My Rating ~ Five Stars

RELEASE DATE: 26 October 2021

Format: E-ARC

Publisher: Macmillan Australia

Pages: 332

Blurb

The moment she laid eyes on Heather Wisher, Tully knew this woman was going to destroy their lives.

Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn’t even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win Tully and Rachel over – particularly while carrying the shameful secrets of her past. But, as it turns out, her soon-to-be stepdaughters have secrets of their own.

The announcement of Stephen and Heather’s engagement threatens to set off a family implosion, with old wounds and dark secrets finally being forced to the surface.

A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle, stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that’s only the beginning…

Review

Thank you to Macmillan Australia, for providing me with a copy of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!

Rachael and Tully have been caring for their mother, who has dementia, while dealing with their own stressors in life. When their Dad introduced them to his new girlfriend, Heather, they’re not exactly thrilled that she’s the same age as them – or that their dad is actually still married to their mother. Upon hearing they’re getting married, the sisters both start to turn to their individual ways of coping.

Heather has come from a pretty terrible upbringing and can’t believe she’s about to get married and move into her dream house. A perfect life is on the horizon, but something awful happens on her wedding day.

The Younger Wife begins with an important event at the wedding and then flicks back and forward throughout the book, leading up to the revelation of who caused what happened and who it happened to. This was such a clever book and there were so many topics woven into the story. Family abuse, mental health, sexual assault, addictions, childhood trauma, romance and more. There was more than one mystery to solve here and I thoroughly enjoyed piecing it all together!

The Younger Wife is a brilliant domestic thriller I recommend checking out!