The Soulmate is Sally Hepworth’s eighth novel, published in 2023 by St. Martin’s Press. This psychological thriller highlights how love, loyalty, and secrets intersect in marriage. Hepworth’s thrillers often take place in the domestic sphere, are focused on women, and depict deeply personal relationships, marriage, parenthood, and sisterhood. In The Soulmate, Hepworth addresses themes of The Foundations of a Marriage, Societal Expectations of Mothers and Fathers, and Appearance Versus Reality.

This study guide refers to the 2023 e-book edition published by St. Martin’s Press.

Content Warning: The source material and this study guide depict murder and suicide and discuss mental health conditions.

Plot Summary

The Soulmate is told from two points of view, Pippa Gerard’s and Amanda Cameron’s. Each of their perspectives moves between the present and the past.

Pippa looks out her kitchen window one evening and sees a woman standing at the edge of the cliff outside her house in Portsea. The cliff is known as The Drop. Portsea is an expensive residential area: Pippa and her husband, Gabe, were able to afford the house because, unbeknownst to them, The Drop is a place where people go to end their own lives. In the year since, Gabe has stopped seven people from jumping and has earned a reputation with the police and community as an “angel.”

While Pippa distracts their children and calls the police, Gabe goes out to speak to the woman. When she looks again, she sees only Gabe on the cliff, his arms outstretched. He tells her that the woman jumped. Later, Pippa discovers that the woman was Amanda Cameron, the wife of Gabe’s former boss, Max Cameron. The police assume that Amanda died by suicide, but Pippa isn’t so sure.

Amanda’s posthumous voice tells the story of how she met her husband, Max. She worked as a server at an event hosted by his family. When Max showed an interest in her, Amanda decided that marrying him was a smart thing to do. She was determined to keep love out of marriage after watching her mother live with her father’s infidelity and abuse. Max agreed to her terms, provided that she agree that they will never have children. To Amanda’s surprise, she gradually fell in love with Max, but she never told him, not wanting to break the terms of their agreement. Max is devastated by Amanda’s death and determined to find out what happened to her—he is unconvinced by the idea that she died by suicide.

Pippa tells the story of her relationship with Gabe. Their relationship has been deeply loving but has had its ups and downs. Gabe’s moods and interests are very changeable. He moved from job to job before finding a place with Max. Gabe stepped up when Pippa suffered from postpartum depression following their first daughter, Freya. However, Gabe also had an affair that resulted in the birth of Asha, who they adopted after her mother died of an overdose. Pippa and Gabe moved to Portsea with their daughters for a fresh start.

Gabe worked for Max until the year before. His job was to find investors for Max’s online media business. Gabe secured millions from a company called A.S. Holdings, not knowing that A.S. Holdings was owned by Arthur Spriggs, a shady businessman with underground connections. He also didn’t realize that Max already had dealings with Arthur. In an effort to extricate himself from Arthur, Max threatened him, becoming involved in an increasingly dangerous series of intimidations between them. Eventually, Max abducted Arthur to force his agreement, sending Gabe to handle the business. Gabe accidentally shot Arthur, killing him. Max’s bodyguard disposed of the body. Though all swore to secrecy, Max fired Gabe.

After Gabe lost his job, the family moved to Portsea. Pippa knows nothing about the murder, but she has also had interactions with Max. Max gave her his phone number, telling her that she should call him if Gabe is ever in trouble. One night, worried about Gabe, Pippa met Max at his office. He offered to pay for any treatment or medication that Gabe needed. Pippa was relieved at his support and felt drawn to Max. She kissed him and took off her shirt, but Max reminded her that he was married and stopped it from going further.

Later, Max discovered that the CCTV in his office caught the episode on tape. He had his security team remove the footage and email it to him. Amanda found the footage on his laptop and assumed that Max had gone on to have sex with Pippa. Distraught over his breach of their agreement, Amanda put the footage on a USB stick and went to Pippa’s house to confront her. She approached from the cliffside, making Pippa and Gabe believe that she was a woman contemplating suicide. Gabe went out to talk to her while Pippa called the police. He didn’t recognize her until she told him about the footage and that she wanted to talk to Pippa. He realized that the USB footage contained discussion of his mental health and connection to Arthur Spriggs. He grabbed for it, and, in a struggle, Amanda lost her footing and fell off the cliff. At first, Gabe tried to grab her, but then he stepped back and let her fall.

Max comes to the Gerard’s house to confront Gabe about Amanda’s death. He tells Gabe and Pippa that he took the blame for Arthur’s death and then jumps off the cliff after saying that Amanda was his soulmate. After he dies, Gabe and Pippa discover that Max was actually Gabe’s uncle and that Max’s brother had also died by suicide. He was very similar to Gabe and possibly had the same undiagnosed mental health condition. Because of this connection, Max has gone to great lengths to secure a stable future for Gabe and his family. He leaves all of his money in a trust to Pippa and Gabe’s daughters, Freya and Asha.

When the truth of Amanda’s death is revealed, Pippa realizes that all of Gabe’s actions were to protect himself, not her. She decides to separate from Gabe. A year later, she and Gabe both still live in Portsea, a block from each other. The girls live with Pippa and see Gabe nearly every day. Gabe has received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and has started a program of medication and treatment. Pippa sometimes misses her life with Gabe but recognizes that she is strong and capable enough to hold the family together on her own.