The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth #bookreview

Thank you  St. Martin’s Press/Netgalley #partner,  for the advanced copy of The Younger Wife in exchange for my honest review. 

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: April 5, 2022

Summary:

THE HUSBAND
A 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 DAUGHTERS
Tully 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?

My thoughts:

I have really come to enjoy Sally Hepworth’s books. She writes domestic suspense/family drama like no one else. Her books are always such readable, binge-worthy type reads and I find that once I start them, I have such a hard time putting them down and this one was no exception.

I loved the way this one was structured. The suspense of knowing that something happened at the wedding and you aren’t exactly sure what and who is involved and then how it goes back to fill in who the players are and leads up to the big day just keeps you on edge. The story is told from the alternating POV’s of all the women and we quickly come to find out that they are all dealing with their own issues, some of which they have kept hidden from the others for various reasons. I loved how the author is able to tease them out in such a way that feels nature to the storyline, even having them overlap in some cases. Nothing is done here in a vacuum and I have to say that while this is a primarily a mystery novel, I did love the tender moments that were woven in.

I found myself rooting for these characters in the worst way and to me, that’s always a sign of a good book. I love when I become emotionally invested. The ending definitely took me a bit by surprise and I know it has caused a bit of a stir but sometimes that happens – we don’t always all agree on how we think a book should end. This, I think, makes it the perfect bookclub book – there is so much to unpack within this book.