The Real Mrs. Tobias by Sally Koslow

 Three women are involved in very complicated relationships in their roles as in-laws in The Real Mrs. Tobias by Sally Koslow, which published in September.

Veronika is the matriarch of the family, and she is tough and stern as she interferes in the lives of her son Jack and daughter-in-law Mel as well as the lives of her grandchildren Micah and his twin sister Jordan. Birdie, Micah’s wife, struggles with adjusting to New York City and the Tobias’ women. Both Veronika and Mel are psychotherapists, but they are less adept at handling the difficulties within the family as they are with other people’s problems.

Micah is in crisis mode, and all the women in the family have their opinions about what action he should be taking. Micah’s reluctance to take charge of his situation overwhelms Birdie, and she and their daughter April flee to Iowa as Birdie is having second thoughts about the marriage and the Tobias family.

Mel, who is accused of  “smothering mothering” by Jack, also has an opinion on a situation with her daughter Jordan. Of course, Veronika has a bewildering solution to Jordan’s dilemma, which is unacceptable to Mel, Birdie, and possibly Jordan.

Just when the Tobias family seems to be splintering in several directions, it is David, Veronika’s husband, whose beginning struggles with cognitive issues that shows how the women of the family can pull it back together.

Sally Koslow is also the author of novels Another Side of Paradise, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx,  The Widow Waltz, With Friends Like These, and Little Pink Slips. She is a former editor-in-chief of McCall’s Magazine, and has contributed essays and articles to The New York Times, Real Simple, and other magazines and newspapers. From Fargo, North Dakota, she lives in Manhattan with her family.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

 

In The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth coming out in April of 2023, Pippa and Gabe Gerard are starting over in a coastal town outside of Melbourne. Gabe has been dealing with mental illness, and Pippa is dealing with the fallout of an affair. Gabe will become the caretaker of their two little girls, while Pippa will work from home as a wills and estates lawyer.

Gabe fell in love with their new house while the terrain is worrisome to Pippa. Right behind their house is a steep edge that has been dubbed the Drop, and more than a few people have ended their lives jumping from it. The first time it happens once the Gerards move there, Gabe is able to talk a person down, and he is soon doing this more and more, rescuing a number of people. He’s been dubbed a local hero in the newspaper.

But one night when a woman comes to the Drop, Gabe fails to talk  her out of leaping while Pippa watches from a window. The woman soon disappears over the cliff and is killed. Gabe claims not to recognize the woman although he worked for her husband Max Cameron back in Melbourne before being fired. When the police investigation connects the dots, will Gabe be considered a person of interest in Amanda’s death?

Once the body is identified, Pippa does not understand why Gabe lied, saying he didn’t know the woman at the Drop. Why would Amanda have been at this particular spot if she had not planned to commit suicide? Did Amanda jump, fall, or get pushed from the cliff? The closer Pippa gets to the truth, the more their lives start to unravel.

Sally Hepworth fans will be expecting a twist, and what a twist it is…readers will never see it coming. Hepworth is the bestselling author of seven novels including The Younger Wife and The Good Sister. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting September 2, 2022.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.