The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth Summary, Characters and Themes
The Soulmate, a 2023 novel by Sally Hepworth, is a domestic thriller that delves into complex relationships, mental health struggles, and hidden secrets. Told from alternating perspectives of two women—Pippa Gerard and Amanda Cameron—the novel weaves between past and present to explore their marriages and the unraveling mysteries behind a death that ties them together.
Set in the scenic yet ominous coastal town of Portsea, the book touches on themes of love, betrayal, and self-preservation, as each character grapples with the fallout of choices they’ve made and truths they’ve concealed.
Summary
Pippa Gerard is startled one evening when she sees a woman standing at the edge of a notorious cliff near her home in Portsea, a location ominously known as The Drop. This cliff has a dark reputation for attracting people seeking to end their lives.
Pippa’s husband, Gabe, who has developed a local reputation for talking people off the ledge, goes out to help.
As Pippa watches from inside, she sees only Gabe standing there with his arms stretched out, claiming that the woman jumped before he could stop her. It is later revealed that the woman was Amanda Cameron, the wife of Gabe’s former boss, Max Cameron, and Pippa becomes uneasy with the idea that Amanda’s death was simply a suicide.
In alternating chapters, Amanda’s voice from beyond the grave recounts her life. She married Max after a transactional relationship turned into genuine love, though she never admitted her feelings to him. Their marriage was shaped by an agreement not to have children, a pact they made based on Amanda’s desire to avoid the emotional turmoil she witnessed in her parents’ relationship.
Amanda’s growing feelings for Max complicate their deal, but their marriage remains outwardly stable—until her unexpected death, which Max refuses to believe was voluntary.
Pippa reflects on her own relationship with Gabe, which has been marked by love but also turbulence. Gabe’s erratic personality, shifting jobs, and a past affair have created strain, though the couple attempted a fresh start when they moved to Portsea.
Gabe had worked for Max until a year ago, where he unknowingly got entangled in dangerous dealings with a shadowy figure named Arthur Spriggs.
These events ultimately led to a series of deadly encounters, including the accidental killing of Arthur, a secret that pushed Gabe out of Max’s business and closer to a mental breakdown.
Meanwhile, Amanda discovered that Max had some suspicious footage involving Pippa and confronted her at the cliff, leading to a fatal struggle with Gabe.
Although Amanda came to expose the footage of Max and Pippa’s encounter, Gabe feared the video also included incriminating evidence about his mental health and involvement in Arthur’s death. During a desperate moment, Amanda fell from the cliff after Gabe failed to save her.
In the aftermath, Max confronts Gabe, ultimately revealing a deeper family connection. Max, who turns out to be Gabe’s uncle, admits that he has been protecting Gabe, understanding his mental health struggles because their family had experienced similar tragedies.
Max’s own despair leads him to take his life at the same cliff where Amanda died. Max leaves his fortune to Pippa and Gabe’s daughters, securing their future in a trust.
Pippa, now aware of Gabe’s actions and motives, decides to separate from him. A year later, the two live separately but maintain close ties for the sake of their children.
With Gabe receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, Pippa finds herself capable of holding the family together on her own, though she still reflects on their past life together.
Characters
Pippa Gerard
Pippa is one of the central narrators in The Soulmate, and her perspective forms a major part of the narrative. Her character is defined by her internal strength and emotional complexity.
As a wife and mother, she has endured significant hardships, including postpartum depression, infidelity, and the overwhelming responsibility of caring for her family, especially given Gabe’s erratic behavior.
Pippa’s relationship with Gabe is built on deep love, but it is also filled with strain due to his unpredictable nature and infidelity. Her decision to adopt Asha, the product of Gabe’s affair, shows her compassion and ability to put family above her own hurt.
However, her love for Gabe does not blind her to his faults. By the novel’s end, she realizes that Gabe’s actions, even if partly driven by his mental illness, are self-serving.
Pippa’s arc is one of personal empowerment, where she moves from reliance on Gabe to understanding her own capacity to lead the family. This shift in her thinking is marked by her eventual decision to separate from Gabe, underscoring her resilience and recognition that she does not need to be defined by her marriage.
Gabe Gerard
Gabe is a complex and conflicted character. On one hand, he is a devoted husband and father, whose love for his family is apparent in moments of tenderness, such as when he supports Pippa during her postpartum depression.
He is also seen as a hero in the community for saving people from jumping off the cliff, which contrasts sharply with his darker, more chaotic inner life. Gabe’s struggles with undiagnosed bipolar disorder shape much of his behavior, explaining his mood swings, impulsive actions, and lack of stability in life.
His mental illness also exacerbates his poor decision-making, such as his involvement with shady business dealings, his affair, and his eventual role in Amanda Cameron’s death. Gabe’s actions, particularly at The Drop, suggest a man trapped by his own mental turmoil.
His inaction when Amanda falls off the cliff reveals both the impact of his disorder and his desire to protect himself from the consequences of past mistakes. By the end of the novel, Gabe receives a diagnosis and begins treatment, but this does not absolve him of responsibility.
His character arc explores the impact of untreated mental illness, the moral grayness of his actions, and the tragic consequences of a life driven by instability.
Amanda Cameron
Amanda’s posthumous voice adds an intriguing layer to the novel’s narrative. She is a woman shaped by her past experiences, particularly her parents’ troubled marriage.
Having witnessed the fallout of her father’s infidelity and her mother’s suffering, Amanda makes a calculated decision to keep love out of her marriage to Max. Her approach to marriage is pragmatic, with a clear agreement with Max that they will remain childless and avoid emotional entanglements.
However, as time passes, Amanda falls in love with Max, though she never communicates this to him. Amanda’s internal conflict stems from her struggle between her original vow to keep the relationship emotionless and her deeper feelings of love.
Her discovery of Max’s apparent infidelity with Pippa deeply wounds her. This leads her to take drastic action by confronting Pippa with the footage.
Amanda’s tragic death, which occurs after she mistakenly believes Max has broken their agreement, is a result of misunderstandings and unresolved emotional wounds. Amanda’s character embodies the dangers of suppressing vulnerability and communication in relationships, leading to her demise in a tragic twist.
Max Cameron
Max Cameron is a central figure in both Amanda and Gabe’s lives. His character is defined by his cold pragmatism and secrecy.
A wealthy businessman, Max is shown as a man who operates with calculated efficiency, whether in business or personal matters. His marriage to Amanda is an arrangement based on clear terms, and his relationship with Gabe is complicated by the fact that Gabe is his nephew, though this is revealed only later.
Max’s dealings with shady characters like Arthur Spriggs reveal his capacity for ruthless decision-making. He is willing to go to extreme lengths, including violence, to protect his interests.
His relationship with Gabe is fraught with tension, especially after the incident with Arthur, which ends with Gabe accidentally killing Arthur under Max’s orders. This hidden event becomes a source of guilt and secrecy that shapes their interactions.
Max’s death, when he jumps off the cliff after confronting Gabe about Amanda, is laden with tragedy. His declaration that Amanda was his soulmate reveals a depth of emotion he never fully expressed to her.
Max’s character serves as a representation of suppressed emotions and the destructive impact of unspoken truths. He also illustrates the moral compromises made for survival.
Freya and Asha
Freya and Asha, the children of Pippa and Gabe, represent innocence in the midst of the turmoil surrounding their parents. Freya, their biological daughter, and Asha, whom they adopted after the death of her mother, are pivotal to Pippa’s strength and her resolve to maintain stability for their future.
The children are not directly involved in the dramatic events of the story, but they serve as a motivator for Pippa’s decisions. Their presence emphasizes the theme of family and the lengths to which parents, especially Pippa, will go to protect their children’s well-being.
Asha, in particular, embodies the complexities of Gabe’s infidelity and its consequences, but she is embraced fully by Pippa. This highlights Pippa’s capacity for forgiveness and nurturing.
Arthur Spriggs
Though not a major character in terms of direct narrative presence, Arthur Spriggs looms large over the events of the story. As a shady businessman with criminal connections, his involvement with Max and Gabe leads to disastrous consequences.
Arthur’s death at the hands of Gabe during a botched intimidation attempt marks a critical turning point in the novel. Though Max assumes responsibility for Arthur’s death, the secret of this crime becomes a burden that drives much of the tension between the characters.
Arthur represents the corruptive influence of power and money. His presence in the narrative underscores the dangerous entanglements that arise from dealing with morally compromised individuals.
His death becomes a symbol of the hidden darkness in both Gabe and Max’s lives.
Themes
The Fragility of Identity in the Face of Uncertainty and Deception
In The Soulmate, Sally Hepworth intricately explores the instability of personal identity when confronted with external pressures such as secrets, mental health struggles, and interpersonal deception.
Pippa and Gabe’s marriage, seemingly built on love, is undermined by hidden facets of their past—Gabe’s affair, the involvement with Arthur Spriggs, and ultimately Amanda’s death.
These revelations peel away the layers of their identities, leaving both characters grappling with self-perception. Pippa’s understanding of herself as a devoted wife and mother becomes destabilized as she uncovers the extent of Gabe’s manipulation and the disorienting moral complexity of her own actions.
Gabe, too, undergoes an existential crisis, with his mental health and moral compass coming into question. He balances on the precipice between heroism (saving people from The Drop) and destruction (his involvement in Amanda’s death).
His bipolar diagnosis serves as a symbol of the shifting nature of identity, further complicating his self-image as a protector. Identity in the novel is not static; it is susceptible to distortion, shaped by the lies we tell ourselves and others, and vulnerable to unraveling in the wake of hidden truths.
The Intersections of Mental Health, Morality, and Responsibility
The novel delves deeply into the intersections of mental health and moral responsibility. It raises difficult questions about how these aspects of human experience interact and influence one another.
Gabe’s eventual diagnosis of bipolar disorder suggests that his erratic behavior, including his role in Amanda’s death, may be partly attributable to his mental state. However, Hepworth resists easy moral absolution.
Gabe’s mental illness complicates the narrative but does not remove his responsibility for his actions. This tension between mental health and accountability challenges both the characters and the reader to consider the gray areas of morality.
Pippa’s own complicity in the façade of their marriage and her brief infidelity with Max further blurs the lines of moral responsibility. The novel suggests that mental health crises can be both a cause and a consequence of moral failings.
Responsibility is not easily parceled out in such complex circumstances. Pippa’s decision to separate from Gabe at the novel’s conclusion emphasizes that while compassion for mental health is necessary, it does not excuse destructive behavior.
The Concept of Love as a Contingent Agreement Versus an Emotional Commitment
Hepworth’s portrayal of love in The Soulmate extends beyond conventional romantic notions. It offers a vision of love as a negotiated contract, often fraught with compromises and unspoken expectations.
Amanda’s marriage to Max is a prime example of love as a strategic alliance, initially devoid of romantic attachment but structured around a clear, mutual agreement: they would remain childless and emotionally detached.
Yet, this pragmatic approach to love becomes untenable when Amanda unexpectedly falls in love with Max. She breaks the terms of their contract without ever revealing her emotions.
The narrative probes the tension between the cold calculations that sometimes underpin relationships and the inevitable emotional entanglements that arise. Pippa and Gabe’s marriage, while seemingly more emotionally driven, is similarly contingent on unspoken agreements and mutual dependencies.
Gabe supports Pippa during her postpartum depression, and Pippa tolerates Gabe’s erratic behavior. Both relationships in the novel reveal that love can be fragile when treated as a transaction—whether explicit or implicit.
Emotional commitments are often undermined when individuals refuse to fully reveal themselves to one another.
The Role of Gender and Power Dynamics in Structuring Marital and Familial Relations
Gender and power imbalances play a significant role in shaping the relationships and conflicts throughout the novel. The men—Gabe and Max—hold substantial influence over the fates of their wives, either through deceit or domination.
This forces Pippa and Amanda into positions of reaction and accommodation. Max’s control over Amanda is evident in their marriage agreement, in his ability to conceal truths from her, and in his professional power over Gabe, which trickles down into Amanda’s life.
Similarly, Gabe’s decisions, many of which are driven by his need to control narratives (such as Amanda’s death), significantly affect Pippa’s life and autonomy. While Pippa and Amanda both engage in subversive actions—Pippa in her near-affair with Max, Amanda in confronting Pippa with the USB stick—their power remains limited.
The men have a greater ability to dictate the terms of their lives. Even when Pippa finally gains a semblance of independence by separating from Gabe, it is under the shadow of a financial trust set up by Max.
This is a symbolic reminder of how deeply embedded male control remains in her life. The novel critiques the gendered power structures that force women into roles of submission, negotiation, and reaction within their marriages and families, even when outwardly they appear to possess some autonomy.
The Intersection of Wealth, Privilege, and Ethical Compromise in Pursuit of Security
The novel presents a critical examination of the ethical compromises individuals make when entangled in the pursuit of wealth and security. Gabe’s involvement with Max’s media business—and by extension, with the criminal underworld connected to Arthur Spriggs—highlights the moral dangers inherent in the desire to secure financial stability.
Gabe and Pippa’s ability to afford their home in the prestigious Portsea neighborhood is directly linked to Gabe’s involvement in illegal and dangerous activities. This underscores how privilege often comes at a steep moral cost.
Pippa, initially unaware of these ethical compromises, eventually realizes the extent of Gabe’s corruption, particularly after Amanda’s death. However, she too is not without blame, as her willingness to overlook Gabe’s increasingly erratic behavior and her flirtation with Max reveal her own moral flexibility when it comes to maintaining her lifestyle and family security.
The novel suggests that wealth and privilege are often intertwined with hidden ethical compromises. Those who benefit from such privilege are often complicit, whether consciously or not, in the darker aspects of that pursuit.