The Younger Wife

by Sally Hepworth

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250229618
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	8,357
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Sally Hepworth has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada. She is the author of The Secrets of Midwives, The Things We Keep, The Mother's Promise, The Family Next Door and The Mother-in-Law. Sally now lives in Melbourne with her husband, three children, and one adorable dog.

Editorial Reviews

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.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 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

Library Journal

CNN.com's May Most Anticipated list

"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

From the Publisher