When a woman jumps to her death from a cliff, the couple who witnesses her suicide are horrified. Soon enough, however, the wife begins to suspect her husband is involved. As she works to pick apart their lives, present and past, the wife must face the reality that her “perfect” life isn’t so perfect after all. Author Sally Hepworth’s newest thriller provides a satisfying slow burn in The Soulmate.

Pippa and Gabe Gerard fell love with the house on the cliff when they first saw it, but in the year since moving in Pippa wonders if they made a mistake. Since they’ve joined the neighborhood, seven people have come to the cliff—the Drop, as the locals call it—to jump to their deaths. Did Pippa ever actually think that the cliff would be a romantic setting for starting over?

The one saving grace is that Gabe has turned into a rescuer. Every single time someone has come to the Drop, Gabe has talked to them, listened to them, and convinced them there is a better way to handle their problems. Seven people came to jump, and Gabe has managed to get all seven to change their minds.

On the night that the eighth person comes, Gabe goes outside and Pippa watches him through the window as he approaches the woman. Their conversation seems different compared to those he’s had with previous would-be jumpers. Before Pippa can ask and before Gabe can react, the woman goes over the cliff.

As if her death isn’t bad enough, Pippa soon discovers that she and Gabe knew the woman. Her name was Amanda Cameron, and she was the wife of media mogul Max Cameron. Max was also Gabe’s former boss and the person who fired him. The termination of Gabe’s employment led the move to the seaside town and the house on the Drop.

Pippa had no idea their problems would follow them out of the city, but they start to resurface. Gabe’s behavior has started to become erratic again. Pippa worries about him around their four-year-old daughters, Asha and Freya, and she also worries about Gabe himself. He was always the antidote to all of the hard, sticky things in life…until he lost control.

She also can’t get around the most recent events. Why did Amanda come to the Drop? Why did Gabe have his hands out as if pushing something away? Will Max come after them now? What will happen to Asha and Freya if something happens to her and Gabe? The questions keep plaguing Pippa, forcing her to re-examine everything she thought they’d fixed and wondering if it’s still broken after all.

Author Sally Hepworth is a master of the “thinking” thriller. Even as her plot pushes and pulls Pippa in various directions, Hepworth adds a layer of nuance that will leave readers asking questions about their own relationships long after the book is over. Chapters from Amanda provide insight into the woman before and after her tragedy, but Hepworth is careful to unfold Amanda’s story at just the right speed and time to keep tension high.

The author paces her plot with ease, putting her characters into the most difficult situations that also ring true to life at the same time. The book, though, does contain a few softer spots that might slow it down. Astute readers will probably guess Gabe’s affliction long before it’s officially announced, and the relationship between Amanda and Max comes off as wooden at times. Hepworth was hoping to strike a balance between business partnership and marriage for the two, but the novel wobbles in those attempts in some scenes.

Regardless, Hepworth has once again created a story and a cast of characters that make it easy to suspend all disbelief. Her title, too, induces careful consideration of what it means to meet and stay with “the one.” The small touches—for example, the relationship between the girls, particularly Asha, and Pippa—ground the novel in reality. Readers will feel like they know these characters personally, always a win for any author.

For those eagerly awaiting Sally Hepworth’s newest work, the wait is worth it.

Pippa and Gabe have a blissful like: they are deeply in love, with two beautiful daughters and the beach house of their dreams. But behind this beautiful home is something sinister -a cliff that is a notorious spot for suicide attempts, known as the Drop. Gabe has made himself a local hero by saving countless people from this making dark decision, constantly talking people off both the literal and metaphorical cliff. Until one day, he can’t save someone. And this someone isn’t just a stranger like the rest; she has a connection to Gabe and Pippa that has everyone wondering if she actually jumped, or if she was pushed.

Sally Hepworth is a queen when it comes to multiple perspectives, twists, and familial drama. She is able to make each character meaningful and sprinkle in the mystery like breadcrumbs throughout the story, giving glimpses of the characters true colors without ruining the surprising moments. The final moments were twists I did not see coming at all. Thank you to Net
Galley for the advanced copy! This book is officially out now.

The Soulmate
Author Sally Hepworth

Thank you, @librofm, for my #gifted alc, and @netgalley & @stmartinspress, for my e- arc! This was my first Sally Hepworth read, and I loved it! The Soulmate was narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Jessica Douglas- Henry, and it was flawless!

You never know what goes on behind closed doors, and appearances aren't always what they seem...

Gabe and Pippa, who have a co-dependent marriage, move to a cliffside home outside of Melbourne, seeking a fresh start and a beautiful place to raise their two girls. What they didn't know is that the cliff in their backyard is a common place where people go to end their lives. Gabe, a charismatic man, becomes a local hero as he can help convince many not to jump. All but one mysterious woman, and as Pippa watches their interaction from the house and sees the woman jump, she swears she also sees Gabe's arms thrust outward as if he may have pushed her...

What follows are Pippa's doubts as she journeys through the unknown present and gives readers a glimpse into their past and the intricacies of their marriage.

Told in alternating point of views between Pippa and Amanda, the woman that jumped, The Soulmate is an intense novel about marriage, betrayal, secrets, and lies. The lies we even tell ourselves in order to convince us otherwise.

The beginning was much more intense than the ending, and I did see a few twists coming, but overall, The Soulmate was a dark and thrilling novel that had me gripped until the end!

4,5 stars!

Sally Hepworth has me in a GRIP and I can't get out. I devour her books every single time and am always wrong when I try to predict what I think the twists will be. She once again, proved I know nothing about writing thrillers when she took her twists and turns in The Soulmate. I have ~thoughts~ about Gabe and how his character played out but since this has to be spoiler free so I'll just say I am mad!!!

Sally has taken the domestic thriller template and has thrown it out the window. She created a new thriller in this category that focused so heavily on the topics of mental illness, suicidal ideation, and casual white collar crimes. I loved how everything was weaved together so well in a novel that covered A LOT of ground.

All that to say, I highly recommend this for your next binge in two sittings thriller choice! Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sally Hepworth for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub day is April 4th, 2023.

I think the format of this book was excellent. It was so smart to show the dual POV and dual timeline—especially having it from only the female perspectives. This went to places I wasn't expecting but it was a really interesting ride.

Wow. What a story. The twists, the secrets. Wow. I really loved this book. It kept me entertained and totally enthralled to keep reading and having to know the answers to my questions.

Give me a books with dual point of views, two different timelines, and suspense that will keep you up at night and you have yourself a 5 star read. Sally Hepworth has done it again and this time it was soooo good I could not put it down!

Sally Hepworth books always writes the suspense book that will keep you on your toes and also keep you up all night. This story of love, marriage, mental health and secrets will have you staying up all night to know how it ends.

I always say if there is a twist I did not see coming and could not figure out, that is a 5 star for me and even thought I did see some of it coming, some of the twists threw me for a loop.

I want to thank St. Martins Press and Netgalley for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth will take you on a journey of secrets, betrayal and the effects on a marriage. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home is located on a cliff, unfortunately the cliff is well known for those lost souls that feel the only way out of their lives is to jump. But Gabe has found himself to be the cliff whisperer, he has literally talked people down from the edge, until he doesn’t. This victim is different, because he knows her. As the victim’s name is released, and Pippa and others find out who she is and how Gabe knows her, questions start to spiral, did she jump or was she pushed? Would Gabe ever tell the truth about what happened, even when Pippa realizes he withheld some vital information to the police? When secrets are revealed, even the perfect marriage can fall apart at the seams.

The story is narrated by two characters, Pippa and Amanda. The stories were well written and easy to follow along, keeping the reader engaged in both the past, present and a little bit of purgatory. These characters are very complex, and honestly not very likeable. There is a lot going on in these marriages, and most of it is not good. There are infidelities, lies, secrets, addiction, mental illness, and death. It’s all sort of dark, and does get into the nitty gritty of the effects these issues have on a marriage.

I enjoyed this novel. It was fast paced and easy to read chapters that will keep you engaged until the twists at the end. I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read Sally Hepworth’s latest novel and it was worth the wait. This is one of those stories where all the main characters have secrets—even those who seem the nicest.

What kind of family decides to buy a cottage that looks out over a cliff that is a popular suicide point? Evidently the Gerard family, who felt the location had more beauty and peacefulness to offset the sordid history of the place.

Eventually Gabe Gerard becomes known for his ability to save individuals from jumping to their death and he is written about in the local paper. But one day, a woman comes to the cliff and Gabe fails to keep her from falling to her death.

The woman was not just any woman. She was someone with a connection to the Gerard family. I loved the point of view the dead woman gives to the story. Each of the characters has something to hide and as the story progresses readers see what a tangled web they have made together.

I was hooked from the start and the story moved at a brisk pace. The ending was one I could not have predicted. Loved it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. I’m happy to recommend this and give my honest review.

Like other of Sally Hepworth’s books, this is not as much of a thriller as it appears, but has some elements of suspense. There is a lot more to it than a typical thriller, and I really enjoyed it!
*
Synopsis: Gabe and Pippa live with their two kids in their dream house on a cliff in a seaside town, until one day a woman shows up and despite Gabe’s efforts to save her, she jumps off the cliff, committing suicide. Except Pippa thinks she saw something else.
*
More than anything else, this was a treatise into the importance of mental health, of all kinds - suicidal thoughts obviously, but also bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, psychosis, and so on. There’s a lot of positive messages that I found really powerful, how it all came together.
*
As far as the suspense, it did require some suspense of disbelief, but I really liked it! I really liked the alternating POVs, the alternating timelines, and I even really liked the POV (after she died) of the woman who jumped, which I did not expect. And when you finally find out the reason for the title, it’s so touching.
*
Definitely recommend!

4/5⭐️

Solid thriller/mystery. I enjoyed the coastal Australian setting and liked the two POVs with two separate timelines. This coupled with short chapters really made the story move along nicely. I am also a big fan of family dynamics and drama in thriller and really enjoyed how this one didn’t play into the hysterical/crazy woman plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

This story is as it’s core about two women in different types of marriages. One ends up dead and there are alternating POVs and timelines. I really liked the POV of the character who died in the beginning and how she slowly shed light on everything that happened. That being said, this felt like it dragged a bit at times. While the author explicitly stated a character didn’t do things because of their mental illness, it certainly felt that way at times. A good book and an easy beach read

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book and the storyline was incredibly original! It’s about a family that lives in a house near a cliff that is notorious for people committing suicide. I don’t want to give to much away because there are lots of twists that will make your head spin and I’d hate to spoil the fun for future readers! If you like psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators, be sure to check this book out!

3 stars

I have read a few Sally Hepworth books now and this one was just ok. It was an ok domestic story for me. It follows a husband and wife and their two children who live in a house on a cliff that is a prime suicide location. Gabe has made it his mission to try to talk people out of committing suicide until there is one woman who happens to be his former boss's wife and to Gabe's wife Pippa it looks like he pushed her off the cliff.

I found both Gabe and Pippa to be unlikable for different reasons, Gabe because he just wasn't a good guy, and Pippa because she needed to gain a little bit of a backbone.

I didn't like the mental health portrayal in this book as if having a mental issue makes you completely unhinged or something it is such a nasty narrative and really needs to stop being used as a plot device, This book was just very middle of the road for me and

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wouldn't expect any less from Sally Hepworth than a twisty, turny, edge-of-my-seat book and I was not disappointed.

The character development was well done showing growth in some of the characters and how they dealt with challenges. There were a number of surprise developments along the way and the book was neatly wrapped up by the end.

This author is definitely at the top of favorites' list.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Happy Pub Week to The Soulmate! Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an ARC

We follow Gabe and Pippa’s marriage- they have a dream house in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house has a popular spot for people to end their lives. Gabe always come to the rescue and has saved countless lives, until he doesn’t. We follow this story through Pippa’s POV. We get to read from a secondary POV as well which I think adds amazing context to the story.

I absolutely enjoyed this reading! Not a 5 star but very close to it. There were some parts that were a bit too unbelievable for me BUT still such an enjoyable read. Short chapters, who can complain? The twist near the end, actually surprised me! And the ending- didn’t see that one coming. I think I might have shed a tear. Sally Hepworth didn’t disappoint.

This book was amazing, I loved all the twists and turns! I feel like she did a good job with the mental illness aspect of this book without using it as a crutch. Sally Hepworth is now one of my favorite authors and I will always read her books! Off to add the rest of her backlog of books to my expanding TBR!

4 stars!

"The Soulmate" by Sally Hepworth is an awesome mystery/thriller that's sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Things are not as they appear as the past mixes with the present to tell the interwoven stories of two couples, Gabe and Pippa, and Max and Amanda. From the very first chapter, the stage is set with a terrific atmosphere, intriguing but shady characters, and a premise that promises more to come with the turn of each page. I could not put this novel down! There are so many twists and turns that I just *had to* keep reading. This is a fast-paced, engrossing read that will leave you unable to stop until all of its secrets have been revealed. The family drama intermingles with mystery and suspense to create one heck of a tale. I was not let down in the slightest. I am putting all of Sally Hepworth's novels on my TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

THE SOULMATE
Sally Hepworth, Author Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: April 4, 2023
https://bit.ly/40BMFAv

When it comes to light that Gabe and Pippa’s dream home is famous for being the place where people wishing to commit suicide by jumping, things take a turn for the worse. Especially when Gabe is unable to save the last person who comes to the spot.

This was a book that I could not stop reading once I started it. It shows suicide from all perspectives and examines mental illness and the process for making a diagnosis and treatment plan. It kept me guessing until the very end which always makes it a 5 out of 5 stars read for me.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth is a suspense thriller of marriage, betrayal and secrets. There’s a cliff known as the Drop which has become a popular suicide spot. There’s a cottage that sits on that cliff. It’s the home of Gabe and Pippa Gerard. As people come to the cliff with the intent to end their lives, Gabe comes to the rescue to talk them back. Until one night, he doesn’t. Questions begin to swirl in Pippa’s head as to what happened, what did she see and is there more to Gabe’s story than he’s telling. But would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate, lie? As the investigation into the victim’s death begins, Pippa begins to see cracks in their perfect façade and Gabe begins to act more and more erratically. What will Pippa do when she discovers that Gabe is hiding deeper and darker secrets?
Sally Hepworth has a reputation for suspense thrillers. So when I got the opportunity to read her newest book, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this story. With short, quick 87 chapters, the story was choppy and disjointed. Switching between Pippa and the victim, and past and present, the story didn’t give enough time to truly get invested. I didn’t like Pippa or Gabe or their perfect façade. At one point, Pippa discovers Gabe’s indiscretion and she accepts it? Really? Just like that? “Ok, I forgive you.” Some women may eventually get there but for Pippa, it was almost instantaneously. I also didn’t enjoy how long it took to identify who was who in the story. I had to guess who was a daughter, a sister, etc. Overall, I did not enjoy The Soulmate. However, I will give Ms. Hepworth’s previous works a chance.

The Soulmate is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook