The Soulmate @sallyhepworth @StMartinsPress @JanBelisle @absltmom

Jan’s Review

Gabe and Pippa, hoping for a fresh start to their marriage, buy a cliffside home in an idyllic seaside location. The problem? The location is known as “The Drop” a place where people commit suicide by jumping to their deaths.  

Gabe makes a name for himself as someone who can talk people down from the edge, preventing many suicides. Until one day he fails. Despite his best efforts, he is unable to save Amanda.  What Gabe doesn’t mention to the police is he knows the woman, while Pippa doesn’t mention that she is unsure of what she saw unfold before her eyes from the kitchen window.

The story is told through the alternating points of view of Pippa and Amanda, both before and after Amanda’s death. This worked quite well, as it allows a slow reveal of the facts to the reader. Secrets and lies come home to roost with devastating consequences. This is nothing new in domestic thrillers, but the author has a fresh spin on the genre. 

I also felt the author dealt with a particular condition (no spoilers!) extremely well. Through my experiences as a nurse, as well as knowing someone who suffers from it, I can say with confidence the author nailed it.

Sally Hepworth is masterful at writing books that deal with serious issues, but doing so with a light touch. I literally flew through the last 70% while on a long-haul flight and the pages nearly turned themselves.

*This was a buddy read with my friend Marialyce and one we both highly recommend.

* I received a digital copy for review from NetGalley. All opinions are my own

Marialyce’s Review

This was a super buddy read with my bestie, Jan! We both agreed there was much to like in this story.

Do we all have a soulmate, a person you are destined to love, to be with, a ying for your yang, or is this a lovely myth that romantics love to aspire to?  

Pippa has us believe that she has found her soulmate in Gabe. The couple with the two children have just moved into a dream house, but there is one huge setback and that is that is lies in close proximity to the cliffs which border the sea. The cliffs, (The Spot) also have the distinct reputation to being the perfect spot for people who wish to end their lives.

Gabe seemed to have a special ability to talk people who wished to end their days. He had become a “hero” for that special skill, but as one young woman is spied looking as if she was about to jump, Gabe is less than successful and as Pippa witnessed the supposed save she has the haunted feeling that this might not have been a save or perhaps a push.

The story emerges as we question Gabe’s soulmate status as his personality becomes clear in the telling. We meet the dead women’s husband convinced his wife would never take her own life, and shockingly revealed that Gabe knew both the husband and his now dead wife. The plot thickens indeed!

Totally engaging and intriguing as we delve into Gabe, the perfect husband, and Pippa awakens to the possibility that Gabe perhaps is not soulmate she convinced herself he was.. I very much enjoyed this story that kept me reading deep into the night.

Is there any such thing as a soulmate? You might have to decide that very question in the story.

Thanks go to Sally Hepworth, St Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for sending me this engaging story.