A woman falls to her death from a well-known suicide spot on the cliffs outside the home of Pippa and Gabe Gerard and their two young daughters. Gabe has become locally famous for talking people down from their suicidal intentions. This time he failed. Pippa sees him holding his hands out just as the woman falls. The Soulmate explores what happens in the wake of this death. Who was the woman? Why did Gabe fail to save her?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s a satisfying page-turner that goes in unexpected places. Hepworth slowly doles out the reveals, hooking you in so you can’t wait to find out what happens next. Pippa discovers a web of connections between the dead woman and her family and a complicated series of events that led to that moment on the cliff.
While Hepworth is a master at this type of domestic suspense, she sometimes takes shortcuts that test credibility. I disliked her use of the dead woman’s point of view. It was weird! How can you be in a dead person’s POV in a reality-based book? This story is not fantasy or paranormal. It was jarring and out of place. It felt like cheating. Figure out some other way to tell the story!
Also I don’t like how she gratuitously holds back crucial information. It feels manipulative, not organic to the story. She’s done this in other books and I just don’t like it.
Nevertheless, I always read her books lickety-split and look forward to the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
annalunatique 