The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"I always cry at weddings.  Nothing original there,  I know - except, perhaps the reason.  I cry because I am sad.  Sad for me, sad for bride, sad for the institution of marriage.  Sad enough that it makes me cry.  I'm especially sad at this wedding." (p 1)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

 

April 2022; St. Martin's Press; 978-1250229618
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); domestic thriller

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors. All of her books have been fantastic but this new book is the best of them all for me. This book has suspense, family, love, and forgiveness and is a real page-turner with characters that I won't soon forget.

The Younger Wife begins at a wedding by an unknown narrator. It's a great beginning and sets the stage for the rest of the book. The story is told by three different women in alternating chapters that both give us their family history and current information in their lives.

The main characters:

• Tully and Rachel are sisters. They are close but still have secrets that they keep from each other. Tully is married with two children and she is a kleptomaniac - Stealing things not because she couldn't afford them but because it made her feel better. Rachel is a baker who is proud of the cakes she makes and decorates but she has a secret from her past that has kept her from trusting men.
• Heather is the woman that Stephen plans to marry. She is the same age as his daughters and is trying to be accepted by them. She frequently drinks too much but is sure that Stephen will protect her and they will live happily ever after. The daughters are convinced that she is a gold-digger by wanting to marry a man who is so much older.
• Stephen is a well-respected doctor and father to Tully and Rachel. His current wife has Alzheimer's and is being cared for in a nursing home when he decides to divorce her so that he can get married again.

The three females who tell this story are keeping major secrets from each other -even Stephen has some secrets. When Rachel finds a hot water bottle filled with money in her mother's possessions, she and Tully start trying to find out the family secrets even though it may change their lives.

This book has it all - love, family, suspense, and forgiveness. It's a book that you won't want to put down. The writing is wonderful and the story will introduce you to characters that you won't be able to forget. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

Buy The Younger Wife at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook.

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