Really enjoyed this book from start to finish, it thrilled me, it had extremely believable characters. Would recommend it to anybody.

4.25⭐️
The author’s previous book was in my books of the year for 2021, so I have been waiting with baited breath to read this domestic drama (with a touch of suspense).

The story begins at a church full of guests for the marriage of
Stephen Tully who is in his early 60’s to Heather a much younger woman. He has 2 adult daughters Tully and Rachel who are bridesmaids. There’s a significant event which is a big hook at the start.
Interesting to see that Covid is acknowledged but not incorporated.

We are returned to a year earlier, then alternating time frames with the wedding, with the story told from 4 points of view Heather, Tully,Rachel and one unidentified narrator at the wedding (who I identified early on but not how they fitted the story)

The writing style is charming, engaging and witty lulling the reader into a sense of a feel good read coming up. On the surface they are a posh family and everyone is successful. Looking beyond that veneer they are dysfunctional.

The characters are quirky and very engaging. They are so well written, it’s a very character driven story which manages to keep a decent pace, it lagged a little for me towards the end, but picked up for the final reveal. Each of them has their own different ‘issue’. These are interesting as they are revealed to the reader. My favourite characters are Tully ( for her quirky mannerisms) and Darcy (for being so understanding and caring, although perhaps a little too perfect).

I don’t think that the rest of the book lives up to the suspense created by the opening scene. It’s fairly pedestrian, albeit engaging and an easy enjoyable read. There’s no real tension on the lead up to the final reveal. It has throughout left me constantly asking questions, and leaving me with my own suspicions so I was well engaged with the book. I enjoyed discussing aspects with a book friend.

Favourite quote ‘she’d taken the dog for a walk using an old scarf because she couldn’t find the leash (only to realise later that they didn’t have a dog; it belonged to the neighbor)

I thoroughly enjoyed it, there were a few behaviour patterns which felt that the author glossed over that the other characters should have picked up on. I think this might be a marmite book as it is dependant on you engaging with the characters and the family drama. If you want a plot heavy, twisty thriller this isn’t for you. I think it would suit Liane Moriarity fans.

How do you follow up The Good Sister? A book was on my best of last year list, and on many other reviewers' lists. The Younger Wife has been one of my most anticipated reads since I heard about it.

Tully and Rachel are sisters in their thirties, the dad Stephen is a respected Doctor, their mum Pam is in a care home with advanced dementia.

Meet Heather, Stephen's new girlfriend, soon to be the younger wife, but this isn't like any domestic-noir you've read before. We learn at the start that something gravely serious and shocking will happen at the wedding, and the tension builds throughout the novel to the big reveal.

Chapters are told from the perspectives of Tully, Rachel and Heather, each has a story, a past and secrets. Once again Sally Hepworth brings characters with unique character quirks and personalities that I've not read about before.

The sharp character writing and wry humour sparkles and it is just a delight to read cover to cover.

Did I love it as much as The Good Sister? Not quite, but this is still a hugely entertaining novel, full of character and definitely recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton

I thought this was the first book I'd read by Sally Hepworth, but when I checked back I did read another quite some time back, which I really enjoyed. The Younger Wife was way better than I'd expected from the slightly clumsy-feeling title and description. (I'd expected standard domestic thriller - you know, the ones that always seem to have a family member in the title.) Instead, this reminded me quite a lot of Liane Moriarty, which is of course a good thing.

Stephen, a surgeon, has announced his intention to marry much younger interior designer Heather, even though he's already married to Pam, who is in a care home with early onset dementia. It's hard to imagine who would present this development to his unsuspecting adult daughters as unalloyed Good News, but this, nevertheless, is what he does.

Three interlinked strands follow Heather and Stephen's daughters Tully and Rachel in the run-up to the wedding. All have their own issues, and all made compelling reading; I particularly enjoyed Rachel's story.

Having read some other reviews, I'm surprised at how many people expressed that they were disappointed in the ending, finding it too ambiguous. I didn't find it particularly ambiguous - not that I mind a bit of ambiguity - and I'm not sure the author intended it to be. There was certainly, for me, sufficient evidence to draw a conclusion, and I didn't find the ending to be at all unsatisfying. (But maybe I missed the point. That's always possible.)

Anyway, it was a highly enjoyable read - many thanks to the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This book was written for me.
Masala ✔️
Badass single woman ✔️
Complaints about being close to 30+ ✔️
Murder✔️
Mystery✔️
Fictional rich people doing rich things ✔️
Snarky commentary✔️
This book is chick lit minus the annoying sentimentality. It's like gossiping with your girls.
When one character's POV is on display, you don't learn their quirks till the next character starts their POV. Each chapter unravels more of the characters. They turn out to be subversive.
Beautiful Rachel is actually sweet but traumatized. Neurotic Tully is loving but frazzled. Heather is not the scheming gold digger after all. Stephen is at first the vulnerable man taken for a ride. And later, the manipulative predator. Exactly how it all unfolds is what reading the book is for.
I devoured it in 3-4 hours flat. The book was very different by the second half, the masala to be replaced by something more sombre as each character's mental state comes to light.
The ending while not ambiguous is not clean either. We don't have a 'confession', just a bunch of events that add up to the conclusion. I'm also not happy to see that Rachel wasn't single just because...she was. There has to be a deep reason? But that does seem to be the case in my own anecdotal experience.
One more good book for when you want some light reading that's not trashy at all.

Really enjoyable read, I will be seeking out more of Sally Hepworth’s writing after this, it keeps you guessing and wanting to know just exactly who is the protagonist

Sally Hepworth has done it again. This is a gripping domestic mystery. It had me turning the pages to find out who within the family could be causing the problems.