Another twisty thriller from Sally Hepworth.

Gabe and Pippa have just moved to a new house near the ocean. The only concern with the house is that it is a popular place for people to go when they want to end their lives. Gabe talks to the distraught people and has prevented several attempts at taking their lives until one night it doesn't work as planned.

Amanda's father was not faithful to her mother and she has lasting trauma from her childhood and what that did to her mother. Amanda's mother passes away before she gets married. Amanda marries Max and is very clear that the most important thing of their marriage is that Max remains faithful always.

Max is a CEO of several ventures and struggles to get funding. He has to use some shady sources. Gabe is hired as one of Max's people and quickly moves up the ranks to be making good money. Suddenly Gabe is fired after things go wrong.

Pippa tries to help fix Gabe's mistake and gets them both entangled in a bigger mess.

The twist at the end was a bit out of left field, but tied all the people together in the end of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

3.5 Stars

I was a little hesitant to read The Soulmate as my first book by Hepworth was only okay. However, I found this domestic thriller/suspense kept me glue to the pages. It reminded me of B.A. Paris novel, where the suspense is there in the form of family secrets slowly unraveling.

Told in alternate point of views of Pippa, the wife of Gabe (who helps talks people off the literal ledge of a cliff near their house), and Amanda, someone with a connection to Gabe’s past and who unfortunately jumps off the cliff as Gabe says he couldn’t save her. But questions surrounding Amanda’s suicide begin to bubble to the surface as Pippa examines her life with Gabe and Amanda tells her story from beyond.

The nonlinear time line worked well here and kept me engaged in the story. I figured out early on about Gabe (that he was bipolar) but other twists I didn’t see coming until they appeared.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

4⭐️ Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth. I really wanted to like Pippa but she was the most gaslit character who I have ever read about. Time and time again, it was so obvious that Gabe was using her empathy and sympathy for him, against her and for his own means. I never understood how such a smart person as Pippa could see something and then quickly twist it to then be in his favor. And constant disappointments that she suffered at his expense were just baffling. I so liked Max and Amanda and their relationship. It was far from perfect, but they crafted one that almost worked for them. I was so sorry that they didn’t realize/acknowledge/verbalize how much they not only respected each other, bust truly loved each other. I didn’t see the ending coming, even as i was putting the threads together. I have to say though that my favorite people were Asha and Freya.

No one does suburban domestic life like Sally Hepworth does. This was the fourth book I have read by her, and it is in my top two! Her twists are never huge, but are very effective and unsettling because of how plausible they feel, the stories feel like they could happen to someone you know. As always, I enjoyed the tidbits of Australian culture like TimTams - they feel like easter eggs to keep my eyes open for while reading. I look forward to continuing to read Sally Hepworth's new releases!

I was disappointed by this book. I appreciated the alternating POVs but I couldn’t understand how or why we got Amanda’s. Additionally, Pippa’s blind faith was difficult as well. However, if we had a great reveal at the end, I probably would have been able to overlook things. But I don’t feel like there really was a reveal whatsoever and the parentage did not really have any implication on the plot. I don’t know. it was a fine read but not my favorite thriller and I was able to put the book down, which is something I don’t want to be able to do when reading a thriller.

Holy cats and dogs. This book was a page turning, nail biter. I flew through this in just a few sittings.. finding myself unable to put it down at night, falling asleep mid sentence.

Between Pippa & Gabe and Amanda & Max I absolutely loved to hate these characters. You feel like you might love them at first but as the story progresses and their flaws are revealed, secrets leaked AND kept, lies told to keep those safe and hurt others all at the same time. I said what I said, I loved hating these main characters.

And just when I thought I’d figured out the story, a new twist is thrown in every 20-30 pages, making me sink deeper and deeper into the waters of The Soulmate.

I loved this!!
This one will not disappoint. It is filled with twists and turns that you wont see coming. My favorite part was Amanda's point of view such a great way to tell her story.

I highly recommend if you love domestic thrillers.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the cover:
Get ready for a thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge in Sally Hepworth's The Soulmate.

I've read several of Sally Hepworth's books and enjoy them. Her newest - The Soulmate - was another excellent story.

This story captured my attention from the beginning and held on. Often, books that have multiple time jumps or multiple viewpoints disrupt the narrative, but not in this case. The author did a great job of keeping it cohesive and streamlined.

The characters were interesting and the story kept teasing out just enough to where you think you know what's happening but then has some solid twists with a satisfying ending.

TL;DR: I read it in one afternoon and loved it.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sally Hepworth for an ARC of this book!**

"You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns."=Mark Twain

The battle of head vs. heart that permeates the pages of the Soulmate was eerily reminiscent of my OWN personal struggle with how to feel about my reading experience with this one...and I'm still not ENTIRELY sure who won!

The Drop: it sounds like a thrilling theme park ride, but in reality, it's a terrifying and steep cliff, right in the backyard of married couple Pippa and Gabe )and their poor kids...not sure how their nerves survive!). The spot has unfortunately gained some significant notoriety: it is a popular spot for jumpers. Gabe, aside from being devastatingly handsome and dreamy in every way, has ANOTHER natural gift: he is able to talk would be jumpers "off the ledge." Pippa often observes from afar, proud of the man she gets to call her husband...until one day, when she watches one such instance...but rather than a rescue, she witnesses a deadly fall.

Pippa is horrified, of course, but what confuses her is that it LOOKS to her like the victim didn't take a leap...and Gabe's chat with the female stranger seemed different than most. The police determine the jump was indeed a suicide, but the victim's husband is adamant that his wife would NEVER have intentionally ended her life. Pippa then learns that the stranger wasn't exactly a stranger to Gabe...and that final conversation may have been a far cry from helpful. Could the perfect man, the man she knows inside and out, her very best friend be hiding a secret so dark, so dangerous, that it was worth dying for....or even worth KILLING for?

Ever since I had the good fortune to pick up Hepworth's The Mother in Law after rave reviews from some trusted reader friends, I have been enamored with her craft. If there's one thing she does PHENOMENALLY well (and perhaps better than any other domestic suspense writer I read regularly) it's to put the DOMESTIC in domestic suspense in an authentic, no nonsense and often FUN way. Her books are always tinged with humor, the child characters in her books are so real and adorable you feel like they'll be running around the corner towards you at any moment, and she captures the 'normal' (both good and bad) of daily suburban (and at times wealthy suburban) life to a T. Her dialogue is never forced or over the top, and I always feel as though I KNOW her characters (and USUALLY grow to love them...special shout-out to Wally and Fern from The Good Sister...the world needs more of you both!)

Where Hepworth's books sometimes falter for me, however, is in the execution of the 'suspense' itself. I'm not sure why this is, but despite her books having twists, this one in particular didn't feel twisty to me. I also LOVED The Good Sister and even THAT book played out in a pretty straightforward fashion. Although I was surprised at times during this book, I didn't ever feel as though I was properly 'tricked.' I kept waiting for a lot of dramatic 'a ha' moments, but what I got instead felt more like simple explanation rather than revelation.

I also didn't love the back and forth timelines AND the dual POV format for the book: in this case, it just felt like a bit much in terms of literary device and to be honest, the backstory timeline dragged a bit. There is also a thread of the plot that deals with mental health in a somewhat unbelievable way, but buy in from the reader is necessary to serve the plot, so you sort of have to just go with it. That being said, once again I applaud Hepworth for her vulnerability and willingness to include this sort of content without getting preachy OR being over the top...but again, this doesn't necessarily serve the SUSPENSE side of the story. I think her strength is in the domestic side of the street, and I'm curious at this point in time if I might enjoy some of her earlier books (more in this vein, from what I understand) than her current trajectory into suspense: time will tell!

Though my head kept telling me over and over that this was a 3 star read, there is just something indescribable and truly exceptional about Hepworth and her craft that tipped the scales and compelled me to give this book a 4. Perhaps like your high school 'soulmate', it was just 2 Good 2 Be 4 Gotten

3.5 stars, rounded up

Gabe and Pippa Gerard seem to have the perfect life. Two beautiful little girls, a beautiful house and a great marriage. They live in a house on a cliff that is a known place that people jump to their deaths. Gabe has just made the paper for being able to talk people out of jumping, when the next one does jump to her death. Plus, she happens to be the wife of his former employer. What actually happened on the cliff? As the truth comes out, so do the deepest secrets of them all.

This is a great read that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Great characters and plot along with a few surprises. I look forward to more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Dual POV, both with dual timelines, but written in a way that is completely enthralling. Great domestic thriller that delves into secrets kept within a marriage from the outside world, and secrets married people keep from each other.

A binge read if there ever was one. Need to lose yourself in something for a long flight or train ride? Pick up this book!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sally Hepworth, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Picture perfect couple, Pippa, a lawyer, and her husband Gabe, a stay-at-home dad, along with their two young daughters, have lived in their picturesque house, high cliff in the small seaside town of Portsea for a few months. Unbeknownst to them at them at the time of purchase, the cliff is known as "The Drop," where people go to commit suicide. Even though he hasn't had any training, Gabe has been able to talk suicidal people out of jumping quite of times. Except what happens when he's unable to save someone? And what if Pippa thinks it looks like he pushed them?

At a first glance The Soulmate seems straightforward, like other psychological suspense/thrillers you've read before. It has a dual narrative/timeline, with Pippa and Amanda as our narrators. Set in a small Australian seaside town, it features married couples, families, friends, children, lies, secrets, and betrayal. It's a compelling read and just the kind I like - tense, unsettling, and a bit dark. But it also has more feeling than a lot of other thrillers I've read. The characters are unpredictable and memorable, some of whom you might not like.

Sally Hepworth describes this as "an exploration of the good & bad sides of marriage. What we bring to it. What it brings out in us. A murderous love story." I think it's also about the good and bad sides to a person, because no one is 100% good or 100% bad. It's about what a person is capable of, what they're willing to do, and just how far they will go.

Trigger warnings: Suicide, Mental Health/Illness, Adoption, Cheating, Murder, Death

4 stars
Recommended for fans of:
Psychological Thrillers, Domestic Suspense, Mystery, Women's Fiction, General Fiction, Liane Moriarty

It was fine. For the first 30% or so I was really drawn in - the short chapters were making it fly and I was invested. But then it started to slow down for me. In attempting to constantly reveal new twists and turns it started to feel tired to me. By the end I was finding myself rolling my eyes at the reveals. It was still compelling enough that I wanted to see the ending but this wasn’t a favorite. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Another hit from Sally Hepworth. Her novels unravel as the story progresses, and The Soulmate is not different. The main characters seem to have it together, but hints at trouble in the pasts let the reader know that all has not always been well.

Unlike some of Hepworth's previous works, I was able to put together where the narrative was headed early on but enjoyed the ride nonetheless. I enjoy the layers of the story, the past and present and differing viewpoints that tell the whole story. I would not rate this as my most favorite of her works, but I remain a fan and Hepworth remains an auto-read for me.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. It might be my favorite Sally Hepworth now (although The Mother-In-Law is hard to top). I love the unique timeline structure of this book. I loved the mystery surrounding Amanda’s death and the little nuggets of suspicion that are dropped a long the way. This book is the perfect example of a book where you could keep saying “just one more chapter” until you’ve suddenly read the whole thing in one sitting (transparency here…I did take 2 days to finish it! Sleep got the best of me.) This book explores love, infidelity, marriage and the part mental illness can plan in all those. And that ending…you just have to read this one!

Read if you like:
▫️domestic suspense
▫️when marriages aren’t what they seem
▫️interesting timelines

I thought this was a really good thriller. It held my attention and I enjoyed reading to find out what happened. I thought the alternating timelines and POVs added to the story. I didn't feel like there were any huge twists but I didn't mind - it was just an easy going, fun thriller, although maybe with the lack of twists, it might be considered more a drama than a thriller? If you are a huge thriller fan, this might not hold up but since I read a lot of romances, I thought this was a nice change of pace!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Sometimes I read a psychological suspense novel that I don't really enjoy because none of the characters are likeable. However, that was not the case with The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth. The characters and situations she portrayed were relatable and believable. Even though the setting was Australia, it could certainly have taken place in many other locations. The mental illness theme was skillfully woven into the story. I enjoyed the alternating voices, one of which was that of a deceased character. The best part was the twist I didn't see coming! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy to read and review.

This book seemed like a mess to me. I haven't enjoyed Hepworth as much as I used to. It just feels like the stories are a jumble of twists and characters. This book starts off GREAT- I'm intrigued by a couple that lives near a cliff and has to constantly call the police because it's a place people love to use to end their lives. Husband Gabe is the whisperer, though- he will often go out and talk to the person on the cliff until the police arrive. Until.. he's unable to talk one person off the cliff. And the secrets surrounding this person involve both Gabe and Pippa and both fear they'll be prosecuted for this person's death. The book pops back and forth from past to present to tell the story and I normally like this story vehicle. It just didn't work here.
Pippa seemed preening and clingy and Gabe was 'just so perfect' but also terribly imperfect and Hepworth worked in turns that made me squint in confusion at the end of each chapter.
I listened to an audio arc and the narrators Barrie Kreinik; Jessica Douglas-Henry did a great job- loved both voices.

You know how people say if someone wrote a grocery shopping list they would read it? That is exactly how I feel about Sally Hepworth. The Soulmate is a story that gripped me from the first chapter and didn’t let go until the very last page. It definitely would have been a one sitting read if life did not get in the way. The way the dual points of view come into play, including from one character who has passed away, was done so well that I never found myself confused about who I was reading about or what timeline it was (as some of the story is written of the past).
Highly recommend this read, especially to get out of what was about to be a huge reading slump for me!
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pippa and Gabe Gerard live in Cliff House near Melbourne. They are the parents of 4-year-old Freya and Asha.

Cliff House has a reputation as it situated on a place known as The Drop. Quite often, people have gone there to jump to their death. However, Gabe has been able to talk many people down with his caring way and save them from death. But, tonight when Pippa sees someone at the cliff’s edge, Gabe runs out and Pippa calls the police. But this time Gabe is unsuccessful and the person jumps. What Pippa saw when the person jumped stuns her because she can’t process whether the person actually jumped or was pushed. Gabe is devastated by it saying he wished he could have saved them.

Pippa works as a wills and estate planning lawyer and Gabe is a stay-at-home father. He is outgoing and dearly loves the girls. He helps out at their school and is friendly to everyone.

When the name of the person who jumped is revealed, Pippa is terrified and she and Gabe work hard to get through a recent problem in their marriage.

At times, this a difficult story to keep up with. The chapters are told between now and then by two of the characters. As I started each chapter, I had to take a few seconds to figure out who is talking and when. That’s a bit disconcerting. The story felt a bit unreal and while the author put together an interesting plot, it just didn’t seem quite believable to me. But I have read other books by this author and know that her books are good. Therefore, I am giving this book 4 stars.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.