Skip to main content

The Younger Wife

Review

The Younger Wife

Who doesn’t love a wedding? The flowers, the music, the dresses, the handsome groom, the beautiful bride…and at Heather Wisher’s wedding, the blood. Oh, so much blood.

Heather has met the man of her dreams, Dr. Stephen Aston. He’s caring, sensitive, brilliant, wealthy and drop-dead gorgeous. He’s also married. That detail, though, will be taken care of soon. Stephen’s wife, Pam, has been moved to a facility because she suffers from dementia. She still remains part of the family but quickly becomes the ex-wife. Stephen also has two daughters, Rachel and Tully. And the awkward part? Not only is Heather marrying their father, she is younger than both of them. Honestly, the girls try to be positive and supportive, but it’s not easy. Mum has deteriorated so much that she rarely knows who they are, Dad has divorced her, and they’re expected to accept this young woman as his new wife? That’s a lot to swallow.

"Read THE YOUNGER WIFE and uncover the secrets for yourself. Learn why Pam said all those things and why her daughters turned to ways of coping they didn’t even realize they were doing."

On top of all that, Tully learns some bad news from her husband, which sends her into a rapid downward spiral. Dad may be happily moving forward, but Tully’s life is falling apart. Right now, she needs to lean on Rachel, something that in the past has been a rare occurrence. As for Rachel, she has a very successful baking business. Her specialty: wedding cakes. In truth, it’s pretty much all she does. Since high school, she’s been focused. No dating. Mum always prodded her about getting out, but Mum’s memory is gone now, and Rachel has her reasons for not dating. Reasons she has long buried.

Stephen encourages his fiancée to get to know his daughters, perhaps over lunch. Heather realizes that getting them to warm up to her will be an uphill challenge, but she gives it her best effort. If that’s what Stephen wants, she’ll try. Sometimes, though, her nerves get the better of her, and she loses track of how many glasses of wine she drinks. To be fair, she can track that problem back to her own father, a horrible man she’s trying to leave in the past. Whatever the reason, Stephen doesn’t appreciate her overindulgences and makes that clear to her. That seems to be a sore spot for him. Heather promises to quit. But it’s not that easy.

These three young ladies each have a secret that they try to keep buried, but ultimately they can’t. For Tully, it’s a serious problem. For Rachel, it’s an obsessive issue. For Heather, as we know, it’s booze. None of these hurdles is helped by Mum and her curious remarks. Are her off-the-wall comments due to her fuzzy mental state, or is there any truth behind them? Then, to complicate matters, Rachel discovers a hot water bottle that belongs to Mum. Inside is a huge shocker. The bottle is stuffed with cash, lots and lots of it, along with a mysterious name that none of them have ever heard before.

So back to the day of the wedding. And the blood. Where did it come from? Whose is it? Did someone attack the bride? The groom? One of the daughters? Or the mystery woman? There’s only one way to find out: Read THE YOUNGER WIFE and uncover the secrets for yourself. Learn why Pam said all those things and why her daughters turned to ways of coping they didn’t even realize they were doing. Will any of them be able to lead a normal life after this wedding?

Reviewed by Kate Ayers on April 8, 2022

The Younger Wife
by Sally Hepworth