The Younger Wife

Not a Novel, but a Gaslighting Machine
Review of the ARC paperback of the expected St. Martins Press hardcover (April 2022) of the original Macmillan Australia paperback "The Younger Wife" (October 2021)

I don't usually chase ARCs but the polarized reviews on this domestic suspense drama out of Australia had me intrigued and I managed to snap up an ARC paperback from an online site in order to satisfy my curiousity.

The top reviews on Goodreads rate this from a 1 star to 4 stars, but even the 1 star review describes it as being a 4 for most of the way through. I'm going to compromise with a 3 star and an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™ .

I can certainly see the reasons for the 4 to 5 star reviews, as the author builds effective suspense show more from the get-go with an incident of either injury or death at a wedding (at first we don't know which). Most of the rest of the book gives us flashbacks from before the wedding, with occasional interjections back to the event and what follows it. The concluding chapters give us the aftermath.

We hear the story from four voices. These are the grown daughters Rachel and Tully of a prominent surgeon, his younger wife-to-be Heather of the title, and an initially disguised 4th voice from someone who is an observer at the wedding ceremony. The flashbacks tell us what has led up to the wedding and what has happened to a not-so-younger wife.

The flashbacks continue to build the suspense constantly, but they also continually create room for doubt and this can't be an unintentional accident on the of the author, as it is repeated constantly. It is somewhat like David Mamet's Oleanna (1993), a theatrical play where you can be sure to have a lively debate with others about what really occurred, after you've seen or read it.

The degree to which this gaslighting by the author angers you or intrigues you will determine how you rate the experience. show less

"The Younger Wife," by Sally Hepworth, is set in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Stephen Aston is a handsome and respected cardiac surgeon in his sixties. His wife, Pamela, is in a nursing home, suffering from dementia. Before Pam's condition deteriorated, Pam and Stephen had hired Heather Wisher, an interior designer, to redecorate their home. Now, much to everyone's surprise, Stephen is planning to marry thirty-four-year-old Heather, who is even younger than Stephen's daughters, Rachel and Natalie (Tully).

Although this novel has humorous passages, it is by no means lighthearted. Rachel has kept a dark secret from her family since she was an adolescent; Tully is an emotional wreck who engages in self-destructive behavior; Heather had a show more traumatic childhood that she has tried, in vain, to forget. The most troubling aspect of "The Younger Wife," however, centers on Stephen's temperament. There are hints that he may not be as decent and honorable as he seems.

Hepworth effectively uses such familiar devices as alternating viewpoints and flashbacks to give us a well-rounded picture of her dysfunctional characters. The author's lively dialogue and intriguing plot hold our interest, but certain aspects of the story do not ring true. For example, Hepworth pairs Rachel up with a one-dimensional hunk who is incredibly compassionate and understanding. Furthermore, Tully has a serious psychological condition that Hepworth deals with superficially and unconvincingly. Finally, the author stuns us with an ambiguous ending that—whether intentionally or not—suggests that females who complain about domestic abuse may be hysterical and/or delusional. show less

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is another strong offering from her in the domestic psychological suspense area.

The novel draws the reader in immediately and the writing is such that we feel pulled along as we go through the story. The characters, while not always likeable always seem to exhibit some quality we can relate to, even if to an extreme. As the story winds along we get some complete surprises, some things we anticipated, and then those things we thought would happen but don't. In other words just enough uncertainty to keep us guessing and wondering.

I had a friend comment that so much fiction today relies on dysfunctional families. I don't think I disagree with her but I think if we look at many classics of literature show more dysfunction is a key element. After all, that is usually where the events that move the story along come from. Just like complaints about unlikely events in thrillers, without those events we would simply have a slice of life book about a functional rational family. That would both be unrealistic as well as a boring read. Fiction largely depends on dysfunction, unlikely coincidence, and questionable decisions. So I am okay with it.

The ending here is what will likely make some readers question whether they really like the book or feel disappointed. I am still working out how I feel but am definitely on the side of appreciating it. Ambiguity is both difficult to pull off and what makes an ending most like real life. On any given day most of us can question "where are we and what is going to happen next?" I am just one of those readers who need to sit with an ending like this for a while, let my imagination have at it, before I decide how much I like it.

I would recommend this to readers of psychological suspense (less of a thriller) who don't mind everything not being tied up neatly into a pretty bow at the end. Others will likely enjoy the book and just feel conflicted about the end, the writing is that good.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is a very highly recommended novel of domestic suspense set in Melbourne, Australia.

Tully (Natalie) and Rachel are already concerned as they cope with their mother Pamela Aston's deterioration with early-onset Alzheimer’s and her move into a nursing home. When their father Stephen, a heart surgeon, announces that he is going to marry again to a much younger woman, Heather, after divorcing their mother, his daughters are aghast. Clearly she must be after his money. Tully and Rachel have several concerns, including the fact that Pam occasionally talks about how life with Stephen was awful, maybe even implying it was violent. The sisters both have several other personal issues they are grappling with as show more well. Heather is also beginning to doubt the wisdom of wedding plans with Stephen.

Opening with the wedding between Heather and Stephan where someone is gravely injured out of the sight of observers, the tension and questions immediately multiply right at the start. The narrative then jumps back in time and covers the events leading up to the fateful wedding. Information is provided through the point-of-view of Tully, Rachel, and Heather. All of these women have secrets they are hiding and are dealing with their own issues. These characters are all depicted as real people, with talents, fears, failings, secrets, and issues galore.

This novel is full of secrets, lies and deceit as the characters question the truthfulness of others and confront their own issues. Readers can carefully follow clues and carefully take note of what is real and what is implied in order to piece together what is truly happening. Hepworth does an exceptional job creating tension while telling this story. The pages will fly by while the drama increases and you know from the opening, that something bad is coming up quickly. Once you get there, all bets are off.

The writing is exceptional, the suspense is palpable, and I rushed to finish reading The Younger Wife. The ending has sparked some emotional reactions for some readers, but while it was unexpected, I really appreciated Hepworth's writing even more after it was done. 4.5 rounded up
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Macmillan Publishers via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/03/the-younger-wife.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4629307118 show less

Please note that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Trigger warning: Rape, physical abuse

This was really good. Hepworth has hit her stride on thrillers set in Australia. She sets this one post COVID which I thought was interesting and loved some of the details she sprinkles throughout it to show how things have changed. I do want to say though that I am still flummoxed at the ending. Hepworth messes with you enough in this one to have you wondering what is real? I think I know what is real, but then you get to mini denouements and you are left messed up. Was Stephen Aston a bad man or was he a good man?

"The Younger Wife" follows three women (really 5) in Stephen Aston's life. Stephen is about to be show more remarried (to a younger wife) named Heather. The beginning starts with their wedding and after the ceremony, something happens. We don't know what, but the unnamed narrator (for a time) wonders who did something and could it be that Stephen or his young bride is hurt. Then we hurtle back almost a year to follow Stephen as he introduces his two daughters (Tully and Rachel) to Heather. We quickly find out that the girls' mother and Stephen's wife, Pam has Alzheimer's and both girls in different ways are dismayed at their father moving on from their mother to a new life with Heather. The book follows Tully, Rachel, and Heather as each woman has their own demons to contend with along with wondering about Stephen and is the image that he has long portrayed the real one or is he really another man underneath.

I loved all of the characters. Tully is a mess, but I understood her a lot. Her anxiety and how it manifested made her very real. I wonder if COVID made this character a bit worse or not. Hepworth brings up COVID and I am trying to recall if Tully said anything beyond how now no one likes to touch hands and everyone waves. Tully loves her husband, her two sons, and does not have sibling rivalry going on with Rachel which was great to see. If anything we get to see those two characters grow closer throughout the book and really gain an understanding of each other.

I could have read a whole book about Rachel and then Darcy. Sigh. Her storyline was a hard/tough one and I do wonder about the pivotal event in her life if her father guessed or not. It's one of the lingering questions I had.

Heather and her backstory was also tough to read. But you are left wondering what is real and not real with her and her interactions with Stephen. Which was very well done of Hepworth. I am still confused!

The book's dialogue and flow works great. In between chapters of the three women we get the unnamed narrator for a bit here and there until they suddenly are known to readers and to the women in the story.

The ending was a one big what is real and did this happen or not. And then you get a clue somewhat, but it is still left open for interpretation. I don't know guys. This was a great mystery and I loved how it made me think. show less

Each member of this dysfunctional family appear fairly normal at first glance but soon make their true colours known. Many of the details are unconvincing making the entire story hard to swallow. I chose this book because I enjoyed Hepworth’s The Good Sister, however, this one is very different as it is dark, humourless, with nothing to lighten the tone. I have heard negative comments about the ending, and have to say I didn’t hate it. But I’m still calling this one a miss.

There’s a lot to unpack here friends. A. LOT. I binge read The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth in one sitting into the hour not quite night but not quite morning. Time your reading start carefully, you will not put this down. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around what happened.
In post Covid Australia a seemingly idyllic family is anything but when you get past the money, manners, misdirection, and malfunctioning relationships. Patriarch Stephen is a respected doctor, father of two grown daughters who revere him, doting grandfather, whose wife is suffering from dementia. Stephen announced his engagement to girlfriend, Heather, at a meet and greet lunch with daughters, Rachel and Tully. Torn between loyalty to their mother and show more wanting to please their father the sisters are further conflicted by unnamed and unresolved childhood traumas. As they bond with Heather a question arises about Stephen, one that not only jeopardizes the upcoming wedding but the entire foundation of their family.
This is my first book by Sally Hepworth so I had no idea what to expect. It is a carefully woven psychological suspense with several threads going in different directions. We don’t know what’s going to connect where, how important something is going to be, if another thread is going to be introduced and woven in to fill in a gap and tying together seemingly unrelated areas until you give it a little tug at the end. Usually an ambiguous ending bothers me, and this did at first, less so now. I’m inclined to go back and revisit parts to see if I can connect more, always an excellent sign.
I recommend for readers and bookclubs who enjoy psychological suspense, also for buddy reads. There’s so much to discuss in this one.

*TW: This is a book best gone in cold but if you have sensitivity to content navigating sexual assault, miscarriage, or physical and psychological abuse then due diligence is suggested.*

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the gifted copy. show less