I’ve read a few of this Melbourne author’s books and have enjoyed each one. Soulmate is no exception.

Pippa and her husband Gabe move to a cliff top house in exclusive Portsea not realising that the clifftop is a popular suicide spot. Since moving, Gabe has managed to talk down seven people and become a hero in the area. The eighth time, he’s not so lucky but Pippa watching on begins doubting what she saw as it looks as if Gabe has pushed the woman called Amanda.

And so begins an intricate plot with many questions about Gabe and Pippa’s marriage and the carefully crafted image of who they actually are.

This one is certainly a page-turner made all the more delightful because it is set in places I know well. And that’s a particular bonus of reading a Hepworth book.

The Soulmate doesn’t disappoint as you can basically kiss goodbye any chance to do anything else other than set aside a few hours to consume each page of twists and turns wondering about the relationships, what love is and how loyal a person can be.

Opening in Pippa’s voice, the chapters alternate with the voice of dead Amanda. I thought that the two women were a little too alike for me, their voices just a tad too close as to confuse me at times. I admired how the alternating chapters became shorter and shorter as the story climaxed forcing me to turn the page and keep reading.

Hepworth delves into many themes such as love, postnatal depression, adultery, mental illness, grief and suicide but she handles them sensitively providing enough shade to balance the highs and lows of emotions a reader may feel.

If you’ve never read a Hepworth novel and want to lose yourself this holiday season, then The Soulmate would be a good one to start with.