The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Soulmate in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gist
Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate promises a suspenseful domestic thriller with emotional depth, but it struggles to deliver on both fronts. The premise is intriguing: Pippa and Gabe, a married couple, live in a house perched near a cliff where people often come to end their lives. Gabe has a reputation for talking people down—until one night, a woman falls. The mystery of her death drives the plot, but unfortunately, the execution falls flat.
The Details
The story alternates between two points of view: Pippa, the wife dealing with the aftermath, and Amanda, the woman who died. This dual narrative should build tension, but instead it slows the story down. Pippa’s inner monologue quickly becomes repetitive, and Amanda’s chapters—told from beyond the grave—feel more like exposition than insight.
Hepworth attempts to explore themes like mental health, trust, and forgiveness, but these threads never fully develop. The characters’ decisions often don’t make sense, even within the emotional logic of a thriller. Gabe is supposed to be charming and complicated, but his personality shifts so often that he ends up feeling hollow. Pippa, on the other hand, seems passive and disconnected. She spends more time thinking in circles than taking action, which makes it hard to root for her.
The pacing also suffers. Moments that should be suspenseful are bogged down by long flashbacks or conversations that don’t move the story forward. The twists arrive late, and most of them feel predictable. What could have been a gripping psychological unraveling instead turns into a slow march toward an underwhelming conclusion.
One of the most frustrating elements is the emotional disconnect. Hepworth has handled complex family dynamics well in her previous novels, but here the relationships feel surface-level. Even the central marriage—meant to be layered with love, lies, and betrayal—comes across as thin and hard to believe.
In the end, The Soulmate tries to do too much. It wants to be part mystery, part domestic drama, part moral reflection. But by trying to cover so much ground, it doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. The story has a strong hook, but the characters lack depth, and the plot lacks urgency.
The Verdict
Overall If you’re a fan of fast-paced thrillers with sharp twists and emotionally complex characters, this one may disappoint. The concept is strong, but the storytelling just doesn’t live up to the promise.
