The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

 "Your opinion is your opinion, your perception is your perception--do not confuse them with facts or truth." (John Moore)

This domestic drama is a study of an unusual family whose patriarch is about to marry a much younger woman after his wife, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, is confined to a care home.

Stephen Aston is a heart surgeon, is in his early 60's, and has two daughters who are both older than his bride-to-be. He wants Tully and Rachel to be happy for him and Heather, but the whole situation is fraught with complications -- especially since Stephen has not divorced his mentally unstable wife, Pam. As all of them begin interacting and making discoveries about each other, long held secrets and issues start to bubble to the surface creating conflict and questions. Most of the concern is directed toward Stephen.

This novel was quite entertaining as the author creates the narrative from several different points of view and with a time shift that makes the reader start the guessing games. Just when you think you have it all figured out, there's a twisty surprise at the end that might leave some readers a bit unsettled. Personally, I thought most of the women were huge hot messes and totally unreliable in their perceptions and quite untrustworthy. Talk about a lot going on -- these women all needed some long term therapy!  In any event, I enjoyed the read and, perhaps you are like me, and only want to know -- what happened next?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - domestic drama