Ratings18
Average rating4
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 Author 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? 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. Sally Hepworth delivers with this stay-up-late one-more-chapter gem."--Jane Harper, New York Times Bestselling Author "A warped tale [that] boasts Jane Harper’s multilayered characters and Liane Moriarty’s wealthy suburban world saturated with lies and deceit. With each domestic thriller, best-selling Hepworth shines brighter and draws in more readers."--Booklist
Reviews with the most likes.
My, My, My this was a GOOD read.
Characters with depth and messy backstories, questions all over the place about what did or didn't happen. I particularly liked the format- 3 POVs-mostly - and the crime happens on the first few pages then the story works backward.
”It was a long time ago.”“And yet I imagine it's not the kind of thing that ever really leaves you?”
This was the first Sally Hepworth book that I read and I can honestly say I absolutely loved this. Every single second of it.
The fact that it was set in Australia and written by a fellow Australian too just made it even better for me.
There were so many twists and turns in this book that was easy to struggle with who to trust which is what I love in books, especially ones like this.
Each character had their own struggles and secrets from the past or from the present. I felt like I was going on a journey along with the characters as they figured it out themselves.
I will definitely revisit this in the future.
What Is Reality? This is a phenomenal book that really brings forth the question: What is reality? In situations where you observe one thing but someone you trust says a completely different thing occurred - who can you trust and why? And what can happen if you trust the wrong person and/ or for the wrong reason? To me, this book worked quite well on all of these fronts.
Reading the other Goodreads reviews (briefly), it seems that there were massive edits in the ARC process. I can't speak to that. I can tell you that I originally downloaded the book way back in August 2021 - and only finished reading it nearly a full week after publication. (Such is the sheer volume of such reading I do.) I don't know if the back parts of the story - where apparently the subsequent editing was heaviest - were the edited versions or the original versions. What I can speak to is that I thoroughly enjoyed whichever edition of the story I read, and I thought this version did in fact work very well indeed.
But read the other reviews too. Read the book. And decide for yourself.
Very much recommended.
I gave this book 5 stars for the sheer readability factor.
One of those easy-reading page-turners you don't want to put down and I read it in a day.
The plot twists are fairly easy to pick and there are trigger subjects throughout, but watching the lives of Pam, Tully, Rachel, the younger wife Heather and Stephen unfold is like watching a juicy soap opera.
You want to discover how it all ends.