The Soulmate

I enjoyed this book. First, the title. Who exactly are the soulmates? In this story we get two marriages, both from the outside, look storybook perfect, two couples ideally suited. Then Sally Hepworth does her beautiful work of layering the issues, the cracks, the history. And it gets oh so juicy. I find her characters particularly well written, realistic in the examination of their daily lives and then also mental health issues. She handles it here with such deft. There is also intrigue and mystery and really great alternating POVs. I do love the Australian setting. Another good one.

An absolute page-turner!
Once I dived into the lives of Gabe and Pippa, a seemingly normal married couple, I couldn't look away.
Once again Sally Hepworth delivers a readably, voyeuristic look at everyday life, but with hidden depths that make you not want to put the book down.
Devoured it in a weekend.
Thoroughly enjoyed!

This book initially captivated me with its immersive atmosphere. The serene description of the house situated by the drop, inhabited by a family of four, set the domestic scene. The first major event triggered an intense back-and-forth with the police, keeping me on the edge of my seat, questioning who was responsible and unfolding the tense situation.

However, I must admit that after reaching 60% of the book, it began to feel repetitive and monotonous, losing its initial allure. In my opinion, it could have easily been shortened by at least 25 pages without compromising the story.

The ending took me by surprise as one of the characters acted in direct contradiction to their previous behavior throughout the book. This decision to abruptly kill them off left me puzzled. Perhaps this character had been silently grappling with mental health issues all along, successfully masking them from others. It was an intriguing twist, leaving me with questions and speculation.

Overall, as a first read from this author, I did enjoy it, despite the shortcomings I mentioned earlier.

I'm glad I went to one of the book signings on the book tour for this one before reading it. Meeting Sally really helped me to point out and appreciate the humorous bits in this book. The way the characters were written challenged my preconceived notions of typical character archetypes. I liked that we got little snippets of the bigger picture as went along. I loved Fern and Wally, but I wanted to read about them as a romance, whereas Gabe and Pippa were disastrous and perfect for a mystery setting. I loved the soap opera worthy twists.

A young couple, Gabe and Pippa, and their two small daughters reboot their life by moving to a cliffside cottage. Unfortunately, their backyard butts up against The Spot, a favorite suicide location. Gabe, a stay-at-home dad, often talks people down who look ready to jump until the day he fails and a woman named Amanda falls to her death. But when it's revealed that Amanda has a connection to the couple, it raises questions that form the backbone of the rest of the story.
This novel is told from both Pippa and Amanda's point of view. I have no problem with multiple narrators but draw the line at a POV character who is deceased and sharing their thoughts from beyond the grave. To me, it's a cheat and I don't buy it. The other problem I had with this book was that no conscientious couple with small children would live in a home where a dangerous drop-off was only steps from their backyard. It's just not logical. And if the real estate agent failed to disclose this, they would sue.

While I quibbled with these holes in logic, I did appreciate the subtle hand with which Hepworth examined mental illness and its effect on not only the individual but those around them. And the short, choppy chapters made this an easy read. It's a fast-paced domestic thriller and Hepworth is a good writer – it's just this one had some red flags for me that took me out of the story so I'm only giving it four stars.

A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Soooo...I haven't read this author yet BUT I have two of her previous books on my bookshelf to read. I was one of the lucky few who was given an ARC of The Soulmate and had to read it now. It realeases in April 2023.

I usually have a hard time with domestic thrillers but not with this one. I was so engrossed in this story that I finished it in less than 2 days. I loved the format, POV and setting for this one. I especially enjoyed the underlying love story of Max and Amanda.

I also loved that it deals with the background and emotional trauma that a spouse with a mental illness can create. I have to admit that ending with Max... completely shocked me which isn't easy to do. Highly recommend this one! I'll definitely be pushing this author's other books up the TBR.

I sincerely appreciate St. Martin's Press for the review copy. While a review wasn't expected, I have offered my opinion and these are my own thoughts.

Actual rating: 4.5

Another reviewer put it best when she said she canceled her Sunday plans because of this book, and I found myself practically doing the exact same! Staying up way past my usual bedtime because I couldn't take my hands off this page turner. I recently one of Sally Hepworth's other novels, The Good Sister, which I loved for the very intelligent character development and twisty plot. When I read the premise for The Soulmate, I was very excited to get my hands on this copy and it did not disappoint.

Pippa and Gabe are seemingly a perfect couple - beautiful family with two delightful young daughters living in Portsea at a stunning cliffside home. The catch? The cliff point called “The Drop”, the gorgeous viewpoint from their kitchen is a popular suicide spot. Pippa's husband Gabe is a picture perfect hot dad, but since they've moved to their new home outside of Melbourne, he's become a local hero, with his easy way of making people comfortable he's helped saved several lives by convincing them to step away from the cliff.

All seems well until one day, a woman comes to the cliff. Gabe goes out to speak to her and draw her back in as usual while Pippa calls the police, but this time it doesn't work and the woman has seemingly fallen to her death. Pippa tells the police she last saw the woman raise her arms before disappearing out of sight, but leaves out the fact that she's sure she's seen her husband's outstretched arms, almost looking as if they were pushing forward.

The story unravels deliciously as we learn more about the family's dark secrets and about the mysterious woman who jumped. Exceptionally well-paced and intelligently written characters. This is another winner from Sally Hepworth for me.

Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting Tale Told In Unconventional Manner. I mean, come on, how often do you get a dual timeline tale with two women - both alive in the past, but one now dead and yet still telling her tale - where both women feature in both timelines? I've read a LOT of books over the past few years alone, and I can probably count on one hand - *maybe* both of them - the number of times I've come across a remotely similar dynamic. So read the book for that alone, as Hepworth makes it work quite well.

The rest of the tale, about both of these women's love for their husbands and the lengths they will go through to save and protect both their husbands and their marriages, is interesting enough to be readable, but for some reason it just didn't hit me as hard as Hepworth's prior works. There was never a real sense of "I *must* know what happens next!", though the ending was quite beautiful in and of itself, and yes, even if you're struggling with the book, you need to read it to get the full beauty of what happens there. Overall, as noted, an interesting tale unconventionally told. Recommended.