The Soulmate (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan)

Sally Hepworth delivers another brilliant, page-turning domestic thriller with her eighth novel The Soulmate. Set in the idyllic coastal town of Portsea, sheltered from the hustle of city life, the long summer evenings and moody winter nights serve as the perfect backdrop for secrets to fester and lies to grow unchecked. Stunning sunsets and lazy mornings are overshadowed by inner demons and a dark past that threaten to tear apart relative newcomers Gabe and Pippa’s picture-perfect life. They have managed to save seven souls in the year they have been residing in the clifftop house by notorious suicide spot The Drop, making them local heroes. But one night, a woman, the eighth, cannot be saved. Desperate to cope in the ensuing chaos and police presence, Pippa clings to her husband’s version of events, until her memories of the evening begin to tell a different story. The novel is masterfully paced and the author’s use of dual narrators—whether in life or death—to slowly unravel the past and present is brilliant. The characters are flawed, unreliable and surprising, making this suspenseful tale perfect for fans Liane Moriarty, Laura Dave and Hepworth’s previous novels. The Soulmate will have you guessing and gasping as each twist and secret is revealed, until the very end.

Kate Frawley is a former bookseller and a librarian in training.

Category: Reviews