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The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Thriller

The Soulmate

Early Release

This is an early release that's only available to our members—the rest of the world has to wait to read it.

by Sally Hepworth

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Quick take

When an old acquaintance dies, it dredges up demons of the past that threaten to unravel a seemingly perfect marriage.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Psychological

    Psychological

  • Illustrated icon, Sad

    Sad

  • Illustrated icon, Rural

    Rural

  • Illustrated icon, Marriage_Issues

    Marriage issues

Synopsis

There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.

When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral . . . Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?

And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate . . . lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.

Content warning

This book contains scenes depicting suicide.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Soulmate.

The Soulmate

1

PIPPA

(NOW)

“Someone is out there.”

I’m standing at the kitchen sink, my hands plunged in warm soapy water. Gabe is beside me, supposedly drying dishes but mostly drinking red wine and singing to Edith Piaf. He made coq au vin for dinner using every pot in the house, but if there is one thing to be said for my husband it’s that he knows how to create a mood. He’s dimmed the lights, lit some candles, even trotted out his best French accent. If not for the kids and my older sister, Kat—who is perched at my kitchen counter—it might have been romantic.

“Where?” Gabe asks.

I lift my gloved hand and point through the window. It is a woman, I think, though it’s hard to be sure with the sun setting behind her. In any case, I have a clear view of a figure, twenty-odd meters away, beyond the edge of our property where the lawn gives way to a sandy walking path. Millionaires’ walk, the neighbors call it, for both its million-dollar views and the multimillion-dollar homes that line this part of the cliff. On the other side of the walking path is a sheer drop down to the jagged rocks and the beach thirty meters below. It’s not uncommon for people to stop here and admire the view, particularly at sunset, but when they linger it always gives me pause.

“There.”

I keep my voice quiet, steady. I don’t have the privilege of hysteria given the proximity of our curious four-year-olds.

“Call the police,” he says to me as he heads toward the back door.

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Why I love it

You think you know this one. The beautiful couple with the perfect house, the perfect life, the perfect marriage. Then something shocking—something violent—happens, and what once looked so perfect reveals itself to be more complicated, messier. It’s the set-up for dozens of domestic thrillers, but after just a few pages of Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate, you’ll realize she’s taking you somewhere further. In fact, she’s taking you right up to the edge—and over.

Gabe and Pippa have settled into a beautiful cottage by the sea. Only drawback? The cliffs that their house sits on act as a dark lure for people who want to take their own lives. Luckily, compassionate Gabe has developed a knack for talking people back from the edge while Pippa, watching from the window, calls the authorities.

Until Amanda.

When Amanda goes over the cliffs, it’s a tragedy, not a mystery. Or is it? Because Pippa can’t be sure what she saw as Gabe approached the woman on the cliffs that night, and when she learns that Amanda and Gabe knew one another, suspicions begin to spiral into paranoia.

Told in alternating points of view between Pippa and Amanda, The Soulmate is the perfect thriller. Twisty, fun, and compelling in that I know I should go to bed, but this new twist means I’m up until at least 3 AM way. But it also cuts into the murky heart of a marriage, asking questions about trust, fidelity, the secrets we keep, and the things we’ll do for love.

Member ratings (31,493)

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View all
The Boyfriend
The Last One at the Wedding
Sleep Tight
First Lie Wins
House of Glass
Middle of the Night
Listen for the Lie
A Talent for Murder
Someone in the Attic
One Perfect Couple
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Darling Girls
Kill for Me, Kill for You
Bad Tourists
Murder Road
Daughter of Mine
The Fury
Only if You’re Lucky
The Other Mothers
When I’m Dead
The Soulmate
What Lies in the Woods
She Started It
The Only One Left
Dark Corners
Blacktop Wasteland
All the Dangerous Things
The Only Survivors
The Broken Girls
The Family Game
The Push
We Were Never Here
Things We Do in the Dark
The Golden Couple
The Collective
The Stranger Upstairs
Gone Tonight
Too Good to Be True
The Last Word
You Are Not Alone
Rock Paper Scissors
Not a Happy Family
A Flicker in the Dark
The Last Flight
Reckless Girls
The House Across the Lake
The Wife Upstairs
The Last Thing He Told Me
The Maidens
Everything We Didn't Say
Invisible Girl
The Paris Apartment
You're Invited
The Last Party
Dark Places
Pieces of Her
The Wife Between Us
Sharp Objects
None of This Is True
The Silent Patient
The Winter Sister
The Other Woman
Necessary People
The Family Upstairs
The Night Swim
Girl A
The Hunting Wives
Just Another Missing Person
First Born
The Lies I Tell
Breathless