Four troubled women are given outstanding portrayals in this audiobook. After he divorces his first wife, who has dementia, Dr. Stephen Aston’s impending wedding to the much younger Heather is upended by a shocking series of events. Narrator Barrie Kreinik highlights the bride-to-be’s alcoholic confusion and unwillingness to accept Stephen’s glib explanations for her bruises. Zoe Carides is soft-spoken and convincing as Stephen’s daughter, who is unable to deny memories that begin to make a terrible sense. Caroline Lee, portraying kleptomaniac daughter Tully, sounds sharp-edged with mounting hysteria. And Jessica Douglas-Henry maintains a cool distance as first wife Fiona vaguely remembers that Stephen “hurt” her. Are the women all accident-prone—or do their bruises reflect something more sinister? Despite the ambiguous ending, the performances are compelling. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
01/10/2022
In this appealing domestic suspense novel from bestseller Hepworth (The Good Sister), Pamela Aston’s two adult daughters, Tully and Rachel, are already reeling at the swiftness of the Melbourne, Australia, homemaker’s deterioration with early-onset Alzheimer’s when their cardiac surgeon father, Stephen, blindsides them with another bombshell—his plan to divorce Pam, who’s soon moved to a nursing home, and marry interior designer Heather Wisher, who’s younger than either sister. Further shocks await Rachel, a gorgeous plus-size baker who by her own account eats her feelings, as well as Tully, the always anxious mother of two little boys, as they try to figure out how seriously to take Pam’s occasional utterances suggesting that life with Stephen may have had a darker side. Meanwhile, the surprisingly sympathetic Heather starts to question her wedding plans—and possibly her sanity—now that she’s living with Stephen full-time. The toxic secrets each woman has been hiding, a surprise romance, and the small fortune Rachel discovers in her mother’s hot water bottle nicely complicate the fast-moving plot. This often funny and affecting outing should win Hepworth new fans. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (Apr.)
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"Smart, suspenseful, brimming with secrets. This is Sally Hepworth at her unputdownable best." —Kate Morton, New York Times Bestselling Author
"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
"[An] appealing domestic suspense novel from bestseller Hepworth [with a] fast-moving plot. This often funny and affecting outing should win Hepworth new fans." —Publisher's Weekly
"Hepworth — author of “The Good Sister” and “The Family Next Door — deftly weaves a detailed family story into a fast-paced thriller." —The Washington Post
"So dysfunctional are Hepworth’s characters that they make the Sopranos resemble the Waltons...A rollicking good read that values plot and characterization equally, The Younger Wife incisively explores the causes of psychological disturbances hidden by well constructed façades." — Free Lance-Star
06/01/2022
The Aston family is in serious need of therapy. Natalie is a kleptomaniac with high-anxiety issues. Her sister Rachael stress-eats, trying to cope with being raped as a teenager. Their mother, confined to a nursing home, suffers from dementia. Their father, Stephen, announces that he will soon marry, even though he is still married to their mother. When a hot water bottle stuffed with almost $100,000 turns up in their mother's belongings, accompanied by the name of an unknown woman, Rachael begins to ask questions. As the wedding day nears, Rachael finds and meets the mystery woman, her father's first wife. As events unfold, Stephen's real character is revealed, with deadly consequences. Best-selling suspense novelist Hepworth (The Good Sister) creates a family of damaged people whose issues seem to be invisible to their closest friends and family. Her quirky characters are lifelike and yet somewhat unconvincing. That the story unwinds into a happy ending for most of the characters is remarkable. Four narrators, Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides, read the twisting tale with skill and empathy. VERDICT Readers of family dysfunction fiction and Hepworth's many fans will enjoy. Expect high demand.—Joanna M. Burkhardt
★ 04/18/2022
Hepworth's latest novel (following The Good Sister) begins at the wedding of Stephen Aston, a respected heart surgeon in South Australia, and the much younger Heather Wisher. It seems perfect—surrounded by Stephen's daughters Rachel and Tully, family, friends, even his ex-wife, Pamela—until, just after the ceremony, there is a scream, a thud, and the celebrant emerges pale and bloody. A series of flashbacks from the points of view of Heather, Rachel, and Tully reveal shocking secrets that unravel the ersatz perfect family and threaten a carefully constructed façade that someone may be willing to do anything to protect. Hepworth weaves the struggles of dementia, sexual assault, anxiety, and domestic abuse into the lives of realistic, likable characters that readers will be rooting for. VERDICT As much a mystery as a character study of three young women coping with love, loss, and trauma while struggling with the discovery of being deceived by the one they count on most. This title will appeal to fans of Jamie Brenner, Jodi Picoult, and Celeste Ng.—George Lichman
