The best Sally Hepworth books to add to your reading list

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be … dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Even after marrying Oliver, Lucy knew they’d never be close. But who could fault Diana? A pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead. There is a suicide note, but the autopsy reveals foul play. And everyone in this family is hiding something . . .

The Mother-in-Law is currently being developed for TV with Amy Poehler as executive producer.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate, they were given an elusive second chance of a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

Pippa and Gabe were happy. They had the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliffside home, which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.

Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink.

Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn’t even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win Tully and Rachel over, while carrying the burden of the secrets of her past. But, as it turns out, they are all hiding something.

A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle, stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that’s only the beginning . . .

In a moment of maternal despair, Essie once made a terrible mistake, one she will always regret. Her neighbours in Pleasant Court have their own issues. Driven and organised, Ange has everything under control, except perhaps her husband. Practical, intellectual Fran can’t stop running. For exercise, or something else?

Then one day, Isabelle arrives and appears to be very curious about her neighbours. Too curious, some might say. It soon becomes clear that Isabelle’s choice of neighbourhood was no accident . . .

The Family Next Door is being turned into a six-part drama series, with a cast led by Teresa Palmer. It will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2025.

Anna Forster knows that her twin brother has sent her to Rosalind House because another young resident, Luke, lives there. As if, Anna muses, a little companionship will soften the unfairness of her fate.

Eve Bennett also comes to Rosalind House reluctantly. Once a pampered wife, she is now cooking and cleaning to make ends meet.

Both women are facing futures they didn’t expect. With only unreliable memories to guide them, they have no choice but to trust something more powerful. Something closer to the heart.