Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of Sally Hepworth’s soon-to-be published domestic thriller, The Soulmate.

Trigger warning for readers: the story features sensitive topics including mental health and suicide.

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read Sally Hepworth’s latest novel. I absolutely adore her thrillers and jumped right in the second I received it. The story alternates between Pippa and Amanda, two women caught up in a tangled web of their husbands’ business affairs. After one of the meets a grisly demise, do we know which characters are lying to others and which ones are lying to themselves?

The Soulmate is a psychological thriller meets family drama that will immediately pull you in.. The story follows a couple from courtship through marriage, children and the highs and lows they face dealing with a mental illness. When a suicide happens from a cliff outside of their house, things start to unravel. Secrets are revealed that could shatter their relationship, livelihood and put the family in danger. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat and up late into the night. The unexpected twists and turns will keep you engaged and the final chapter you’ll never see coming. A heart pumping 4 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of Sally Hepworth’s latest thriller, The Soulmate, in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Mental health subjects; Suicide.

Despite often seeing the author mentioned on many mystery/thriller book lists over the past several years, this is my first time reading a Sally Hepworth novel. #The Soulmate is a dual timeline, dual character perspective thriller set in a coastal town outside Melbourne.

Judging by the titles of her previous work, it is no surprise that the plot involves the degradation of a couple’s marriage or that the primary theme focuses on the intricacies of marriage and the evolution of a marriage relationship throughout a couple’s lifetime.

I did not particular care for this story. I would try reading another novel of the author’s before completely writing her style off (no pun), but this one just was not for me.

This was a great suspense/thriller! Ms Hepworth doesn’t disappoint!

A family is living next to a “million dollar path”, a path that shows a great and deadly view from a cliff drop off to the ocean, and that has multimillion dollar houses strung on it.

The husband talks off on a regular basis people who seem to might commit a suicide on the cliff until he doesn’t. The woman on the cliff jumps. Or does she?

This is the premise of a great story, full of suspense a and has you wonder all the way through! Highly recommend!

I really love Sally Hepworth’s books. They are always unique and you never quite know where the plot is going to go. The Soulmate was so great. Full of seedy characters, trouble marriages, lots of secrets, and interesting twists. I really loved Amanda’s POV in this story. It was different and added a really unique flavor to the story. The twist at the ending was a little different than I was expecting, but I didn’t see it coming and so it was still satisfying. I think fans of domestic thrillers, family dramas, and Hepworth’s other books will really enjoy this one as well.

If you like plot twists, this is the book for you. Sally Hepworth is an author that I will always read because I love her stories filled with suspense and this was no exception! There are two main POV’s from different characters, as well as a before & after for each character. I will say, I was a tad underwhelmed with a few aspects about the ending. It felt like there was a big secret leading up to the ending, but then nothing more was ever said about it. However overall, another great, suspenseful read from Sally Hepworth!

This was quite the adventure! Lots of secrets and a few good twists.

Gabe and Pippa find their dream home on a cliff. But their perfect cottage comes with dark secrets. This cliff becomes a popular spot for people to attempt to end their lives. Gabe becomes the voice of reason and tries to rescue the depressed souls until one day he doesn’t.

Gabe and Pippa quickly realize who this last victim was. Questions begin to arise, was her death premeditated or an accident?

Pippa has an internal battle on whether her soulmate is capable of murder? Can she handle Gabe’s alter ego and trust he’s telling the truth?

Pippa’s character was determined. She fought for herself and her girls. She was skeptical but fearless. Although, she made a poor choice out of anger, she came out even stronger in the end.

Gabe’s character was weak and broken. He had demons and mental health took over. He made decisions and acted on those decisions with no regard for how it would affect his family.

Amanda and Max were an interesting power couple and quite possibly the true soulmates in the end.

Pippa and Gabe live in a house on a cliff The cliff has become a popular place where people go to end their lives. So far, Gabe has been able to talk people out of it. One night a woman shows up at the cliff, Gabe tries to help her, but she ends up jumping anyway. Pippa learns later that she is someone Gabe and Pippa knew. Did she jump, or did Gabe push her? There will be many twists and shocking secrets slowly revealed before this story comes to an end. This was a slow burn thriller with a satisfying ending.

I received this book from Netgalley and I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. I really enjoyed The Good Sister and The Mother in Law-those were fabulous thrillers. The Soulmate however, was not a thriller like it’s purported to be. It was was a plodding, dark family drama. This book was written with a dual timeline and two narrators. Ordinarily, I love this in a thriller. In The Soulmate, one of the narrators is a ghost. This I did not love. The whole time I was reading all I could think was this was the 2022 version of The Lovely Bones. The story drags and nothing much happens until the last 30 or so pages. If you’re looking for a thriller, this is not for you. If you like family dramas you might like this.

I totally loved The Soulmate! So many twist,turns and surprises. Sally writes the most amazing books. She is totally the best! #netgalley #thesoulmate # sallyhepworth

Okay WOW. I’ve had a few of Sally’s books on my TBR for a while but haven’t had the chance to pick them up yet - I’M SORRY - I now realize what a shame this was because holy moly this was a fantastic book. I actually just ordered some of her books this morning because I am obsessed. I HIGHLY recommend this book. Let’s get into it:
There is drama and secrets without being absurd or constantly referencing the secrets and saving them to the end - they were referenced and exposed in a great pcs that wasn’t frustrating. I fell in love with all the characters, I honestly didn’t know who to root for the most. The characters were so well developed, showed us their motives, flaws, emotions and how they grew throughout the book.
This is not really a love story but wow. We see two seemingly different relationships that are totally not what you’d expect. This was a unique take on toxic relationships that I haven’t seen done before. It was heart-wrenching and have a good insight into some of the challenges families with mental illness face.
There were twists that were actually surprising and kept me on my toes throughout the story.
This book was tragic, dark, hopeful and happy all at the same time. Not many authors can accomplish this without ridiculous plot points, too much explanation of motive, etc but Sally Hepworth took my breath away with this one. I can’t wait to purchase a copy for my shelf.
Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press and Sally Hepworth . All opinions are 100% my own

While I was initially drawn into this story (and felt that way for much of the novel). I found the untangling of the mysteries at the center of The Soulmate to be too anticlimactic and dull to warrant the lead up. I’m never a big fan of the dead victim being a narrator, so that wasn’t working for me either, but I mostly found this story to be a bit too wrapped up in odd details about money problems and other odd side plots that were so tangential they didn’t do anything except add fluff. This was the first time I’ve felt let down by Sally Hepworth.

I enjoyed the setting and plot of this book. There were a couple unexpected twists and I definitely did not guess the ending. Some parts of the story dragged a little bit but I had to keep reading because I wanted to know what the author kept alluding to.

this is an honest, voluntary review. this is an arc from netgalley**

This book was intense. From the very beginning, it hooks you. I enjoy the back and forth between then and now and how the main characters thoughts and emotions are portrayed throughout the book. I also enjoyed that there was a POV that I wasn’t expecting. I consider this a very great read if you enjoy true crime, plot twists and books that keep you on your toes. 5 stars! Will love to read some more of this authors work.

I absolutely could hardly put this book down. The story is told from view of characters both in present and past. There was a catch at ending that surprised me and caught me off guard. This book is worth reading. I would highly recommend. Giving it 5 stars which is not something I normally do as story really has to appeal to me for that rating.

Great read. I loved the mini-bombshells sprinkled throughout the book that clear up a few things at a time, but in no way spoil the ending. Well done.

"It’s as if, while living your life, you view the world through a straw. You see only the tiniest sliver, all of it from your own perspective. Other people have their motives, their backstories, their feelings, but you don’t know that unless they share them with you, and even then there’s every chance they’re lying or prevaricating."

When a family moves into a new cliffside cottage with beautiful beach views, they don't realize they have a front row seat to a popular suicide spot and a new role of talking people down from jumping off.

This was a domestic thriller with DEPTH. So well written, unique, intriguing and full of a multitude of emotions. It covers mental illnesses but also remains a fast paced thriller with a really great take on a dual timeline.
As someone who is very acquainted with ADHD, specifically in adulthood, I SO appreciated that it was talked about. I would love to find more books that highlight common disorders/conditions that so many live with. It was refreshing to felt "seen" and "heard" while at the same time enjoying a fictional drama adventure. Best of both worlds!!

Let me start by saying, I absolutely adore Sally Hepworth. I love that she writes from multiple points of view, as well as a dual timeline. This book is no different! Normally, I LOVE Sally's characters. She has this special way of making you root for her misunderstood characters. That is something this book was lacking, however. I HATED Gabe. I really only liked reading Amanda's POV. Although, I also really loved when Kat called Pippa out for being dumb 🤣 Overall, I give it 3.5 stars. It definitely wasn't terrible, but if you've never read Sally, maybe don't start with this one. I think I stalled so badly on this review because I wanted to like it more. Thanks to netgalley for allowing me to read early!

I liked this book a lot. It was such a clever novel. The relationships amongst all the characters, the development of the story so finely done and the plot quite elaborate! It is a book about romance, marriage and relations, personal struggles, mental illnesses, and mystery. It is hard to put it into words and be more specific without giving anything away. It is full of surprises and unexpected turns.

While reading an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel, I thought I discovered some faults and inaccuracies in the plot, but a few chapters later I realized it is all planned like that and there is a good explanation for the apparent holes or misconceptions. It all comes together perfectly!

It starts like a funny, easy story with a bit of romance and quickly it evolves into something much more ambitious.

The book revolves around marriage and personal relationships, its bliss and downs, the roles that each part plays, what is evident, what is not, what is public, what is hidden, how deceiving looks can be. The characters are so well developed and so convincing that when situations change directions it takes the reader some convincing to get adjusted to the new status.

The book also focuses on mental illnesses, how devastating they are, hard to identify, hard to confront, hard to treat and not always able to be resolved. I feel this theme could have been deeper developed.

Despite its funny comments and sense of humor sprinkle here and there, it is a book that makes you think about multiple serious themes.

It is a very quick read that will keep you motivated until the end.

It will be published in April 2023. Add it to your TBR list!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and comment on an ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel!

What can I say? You follow the tragic story of two women after a suicide off a cliff. A misunderstanding leads Amanda’s life to be cut short while Pippa struggles to hid the actual truth.

The Soulmate will leave you breathless, heartbroken and grieving for not the character you expect it to be.

Twists and turns with every chapter; and highlights to how mental illness can really affect a character’s life.

A great read!