Pippa and Gabe appear to live a charmed life, in a beautiful house atop a seaside cliff, with two gorgeous daughters supported by their stay-at-home father. But when a woman enters their backyard and commits suicide by jumping off the cliff, Pippa's and Gabes' lives are forever changed. The story is told through alternating perspectives of Pipp and the recently deceased Amanda, flipping back and forth between "now" and "then." The Soulmate unwinds the connection between these two women, and the secrets of the men they love. To me, this book was pretty middle of the road. I didn't dislike it, but also didn't feel that it ever got quite the momentum I was looking for. I'd categorize this as "thriller light"--there is drama and suspense, but it wasn't enough to keep me up all night.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

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𝐁 𝐎 𝐎 𝐊 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖

4.1/5⭐️ The Soulmate- Sally Hepworth (pub date 4/4/23)

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:

Gabe and Pippa Gerard have just moved into their dream house: a cliffside cottage in a sleepy coastal town outside Melbourne. It’s a fresh start to their marriage, and the perfect place to raise their two young daughters.

But the house’s perfect façade hides something more sinister: The Spot, where the tall cliffs have become a popular place for those wishing to end their lives. After talking someone down from the ledge, Gabe becomes a local hero, saving person after person… until one night, he doesn’t. And Pippa sees Gabe the moment after it happened, standing alone at the cliff’s edge, arms outstretched, palms facing out.

The death is ruled a suicide— Gabe said it was a stranger devastated over her husband’s infidelity. But when Pippa discovers that Gabe knew the victim, she has more questions than answers.

As Pippa works to uncover the truth, the foundations of the life they’ve built begin to crack and their deepest secrets start to unravel.


𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

A domestic thriller about toxic and dysfunctional marriages, with short chapters from multiple POV and timelines- definitely keeps you invested in the story. Some twists were expected and some were not.


Fast-paced, mysterious, and intriguing. Also very easy to read- this book made me want to read more from this author. Definitely keep your eye out for this one (April 2023)! I know I will be adding this author to my list.


Food for thought: This is my first book by this author but I love all the covers I’ve seen of her books- they make me want to pick them up (do you judge books by their covers?)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. Go ahead and clear your day when you start The Soulmate. This is my first Sally Hepworth novel and I WILL definitely be back for more. Buckle up for the twist and turns. Words do describe this book well, READ IT!

I just can not get into this authors writing style unfortunately. It was a did not finish for me. I tried it on audio as well and just could not get into it.

This one was interesting, but didn’t hook me as much as I had hoped. The setting was amazing, but the characters fell a little flat for me.

Sally Hepworth is one of the queens of domestic suspense, and she’s a must-read author for me, so I was really excited to receive this ARC. The Soulmate grabbed me from the very first page. The Gerard’s large house overlooking The Drop, a massive cliff, was a phenomenal setting, and it added to the suspenseful atmosphere. It’s told from the two main female protagonists points of view in a “now”, “then”, “before” and “after” format, but I didn’t find it at all confusing. Although it is very suspenseful, ultimately, it’s a story about family, love, marriage, secrets, lies and loyalty. The storyline surprises and plot twists were mostly unexpected and some were jaw-dropping. Just a warning: The author had sensitivity readers who helped her navigate through topics like adultery, family pressures, workplace stress, child rearing, mental health, depression, grief and suicide. These are very sensitive topics, so please use caution if you find them triggering.

Sally is amazing! I have read every book by her and I am always excited when I can be able to early read for her! This was another edge of your seat book! Can’t wait for others to read it!

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth was a proper Hepworth novel, but with a warm ending (which was odd).

I actually read the acknowledgements at the end of the novel, and got a kick out of the origin of the book. "Murder and marriage," originated from a pandemic lockdown.

The chapters of the book were well labeled, but I did find myself having to go back to see whose perspective and at what point in time certain chapters were taking place. I think Hepworth handled the concept of mental illness very well.

All in all, this was a great book, and a true testament to why Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors.

Thanks to NetGalley & SMP for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sally Hepworth is a worthy readalike for Liane Moriarty, and, like Moriarty, she has been venturing more and more into suspenseful plots. She also seems to like leaving the reader in a bit of a muddle at the end (The Younger Wife did this well, leaving nothing wrapped up in a bow at the end), and it sort of happens in this book, too, with some plot points left unresolved.

Gabe & Pippa meet cute and fall in love. We start off in the present day, where they live in their dream house, situated near a cliff overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, it's a popular spot for people to jump off and kill themselves - Gabe has saved 7 people to date, talking them off the cliff edge. Because, we are led to understand, that's just how Gabe is: he's charming and is the kind of person everyone automatically likes.

We go back and forth in time, going over Pippa and Gabe's relationship and its ups and downs, and there are UPS and DOWNS. Gabe can't seem to stick at one job. When he's feeling successful in work, he ends up going out and drinking to excess with coworkers after hours, sometimes not coming home till the next morning. Eventually, he comes home obviously having been undressed (he's missing a sock), and admits to Pippa that he's had a one-nighter with a barmaid. Pippa is devastated, but Gabe is the love of her life! They move past it.

Gabe goes on ADHD medication, and that helps a little, but eventually his behaviors start ramping up again. Meanwhile, in the present, a woman has stood at the edge of the cliff outside their house, but jumps? while Gabe is talking to her. Her reason for jumping (?) is that her husband has been unfaithful. The cops show up, but Gabe lies to them, telling them she was a stranger. He also lies to Pippa. The woman is his former boss's wife. We are led to understand that there was an incident between Gabe's boss and Pippa. and Gabe lies to Pippa so she doesn't feel guilty. Who does this? It's ridiculous.

We continue in this fashion, until Gabe and Pippa have a baby, who is then joined by a baby of Gabe's - his one night hookup has DIED and her child needs parents, and Gabe is technically the parent (surprise!). Pippa accepts this baby into their family. She loves Gabe and he is her soulmate! Gabe gets fired from his high paying executive job, but luckily Pippa is a lawyer so money is no problem. Gabe sinks into depression, barely getting off the couch, but finally is diagnosed with bipolar disorder (ding ding ding give that doctor a cookie, how did no one see this? I realize that it's not unusual for bipolar to go undiagnosed but, damn! I thought we'd come further than this). He goes on to be a stay at home dad to the two kids and they move to the dream house.

Pippa's family members move too, to be close to them, but then we find out that her sister and her wife, as well as Pippa's parents, moved bc they know that Gabe is unwell and they are concerned for Pippa. Yikes!

We also get chapters from Gabe's boss's dead wife, both before and after her death, so we understand how she came to be up on that cliff. That whole things is a bit of a letdown, but basically revolves around a misunderstanding. But it leaves us understanding that Pippa "feels guilty" about what is basically a non-incident with the boss, but will forgive Gabe anything, possibly even murder.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this book, but it's SO far-fetched. It's frustrating to watch Pippa making decisions and acting on the basis of "Gabe is my soulmate! I love him!" I'm sure there are women who do this, but Pippa forgives more than the average person would ever forgive, by a large percentage. The ending is inevitable, but still left me feeling a little cheated. She endured cheating, a love child, etc. etc. but they split up in the end? And Gabe is his boss's dead brother's kid? OK, sure. Well, it's a book. It's supposed to be entertainment. This was entertaining, and I will continue to read Sally Hepworth, but I do hope she reins it in a little next time.

“If the facts are with you, argue the facts. If the law is with you, argue the law. If neither is with you, confuse the issue.” is a quote attributed to many lawyers, including Oliver Wendell Holmes. It’s a favorite with law professors as a way to teach upcoming trial lawyers how to argue a case.

The writing of this book adheres to the above. It was Total Confusion. The plot was weak (at best), the characters wandered in and out of their prescribed personas, and what was the conflict?

The big question was “did she jump or was she pushed?” The second question was “and why?” Neither of which was worth 300+ pages.

The style of the book was alternating chapters of Then and Now (or maybe it was Before and After) and utilized at least 2 POVs to tell the story and various backstories. That only served to throw the entire plot (or lack thereof) into chaos.

There were endless literary devices utilized to keep the reader reading, but even those didn’t save this book. I’ve enjoyed others by Sally Hepworth, but not this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wish my review could be better.

This is one of my favorite reads of 2022. I had never read a book by Hepworth before and after finishing THE SOULMATE, I bought two more books by Hepworth. Interesting to see how she’s improved as a writer in style and technique (though I really enjoyed her earlier novels as well). There were several lines in this novel that blew me away - I had to stop reading for a moment to take them in. Outstanding book.

4 stars. *

I've been a fan of Sally Hepworth ever since I discovered her while on a beach holiday and found one of her books on a shelf in the villa we rented. I'm pretty sure I've read everything she's written and they have all been gripping.

The Soulmate might be her best yet.

All of her books take place in Australia and they are domestic thrillers. This one features an unusual marriage, mental illness, infidelity, attempted suicide, and a fantastic head-scratching twist.

I HIGHLY recommend this one to my friends who enjoy thrillers.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was really easy for me to read, the author caught my attention from the very beginning. I wasn't able to predict what was coming, I kept changing my thoughts on who was involved and why. I really enjoyed the authors written style and how she slowly revealed the characters history together. Thank you NetGalley for the advance readers copy.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishing team, and Sally Hepworth for allowing me to read this ARC. Holy moly - that was a delight! I’ve read two of Sally’s books, but this one takes top! Once I started this, I couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t major twists that leave your jaw dropping, but it was a well constructed story that will keep you hooked to the very last word!

This was such a fun read. This is my second read by Sally Hepworth, and it didn't disappoint. There were a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, and had me thinking about the book long after I finished reading it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sally Hepworth for the ARC. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know!

I was so excited to have been approved for this book through Netgalley. The description had me hooked. I have been looking for something "twisty" for a while and found it. Just when I thought I had predicted what would happen, she would throw in another twist. Right up until the end. I'd love to see this turned into a movie on hulu/netflix.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Sally Hepworth has become one of my go-to authors when it comes to suspense. I would not classify this book as a thriller, but more of a domestic suspense novel.
Mainly set on the edge of a cliff, Gabe and Pippa live just at the edge of a suicidal hotspot. Gabe has a track record of talking people down from jumping. One night a woman jumps from the cliff, but Gabe was unable to stop her. Did Pippa seem him push the lady? Or did she see him grabbing to save her? Did he know the victim?
This was a twisty and gripping novel that left you needing to know what was coming.

I read this book in one day and it was very fast paced. I did not find it predictable, which is always something Hepworth is good at. Hepworth's novels always bring such an element of surprise that I can never predict what is happening next. A great, solid, quick read with drama, suspense and betrayal. How well do you know the person you are married to?

Anyone who's ever been married has surely experienced some ups and downs in their marriage, but hopefully nothing like what these people have gone through! You may even feel a little better about your own relationship after embarking on this wild ride by Sally Hepworth, the queen of domestic drama. The characters in this book have some deep secrets that will have you madly turning pages to discover. We delve into their mental illness, and develop empathy for their struggles, but also realize that mental illness is not necessarily an excuse for poor choices and bad behavior.
Is it worth the cost for the breathtaking view and beach access afforded to the residents who live at the cliffside drop? Did Amanda jump, or was she pushed? Who is really to blame for this tragedy?

First, thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy! Secondly, ummmm wow!!! I kept thinking I knew what was going on, but I didn’t. I couldn’t figure it out and as you know, that’s always good in my eyes.
The story centers around a family whose husband seems a tad erratic and a wife who’s overly protective. Then everything just continuously fall apart. What I found I liked most about this story is the protagonist seems to be willfully unaware of what’s really going on around her and you just really wanted her to wake up! I won’t say when she does, but I found myself saying, “well it’s about damn time!” 😂 Anyway, very good story. Highly recommended. Can’t wait for the US release so I can get me a physical copy.

Happy Reading 📖

Sally Hepworth. I fell in love with her books when I read The Mother In Law, then I had to have more and I thank my lucky stars I received an ARC on NetGalley so I didn’t have to wait until next year to read it! This was SO GOOD!

Hepworth is the master at the twisty, domestic drama, suspense that is a slow build to a big crescendo. I really enjoyed this one! I love that Sally peppers in real life issues with the funny, banal, daily happenings of family life. You could tell, if you follow her Instagram, that she added in funny mannerisms, anecdotes and behaviors from her kiddos and husband.

Our story follows Pippa and Gabe as they move to the coast and buy a house overlooking The Drop…an infamous suicide spot. Gabe finds his calling in talking people off the ledge, literally, until one day he doesn’t and things quickly unravel into something more sinister. Was there foul play, does Homicide get involved, or was this simply another lost soul lost to The Drop? Hepworth craftily weaves a story of suspense, mystery and drama to all come to a head in the final pages that I for one never saw coming.

This was a fun ride! Thank you Sally for yet another smash hit of a book!