't make sense for me... and made me feel like I missed something super important...