📚 Book Review 📚
Title: The Soulmate
Author: @sallyhepworth
Genre: Suspense / Thriller / Mystery
Date published: April 4, 2023
Primary Setting: Australia 🇦🇺

A huge thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

📚Synopsis:
When a woman falls to her death from the cliff right outside Gabe and Pippa’s family home, Pippa desperately hopes they have nothing to do with the tragedy, but the evidence is slowly pointing towards the opposite. Pippa and Gabe try to keep their life on track and their family safe, but as more secrets and truths are revealed, the more their lives seem to be spiralling out of their control.

✍️ My review:
I really enjoyed this suspenseful story with interesting characters, multiple POVs, and unexpected twists. The idea that someone would choose to live next to a cliff where people have been known to commit suicide is beyond me (cliffs are a bit of a phobia for me), but it worked so well for this story. The author included some big mental health themes and I felt she presented a respectful and diverse take on them, but there could definitely be triggering content for some readers (see below). Definitely adding Sally Hepworth to my list of auto-buy authors.

⚠️ Trigger Warning: suicide & struggles with mental health

💕You might like this book if:
🔹you like suspense / mystery books that slowly reveal the clues through back-stories
🔹 you like stories to include diverse and atypical characters
🔹 you like characters who are desperately trying to make their lives work

TW: Suicide, infidelity, mental health

Gabe and Pippa’s dream home lies in a small town close to a cliff that is a notorious location for where people come to end their lives. Since moving there, Gabe has been able to talk down each person that has approached the cliff in an attempt to jump off. Until one, day he isn’t. A woman approaches the cliff and as Gabe goes out to try and help her, she ends up dead. Pippa’s world begins to spiral when she realizes that Gabe knew the woman and has not been completely honest with the police in his account of what happened. Did she jump? Was she pushed? Pippa is haunted by these questions and more as secrets come out revealing the cracks in here seemingly perfect marriage.

•

This was one TWISTY read! The story felt like one massive knot that you slowly unravel till the end, it was easy to follow and kept me on edge. The story is told in two POV’s, Pippa’s in present and past and also the woman who died Amanda in both pre and post her death. It was interesting to read Amanda’s POV post death as she observes everything happening around her acknowledging that she knows she’s dead and slowly revealing everything that lead up to her death. I was more invested in Amanda’s story than Pippa, I honestly could care less for Pippa and Gabe their characters made me SO angry 😡 I really enjoyed the writing style of this one, I don’t want to reveal too much as I would say this is one best to jump in blind to and put the puzzle pieces together along the way. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title will be available for purchase on April 4th, 2023

This was a satisfying thriller/mystery about a woman who falls from cliff to her death. The author slowly uncovers how the woman was related to the family that saw her fall and the circumstances regarding her death. The pacing was perfect, it kept me turning the pages to find out more, but the truth wasn't revealed until the end and wasn't easy to guess.

SYNOPSIS:

About a year ago, Pippa, Gabe, and their daughters, Freya & Asha, moved into their dream home, a cliffside home in a coastal town a few hours outside of Melbourne. Pippa’s family, including her parents, her sister, & her sister’s wife, also moved to the coastal town to be near Pippa.

When Pippa‘a family moved, they didn’t know about “the Drop”, which is a spot where several people have had attempted suicide on cliffs near their home. In their year of living there, seven people have attempted suicide, and Gabe has saved them all.

One day, a woman, named Amanda, comes to “the Drop”, and Gabe goes out to assist. When the woman falls to her death, a mystery forms. Did she commit suicide? Why she pushes? What happened to her?

MY THOUGHTS
- I loved this book.
- This book is told from multiple POVs, including Pippa’s and Amanda’s.
- This was a page-turning, engaging read, and I found it hard to put down.
- I was very satisfied with the ending.
- The book explores lots of great themes: healthy relationships, toxic relationships, secrets, mental illness, support systems, foundations of marriage, etc.
- Hepworth does a good job in setting up slow reveals to the many twists and mysteries peppered throughout the story.
- Hepworth explores different stages of relationships, and those descriptions felt real to me. It was interesting to slowly take note of things as well.
- I loved the cover of the book, and I’m always excited when solid cover art matches up with a great book.
- I also thought Hepworth handled mental illness well in the book. Without giving away anything, I’ll just say I appreciate she didn’t demonize mental illness or use it as a convenient justification for actions.


TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Page-turning, engaging thriller with satisfying ending.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's due to be published on April 4, 2023.

Once again, the author has kept me guessing until the end. She tells this story layer by layer, drawing us in. Don’t try to guess how it is going to end, just enjoy.
This story is told in two different viewpoints, Pippa and Amanda. Their telling of the story is every other chapter. Where one leaves off, the other one continues in a different view.
I was thrilled to get this book. Loved it.

Short review:

Gabe and Pippa appear to have a perfect life. That is, until one day when someone jumps off the cliff that is by their house. Gabe was outside with the woman, and it appeared to be that he was helping her, but was there more to the story? Now as Pippa navigates the situation, all of their family secrets come to the surface. Who was the woman? Why did she jump? How does Gabe know her? The Soulmate proves there is more than meets the eye..

I enjoyed this book. I really thought the different perspectives was a cool way to tell the story. The whole time I was trying to figure out why it was called the soulmate, and I thought the reveal in the end was a great tie into the title. Overall, I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a thriller and family drama.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this work of art in exchange for an honest review.

read the whole thing via audio but never felt into it. brief synopsis: purportedly perfect couple saves people from suicide on a cliff. till maybe they’re not perfect, & maybe they don’t save people? content warnings for suicide and infidelity.

A very quick, easy to read thriller. Some great characters with serious flaws, enough emotion to keep you turning the page, and enough foreshadowing to wonder if something terrible would happen in the end - the stakes were high enough. This thriller in particular had a fairly benign ending where everything(?) sort of turns out ok for the family. With the two little girls, the sister, her wife, new baby, mom and dad, and even husband are all ok in the end, and I actually enjoyed it.

Sally Hepworth is the queen of twisty family drama! Her stories are layered and complicated and take me on such a ride every single time.

Gabe and Pippa seem to have it all. A beautiful family and home. Everything they have ever dreamed of. Then the unthinkable happens cliff side in their backyard when a stranger seems to jump. Is she a stranger though? Did she really jump?

This story is told from alternating voices and is like peeling an onion as they layers of the story are revealed. I loved the format, the different perspectives, and they way the entire story was carefully revealed.

I thought I had a handle on the entire story, and true to Sally’s style, the final twist took me by surprise. She has become a favorite author for me when I am looking for a twisty read that I will never quite figure out.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book. All views are my own opinion.

Told from the perspective of two women, one deceased, this is a hard to put down thriller with lots of unexpected twists .

Sally Hepworth is on my dependable writer list. She always manages to deliver a story that holds my interest. Even though I've had a digital advance copy of The Soulmate for awhile now, I purposely chose to wait until I was in the middle of a reading slump because I just knew she would pull me out of it. And guess what? I was right, as I really did enjoy this one.

If you are a fan of this author, stop reading my review right now and just pick up the book as odds are good you will like it as well. In my opinion The Soulmate is best described as fiction with some mystery, thriller, and suspense elements. A married couple, Gabe and Pippa, live in a home near a cliff. Some people come to this location with the intent of ending their lives. Gabe has developed a hero reputation in the community as since moving there he has been able to talk everyone off the ledge. Well, until now. A woman is dead and there are a lot of questions.

The premise is good and hooked me from the get go. I did develop a vague sense of where things were headed before the end but that's not a negative in my mind. While it's always fun to have jaw-dropping twists and turns, it's not a requirement for me. The overall story is what I'm here for and I was invested in it as well as the lead characters.

Nobody writes family, mayhem, and murder with the unique flare of Sally Hepworth! In the Soulmate, not only are we treated to a mystery with twists and turns and shocks at every corner, but we are also given an intimate look into two marriages that are complicated and messy. There is deception and infidelity, but there is also devotion and affection—and neither of the parties ever seemed to get it all right. So, hang on tight, and get ready for a great ride!

The most interesting things about this story were the surprises in the last 25%. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but the book was good. There's more than one perspective, and it goes back and forth from past and present, to slowly unravel what really happened and why. This is definitely one of those books where you don't know who to trust, and there was really no way to figure everything out until the end.

Told from alternating POV’s and also seesawing between past & present, The Soulmate touches on a multitude of thriller norms: shady business deals, adultery, lies, deceit, mental illness, tragedy, suspicious death...
For me, Hepworth’s latest novel was a smidge underwhelming. Like so many readers, I need & want to feel a connection with the MC’s, even if those connections are loathsome & unsavory. Doesn’t matter, I just need to feel something, anything! And unfortunately, I felt zip, zilch, nada. I had no true feelings/connections/concerns for/with/about any of these characters & I really, really tried😩
But despite my personal opinion, I'm certain that many people will love this book!
It was *okay* for me — it just simply didn’t blow my hair back..🥴
Thank you NetGalley, for this arc, in exchange for an honest review!

What a beautiful read! I adore Sally Hepworth's works. The first book I read of her was The Good Sister from Library choice reads and after that there was no turning back. The Soulmate was a great read which revolved around life of Pippa and Amanda and their soulmates! It was fast-paced and compulsively readable from start to end. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced reader copy!

Holy cannoli, what !?!??! I can't stop thinking about The Soulmate... This was just so freaking good!

Sally Hepworth is the absolute queen of domestic suspense, and her latest release was no different. The Soulmate not only has a stunning cover but also an extremely twisty and tense inside as well. There were so many twists and reveals packed into this one which took me by surprise in the very best way.

I'm pretty much convinced that short chapters should be a requirement for books that want to move at a quicker story pacing, and Hepworth executed that perfectly with this one. Some of the best parts for me were the quick chapters and frequently shifting POV's (Pippa and Amanda) and timelines (before Amandas death and after). Getting told the pieces of a story from different perspectives with timelines both leading up to an event and afterwards are some of my very favorite, and made this one a quick read for me in just a few sittings.

The Soulmate was definitely more of a character study and really dives deep into the intricacies of marriage and committed relationships, but worked super well for me. If you enjoyed any of this authors previous books, especially The Younger Wife, I recommend picking this one up!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St Martins Press for my early review copy!

Well this one came out of nowhere! I was no expecting to love it as much as I did! So well written and I truly couldn’t put it down- I finished in less than two days. The way the author layered on each piece of the story was truly genius!

Thank you, Sally Hepworth, @stmartinspress , and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

Kat and Gabe live in a cottage by the edge of a cliff. That cliff is known as The Drop because many people have been known to go there to jump to kill themselves. Except when Kat and Gabe moved in, Gabe had gone out to talk everyone out of jumping. Until one day, he was unable to stop a woman from jumping. But Kat keeps wondering if the woman really jumped or if Gabe pushed her.

The Soulmate is my first Sally Hepworth novel, and it is definitely not my last. This thriller is so full of secrets and twists that you'll be guessing until the very end. There were so many places that I was talking out loud to my kindle that my husband was looking at me like I was crazy. I couldn't help it. I was either pissed at the characters, yelling at the characters, saying, "Oh no," or making my opinion known. I don't think I've ever been so vocal reading a non-horror genre book before. In other words, it's good, you should read this one. You won't be disappointed.

You don't know how many times I see this series of books in groups abroad. Everyone is singing its praises!
Really exciting and very catchy. :D Not to mention incredibly clever. Very worth reading, exciting and engrossing.