This was a page turner! Darling Girls is about 3 teenage girls who spent time together in a foster home. Their foster mother was manipulative and abusive. The girls looked out for each other and consider themselves sisters because of everything they went through together.

Years later, they get a call from a detective saying a body was found buried underneath the foster home. The women are possible suspects or witnesses and they have to relive their childhood talking with the police.

This was a 4/5 for me! Thank you to @sallyhepworth and @netgalley for this advanced release copy! This book will be published on April 23rd - definitely add it to your list!

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I finished Darling Girls in one sitting because I couldn't put down Sally Hepworth's latest novel. In this book, under different circumstances three girls were put into foster care and seem to be lucky to find a house and foster parent in Mrs. Fairchild but things are not what they seem. Mrs. Fairchild verbally and physically abuse these kids until there is a breaking point. Even though Norah, Jessica and Alicia has a nightmare time at the house with their caregiver they formed a bond that couldn't be broken.

The book then fast forwards to 25 years later where the three girls have to go back to Wild Meadows when they are contacted by detectives that human bones were found under the house. Whose bones are they and what happened to them?

I truly loved the three girls and hearing chapter from each of their perspectives as well as flashbacks chapters. I was super invested to see how things would play out and I wasn't disappointed, that last chapter killed me! I would recommend this book and thanks so much for the ARC!

Hepworth does a wonderful job going between past and present storylines. Wonderful character development and lots of twists. Was hard to put down. Thank you Net Galley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

This book kept me very entertained, and the end surprised me. This was my first Sally Hepworth book, and I can't wait to read more!

Three girls - Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in an abusive narcissistic foster home. Fast forward to their adult lives, they are determined to find closure and live their lives putting the past behind them until bones are discovered under the foster home they grew up in. This makes the three women now confront their past with Miss Fairchild - their foster mother. This book had all the girls points of views which I thought was neat and really allowed for a detailed well done story. The effects of trauma and narcissistic abuse really are compelling and highlighted all throughout this book. It really made me think as the reader and feel for these women. I thought the twists and the turns were good with this one and all the way up till the end I was stunned at who was buried under the home. Sally Hepworth is an amazing author and this was a well done book that I highly recommend everyone check out!

I Nancy Drew’d my way into ruining my experience with this book. Totally a me thing and not a book thing. Looking back, one or two minor details got me sidetracked from the plot and took me 75%+ of the book to get back on track. Take my word for it, DON’T try to figure this one out. Read for enjoyment purposes only and the twists will BLOW your mind!
Star rating: 4/5 stars

Miss Fairchild is a foster mother with very strict rules. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up with the mean lady and finally broke free. Years later a body is found under the house that they grew up in. All three girls are questioned. Who was the killer? Read this amazing book by Sally Hepworth to find out!

Having read prior Sally Hepworth books I had high expectations and this book met them all! It’s psychological, thrilling, emotional, and mysterious. I could not read this fast enough, such a chilling thriller. I loved and definitely recommend reading this book.

Wow. Wow. Wow.
What a great story about family, loss, deceit, betrayal, and love. The author weaves two stories together effortlessly. I couldn’t put this book down - reading it in one sitting.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. High recommend!

This is my favorite Sally Hepworth book so far! I could not put this book down. I was enthralled with the characters and the story.
Darling Girls follow 3 sisters and their foster mother. The story goes back forth between before and now. It was easy to follow and had me at the edge of my seat waiting to find out how the story ended.
If you like Sally’s previous works, I think you will enjoy this one as well.

There’s addictive, and then there’s a Sally Hepworth book. Good Lord I could not turn away.

Three sisters - Jessica, Norah and Alicia. All fostered by Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows until they find a way out.

Fast forward 25 years to bones being discovered under Wild Meadows and everyone comes back to where the tragedies first began. Each sister has to face their own trauma head on to discover whose body is really under that house.

I loved the mystery POV too.

Thank you, Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for the advance copy of "Darling girls" by Sally Hepworth.

This suspenseful novel was written in a multiperspective view of 3 foster sisters in the present and past tense. They had to face their old childhood trauma when brought under investigation of a body discovered at the home of their foster mother. The horrors of their past abuse and their current hardship help bring justice to the crime being processed.

This book, at times, was hard to read when discussing how poorly the foster mother treated the children. It sad the reality that some children endure when thinking they are getting placed in a loving situation, and it ends up being worse.

Thank you again for the advance copy for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley & St Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

Three adult foster sisters (Jessica, Alicia, & Norah) are called back to Port Agatha when bones are discovered underneath the home they grew up in. Who's bones are they? What happened to the deceased? And was anyone living in the home responsible?

The book was fast-paced with short chapters. The chapters are separated by the POV of each sister in past & present timelines. In between those chapters, the reader also gets chapters from the office of Dr. Warren a psychiatrist. The past goes through how the girls lived and were treated in a foster home under the care of Miss Fairchild. The present shows how the sisters are coping as adults while trying to understand the discovery of bones underneath the Wild Meadows home.

I enjoyed the characterization of the sisters; each one is unique. Jessica is highly organized & independent; Alicia is sweet and caring; Norah is funny, street smart, and takes no shit. There were different emotions in this story. Norah was my favorite character. Some banter in the present day between the sisters was funny; however, the past and the present findings were tragic and sad. There was a lot of character growth with the sisters.

The following triggers are in this book: foster abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, drug abuse, and sexual abuse.

I wouldn't exactly say this is a typical mystery/thriller book. This is more women's fiction with some mystery in it. I think the way this story is advertised could make a difference in the audience and ratings in my opinion. In the author's note, Sally Hepworth said she wanted to write a book about sisters born from different wombs. She also did some homework on the struggles of broken foster systems that she wanted to share with readers.

Overall I enjoyed the book, especially the characters. I recommend this book for those who like light mysteries (ie. Rachel Hawkins) or read mostly literary fiction. I give this 3.5 Stars but rounding up for GoodReads and Netgalley ratings.

What a brilliantly written suspenseful story. Sally Hepworth knows how to add those continuous twists and turns while also delivering last page shocks! I loved the multiple pov and alternating timeline. This story follows three girls: Jessica, Norah, and Alicia as they are brought back to the scene of their childhood trauma when a body has been found under the house of their foster mother. But their foster mom was anything but kind. Her motives were sinister and have had lasting effects on the three girls turned sisters. The girls suspect they know who’s body is under the house but with no one believing them 25 years ago, will anyone believe them know? Highly recommend!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press, for the early review copies of the e-book and audiobook via NetGalley. (Available 23 Apr 24)

This is my first from this author, and I was warned it wasn’t her best. Listening to it put me in a bad mood: nothing really happens except misery and mistreatment. I shifted to the e-book to be able to skim it faster to be done with it. The plot seemed slow, and most of the story focused on an abusive foster home situation. I wasn’t a fan of the ending, either.

4.5 stars!!

Okay, so first of all, going into this, I have my own biases and triggers with difficult foster/adoptive kids. If you’ve worked with or been a part of that world you know how tricky it can be. This book covered so much. It needs one big TW, but it was INCREDIBLE.

It took a minute to figure out where we were going with the plot, but the backstories were all very intriguing so it kept me moving forward. Once we hit the true plot I couldn’t stop. My blood boiled at so many points in this book.

Most of the twists and turns were small and wonderfully psychological, but that ending twist almost made me throw up. What a dramatic and totally unforeseen ending.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia grown up in a foster home named Wild Meadows, outside of Melbourne AU. Miss Fairchild is their ‘evil’ foster mother. As they grow up, they are forced to clean constantly, have minimal associations with people outside and have no friends. The story is told from the three girl’s points of view, and goes back and forth in time. Very easy to keep track of (which sometimes is hard for me).
The story begins with all three girls now adults and they consider themselves sisters. They each receive a phone call from the police, asking them to come to Wild Meadows. The bones of a child have been found buried on the property.
This is when we begin to hear about their past, their lives and how they got to Wild Meadows as young girls.
Trigger warnings- this book has physical and mental abuse, as well as alcoholism and sexual abuse. They were all written appropriately for the book, and did not leave me uncomfortable.
So many twists and turns! As I was reading this, I thought I figured it out, then no, then I realized who was who- wow!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

WOW! This one shocked me throughout. I gravitate towards thrillers because I enjoy trying to piece the puzzle together. BUT anything with harm towards children (or even the vulnerable) disgusts me, so it was a little hard to get through sometimes, and what was surprising is -for the most part- there isn’t anything that was especially graphic or repulsive in comparison to other books I have read, it was dark in the manner of emotional abuse, manipulation, narcissistic behavior that took place.

I liked the alternate timelines, I find that keeps my interest rather than being presented with all the information up front and it keeps up with the shock factor. The way the story is all wrapped up in the end, I feel it all comes together, although it is beyond disturbing when it is revealed what actually occurred.

There was a bit of emotional rollercoaster that took place reading about childhood traumas and understanding why people behave the way that they do, but even that was worked out by the end of the book. I even felt guilty for being suspicious of some characters.

One thing I thought was strange, and although not the *point* of the book, was the relationship that Jessica had with her husband Phil. I’m sure it was to show that growing up in foster care and not having been shown real love and affection, it was hard for her to understand it and give that to someone else, but it was also weird that he was just “patient” with her and didn’t really “try” and work things out as they happened. He seemed standoffish and always looking in on his own life, to me, like how he left the room when the sisters were talking about their upbringing.

If you are a thriller reader, or a fan of Sally Hepworth, I’d def recommend adding this to your TBR! Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for my DRC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Jessica, Norah and Alicia grew up in a foster home called Wild Meadows Farm, owned and operated by a woman known to them as Miss Fairchild, who turns out to be a wicked foster mother. Years later, after the girls are grown, the body of an infant is found buried under the farmhouse, and the girls travel back to where they grew up.

The plot is told from the three girls’ points of view in both the past and the present, as well as portions told by a mysterious someone who appears to be speaking with Dr. Warren a psychiatrist. This was definitely a page turner (although there is a lot of unnecessary repetition) and some interesting twists and turns. I had much of what happened towards the end figured out, and as I neared the very end I was pretty disappointed that I had and that it all seemed pretty trite . . . but then a huge twist occurred that I would have never seen coming, thus making my overall reading experience a better one.

I’m struggling with this one.

On the one hand, I thought the characters were very compelling. It’s a dual timeline but I found myself equally interested in both stories, which is a hard thing to do. It’s highly suspenseful- a nail biter. I cared about the kids in both present day and the past and was worried about what was in store for them.

On the other hand, this was a tough read. It features child neglect and abuse heavily. And although I don’t think it was gratuitous, and I think the proper research was done, it’s just so hard to read. There are also mentions of sexual assault and rape, as well as a portrayal of addiction and overdose. If you have triggers in any of those categories, please avoid this book.

I liked most of the ending and found it ended on a hopeful note for the girls, which the book really needed. It’s just the final chapter I wish hadn’t been included. I found it extremely off putting for some reason, and also unnecessary. It sort of rendered everything that came before just absolutely senseless, and shifted the view of the story as a whole. It just made the book so much darker after seeing that glimmer of hope. I’m not sure if that even makes sense but I strongly disliked it.

The book flows smoothly and the writing is fine. Will probably read from Hepworth again? I just hope the next book is maybe a little lighter in subject matter.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy.