The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth (2023)
Once again, domestic dysfunction goes plunging off a cliff......this time literally, right into the crashing surf of the ocean below. That's part of the unsettling price that loving soulmates Pippa and Gabe pay for moving into a beautiful cliffside house on the Australian coast. Their home sits in front of the area's most favored high cliff for potential suicides seeking to end it all.
But not on Gabe's watch though. Movie star handsome and a dauntless good Samaritan,, he's become a neighborhood celeb by rushing out of the house to talk people out of taking that last fatal step. Pippa couldn't be prouder of him........that is, until Gabe's calming voice and steady outstretched hands fail to prevent a bedeviled woman's terminal leap. Even worse, from Pippa's vantage point of the incident, it looked more like Gabe's arms appeared in the "push" position rather than the life-saving "I got you!" stance. Uh oh......
And now let the twists commence, starting the first of a cascade of shockers that rock Pippa's world......Gabe and the unfortunate woman were not strangers to each other. (Let's all say it together now...."Uh oh..")
More than that I wouldn't dream of revealing, since the nerve-wracking jollies of a domestic thriller like this come from the steady detonation of deep secrets and stunning surprises. And in that regard, Sally Hepworth delivers the goods over and over........in that everybody involved has something to hide and don't think you know for minute what's really going on until you race to the final pages.
The short, right-to-the-point chapters give the book a relentless, propulsive pace........a technique I wish more thriller authors would adopt. And I can never get enough zippy 5 star, suspense laded tales like "The Soulmate"....even if they take me way past bedtime. Well done, Ms. Hepworth.....can't wait for your next one already. For suspense fans, "The Soulmate" makes for a fine book-mate,,,5 stars (*****)
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