The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
New from the author of The Good Sister, the breakout New York Times bestseller and "stunningly clever thriller" (People), comes Sally Hepworth's latest novel of domestic suspense about the tangled vines of family secrets."Smart, suspenseful, brimming with secrets. This is Sally Hepworth at her unputdownable best."-Kate Morton, New York Times Bestselling AuthorTHE HUSBANDA heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.THE DAUGHTERSTully and Rachel Aston look upon their father's fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she's after their father's money. THE FORMER WIFE With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is. THE YOUNGER WIFE Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses in all of them? More Praise for The Younger Wife-" An appealing domestic suspense novel from bestseller Hepworth with a fast-moving plot. This often funny and affecting outing should win Hepworth new fans."-Publishers Weekly "Completely compulsive.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Product dimension- 5.3" W x 8" H x 1.1" D
- Genre- Mystery & Thriller
- Publisher- St. Martin's Publishing Group, Publication date- 02-14-2023
- Page count- 368
- ISBN- 9781250229687
Web ID: 16835944
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A Slow Burn
My husband gave me Sally Hepworth's THE YOUNGER WIFE for a present. I had never heard of the author Sally Hepworth, but reading the blurb, I was curious to get into this novel. The story is about a doctor with two adult daughters and an ex-wife suffering from dementia, who gets engaged to a woman who is much younger than him...and his daughters. Once the young fiancee is introduced to the family, secrets from the family, including the ex-wife with dementia, start to surface. The read starts slow. Hepworth definitely want readers to have a great understanding of the entire family. The start of the book starts with a bang, literally, at father and younger wife's wedding of all places. The explosive opening kept me curious to find out how this family got to that point and what happened afterward. Heather is the younger wife. Her past with her parents' toxic issues have tainted her present relationship. Tully, one of the doctor's daughters, is struggling with a real problem she has kept from her family and her husband, who has managed to put the family in a very tricky predicament. Rachel is the other daughter, who runs her own at-home bakery business, providing cakes and sweet treats to customers. She, too, has been holding in a deep, dark secret that has affected her relationships, both with her family and any potential romantic relationships. The three main female leads are fully fleshed out. Even Pamela, the ex-wife suffering from dementia, has depth to her character. She leaves behind a curious clue that has everyone questioning everyone, especially the doctor. After the initial jarring opening, the story starts a bit slow. After readers get a glimpse of each characters' flaws, the story starts to get more interesting to the point I found it hard to put the book down. I found a couple of editing errors that didn't take away from enjoying the story. The male characters in the book, including the doctor, come across as stereotypical, almost flat. That said, the book is called THE YOUNGER WIFE. It should center on her. To that end, the author was successful. There is a trust issue that permeates the novel. Not only are the characters wondering if they can trust each other, as a reader, I found myself wondering if I could trust these characters' judgement. By the end of the story, I was not sure if what had happened should have. Maybe that was what the author intended. Keep the readers guessing. Nothing is black and white. If you don't mind the gray, you will enjoy this novel. #CillasBookManiacs
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Secrets...Lies...And Deception...OH MY!!
Secrets...lies...and deception...OH MY! This book was AMAZING!!! Just when you think the book is going one way, Hepworth wacks you with a curve ball and takes you in a completely different direction! Not all authors can master this, but Sally Hepworth, obviously has mastered the art of writing psychological suspense! This is a book where nothing is as it seems! The characters are rich and in depth, the story is masterful and full of surprises, and to be quite honest, there's not much I can find at fault with this book (if anything!) The pace moves at an excellent pace, which keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end! This book will leaving you questioning if you really do know those who you think are closest to you! The Younger Wife is narrated by a stellar cast consisting of Barrie KReinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry and Zoe Carides! I absolutely LOVE when a book has multiple narrators because it seems to help keep the story straight as your listening, and helps you easily distinguish between the characters! Top notch narrations with this one! Overall, Sally Hepworth knocked it out of the park with this book and it leaves me with a need to devour all things Sally Hepworth! Do yourself a favor and curl up with this one now! I would like to thank Sally Hepworth, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Younger Wife which allowed me to contribute this honest, and unbiased review!!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
confusing conclusion
I have been reading Advanced Reader Copies for years so I am prepared for some alterations prior to it being in its published form. I will often listen to the audio version when published to compare with usually only minor changes to people's names for example, addition or subtraction of sentences. This book had a very different ending from ARC copy and what went to print. This book was also first published in Australia and I understand that it also underwent the same transformations. To avoid spoilers I will just comment that verbal and physical abuse are addressed in this novel and the changes relate to how the story is resolved, if there is one. It is narrated from different POV with addresses the women involved with Stephen Ashton, a heart surgeon, who is looking to remarry yet again at age 60 to Heather Wisher, a much younger woman at 34 years old who was hired as their interior designer. Meanwhile, Stephen is getting a divorce from Pamela whose health is declining due to Alzheimer's disease. It is difficult to write a spoiler free review given that both versions I've read lead down a confusing path. One version aimed to address some unresolved questions that weren't clear in the other version. It really felt like two different books in the end for me. Basically, all the women in the novel have encountered some sort of abuse whether revealed and discussed or ignored. There is a final twist in the end with the epilogue which occurs 3 years prior to the story which I don't think clarified the plot for me in anyway.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Edge Of Your Seat Read!
This was a really fast paced page turner. I read this in one day Interesting and different dynamic of a younger woman marrying into a family where her stepdaughters will be a few years older, and the former wife is still the wife. This book not for the faint of heart as it contains topics of abuse, anxiety and kleptomania My second read by this Author and won't be my last
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Highly Recommend!
Secrets And Lies, Oh My!, in the Domestic Thriller, THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth—with an ending I did not anticipate—Highly Recommend! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an eBook of THE YOUNGER WIFE at the request of an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
This was OK
It has been a while since I have read a book from this author and this is one I have had on my shelf for a while now. The book starts out at the wedding and goes back in time and ties in the backstory of some of the characters in a way to explain the way they are now. I did not really care for any of the characters and would have liked to see someone that I could at care about here. The wife was left very flat when all of a sudden she had a tragic past and that Stephen knew about it. This was completely off and made no sense to the plot. This book started out very compelling and really kept me guessing, however I felt that the ending was just left hanging. This author can write, however this one was just not fleshed out like my past read from her. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
domestic suspense
sadly, I did not like this and should have dnf'd but I managed to push through. I read 60% of my netgalley arc but saw that the published edition has a different ending... so I switched to that version for the rest of the book [and read the ending of the arc version to compare. I actually prefer the arc ending lmao] I wasn't a fan of the format where the prologue was in the present but the rest of the book is the year before leading to the present. I also didn't understand how Tulley's storyline correlated to the overall plot. I felt like if she was taken out completely, it wouldn't have affected the story. Ultimately, by the story I had no positive feelings, if anything I was mad that I finished it. | trigger warnings - dementia, rape, anxiety, childhood trauma, domestic violence, miscarriage, death of a parent |
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Younger Wife
Tully and Rachel are sisters who have a mom with dementia, and a father with a young fiancee. The catch is, mom and dad are still married, and dad proceeds to divorce his nursing home-bound wife. Tully has other headaches besides this: her husband has invested in sliding enterprise, and her younger son Miles seems very troubled. Sister Rachel uses food as a shield against a past trauma. Author Sally Hepworth has given us another complex, interesting set of characters, and their actions and reactions lead to a surprising ending.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com