REVIEW: THE YOUNGER WIFE, BY SALLY HEPWORTH

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?

 

The story of The Younger Wife begins at a wedding: the joining of a man with a woman much younger, but with a very strange group of participants. First, we see the grown daughters, who are around the age of the bride, and the ex-wife who suffers from dementia. Before the day ends, something tragic happens, and then over the next pages, we read the “before” elements leading up to the event.

Alternating narrators take us through the months and years before, and we begin to see how convoluted things are in this family. The daughters have various disorders, from kleptomania to food issues. We are not sure if the potential bride is a liar or just good at keeping secrets.

By the end of the tale, I felt stunned by the unwinding of the lives of these characters. What to believe? I wasn’t sure I believed any of them. The story did keep me turning the pages, but for me, it earned 4.5 stars.

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