Something I really appreciated about this book is how all of the characters actions felt very realistic to their development throughout the book. Everything tracked very well. The ending twist I did not see coming at all, and I appreciated leaving the book a little messy in the end.

Not the next Gone Girl but there is enough here to entertain

One of my favorite mystery tropes pervades this novel—a before and after timeline with additional pieces of the puzzle being slowly revealed.

Darling Girls is set in Australia focusing on three foster children, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia who all lived at Wild Meadows with their maniacal foster mum, Holly Fairchild.

The overall reading experience was enjoyable, particularly the plot. Take the very first page. Someone is talking to Dr. Warren, the psychiatrist. Who is it?

However, there is one thing holding back Darling Girls from being exceptional—its characters. These characters were not very convincing; they felt flat and predictable. It felt as though Hepworth created a character outline describing the three main characters in two sentences. Some form of the word “organized” was used 23 times!

This weak character development ended up seeping into and tainting the narrative voice and the ending.

The narrative voice was rather dull. For a great modern example of a spectacular narrative voice, explore The Fury by Alex Michaelides. Darling Girls is written in the third person; however, Hepworth should have considered the first-person perspective to increase the suspense, really leaning into the narrator’s desperation and terror, quickening the reader’s pulse. Darling Girls also lacked the humor of Hepworth’s The Good Sister.

Because the characters were cliché, the ending was lackluster and overly cozy—downright forgettable.

Not a seminal piece of the mystery genre but Darling Girls solidly holds its own.

I’m going to be the unpopular opinion on this one in that I liked it okay, but didn’t love it. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, I simply found myself getting a little board while reading because it’s quite the slow burn with no real shocking reveals throughout to keep me hooked. But I love Sally Hepworth and there’s no denying that she knows how to write a domestic thriller. There’s a lot of trauma and abuse in this one, and with a small cast of characters it’s pretty easy to tell who is going to be at fault. ⁠
The dual POV is very well written and takes us to a shocking ending that while fun, was a little too late in the “thriller” department for me.

Darling Girls
Sally Hepworth
Pub Date: April 23, 2024

I really enjoyed this book. It follows the story of three foster girls and their experiences living with Ms. Fairchild.

When I say this story gets pretty wild I mean it. I love Sally Hepworths’s writing and this one didn’t disappoint. She has a way of keeping the shock factor up.

This story was told in multiple POVS which I really liked. It helped bring each character to life showing their history and how they ended up in Ms. Fairchilds care. There were so many aspects of the children’s stories that were raw and really pulled at my heart strings. However, it really made the story that much better by using that to draw in the reader.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a copy of this book.

I read the Soulmate by Sally Hepworth and I didn't think this book could top it but it did. This book was told from different perspectives and also jumped to a different timeline at times. It was a page turner and just when you think the story is done there is a shocking surprise reveal!

I was so excited to get this ARC on netgalley, as I've really enjoyed other Sally Hepworth books.

This psychological mystery follows 3 sisters who met in foster care, 25 years after leaving the home that made them sisters, bones are found buried under the house. As the investigation goes on, you get all three of their point of views, as well as a mystery person. I thought this would confuse me at points, especially because you also get past and present, but their stories and personalities are each so unique. You really get to know each character, what put them in foster care, their experience with Miss Fairchild, and who they are in present day. I would recommend checking trigger warnings.

4.5⭐ for me! I mean, that ending!

Darling Girls follows three girls that end up in the same foster home. The story goes between the past and current state of all three girls. They get a phone call from a detective to let them know the house they lived in was torn down but they found a body and they needed them to come back to talk and help them figure out who it might be. When they run in to their old foster mother and accuse her of murdering a girl named Amy as she disappeared one day while they were at school. Story tells a horrific side of foster care and sheds light on someone who looks nice and perfect on the outside may not be who they truly are.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley and the author, Sally Hepworth for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-five years ago, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were foster children. After a series of unfortunate events in each of their lives, one by one they are dropped off at the sprawling farm house know as Wild Meadows. The house is run by a single woman named Miss Fairchild. The “darling girls” as Miss Fairchild sometimes refers to them are told how lucky they are to be in her care. Unfortunately for them, Miss Fairchild is anything but the ideal foster mother. She reminded me more of mommy dearest.

Present day, Wild Meadows has been torn down and a body has been found. The three girls come together trying to piece together what happened.

This story is told from multiple POVs of each girl in the present and in the past. We also have the POV of one girl speaking to a psychologist, Dr. Warren. Throughout the book, we don’t know who he is actually speaking to. I did figure that out fairly early into the story though.

This book has lots of good twists and turn and will keep you guessing until the last pages.
4 stars

What a comeback for Sally Hepworth!! I read The Soulmate and was severely disappointed. I was glad to receive this arc from St. Martins Press because I am reformed now!

This book was perfect for anyone with a short attention span who needs a good mystery! Told from 4 POV’s and switching back and forth from the past and present, the reader is fed constant insights and information to unfold the tragic story.

The story follows three foster siblings.-Jessica, Norah, and Alicia- who all suffered at the hands of their foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. Our fourth POV is someone undergoing psychiatric evaluation and kept vague enough that you don’t know who is speaking until the very end. The story starts in the present as the three sisters receive a phone call from a detective about bones being found in the basement of their childhood home and are asked to come back for questioning. We oscillate back and forth from their current situation filled with secrets and anxieties to their terrifying and manipulative childhood under the care of their foster mother.

The story is truly wild and I found myself so caught up in it all. The sisters personalities mixed with their internal struggles at present were a lot to digest but as the reader you’re sucked in wanting to know what happened to them and more importantly, why!?

I loved the sisters bond despite the tragedy of what happened to them in the past and at present. The ending was beautifully done and the last chapter had me in shock! What a story!

While I loved the story, the arc had me scratching my head at times because of a phrase used with Norah. She would say “ It;s Norah without a T” in my ARC and I could not for the life of me understand why? I asked friends and fellow readers if it made sense to them and some of us had this version while others didn’t. It took me out of the story at times and had me googling what the hell it could possibly mean. It’s so insignificant but was the one thing that bothered me to no end!

Sally Hepworth is typically an auto-buy author for me. However, this book was not for me. It should have come with a trigger warning for child abuse. Due to that and the LGBT character, this book is not a good fit for my social media and book blog.

Sally Hepworth has done it again with another thriller that kept my attention and kept me guessing. The dual timeline with a mystery narrator was easy to follow and the transitions were seamless. It's an uncomfortable subject, though, and the book should have trigger warnings as some may have trouble with the subject matter.

Arc Review

Darling Girls

By: Sally Hepworth

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Pub Date: 4/23/24

Sally Hepworth did it once again!!! My jaw is on the floor! This book was absolutely perfection!!! I devoured this book! I never knew I could be so sucked into a book until I read this. The twist at the end of the book was INSANE!!

•This book was told in multiple different povs from the 3 foster sisters, plus a mystery person.
This book was also told in dual timelines
•The foster sisters Jessica, Alicia, and Norah’s bond was amazing.
•The mystery from start to finish kept me intrigued for the whole book.
•Some parts of the book I could predict but it was so good.
•I don’t think I will ever stop thinking about this book.

Sally Hepworth will always be an auto buy author. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!! Be on the look out in April for this page turner!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC for an honest review.

I’m sure we all heard nightmarish stories bout foster homes and foster parents but damn… you wouldn’t think that this much of a back story existed for any of them. Because they wouldn’t be vetted as foster parents if anyone knew, right? Right?

Three sisters (not blood but closer than that) were fostered by Ms. Fairchild. They arrived at her home at different times, but her erratic behavior made me as close as they could be. Years later, each got a call from a detective about a body found under the house they lived in. The sisters had their theory, but truth was much more convoluted and sickening than they expected.

We heard the story from three different narratives on two different timelines. There was another surprise hidden in the narrative. I liked the stark differences in personalities of three sisters and how their traumas were very distinct. I always liked Sally Hepworth stories, but I think this hit the spot more than others

<b> Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.</b>

The story takes place in Melbourne, Australia and revolves around three adult women - Jessica, Norah, and Alicia - who receive a message from a police detective regarding their former foster home. The police have discovered bones on the property and want to know if the women have any information that could help with their investigation.

The book's narrative bounces back and forth between the past and present, as well as from the perspectives of all three women. I found the book to be incredibly captivating and haunting, and it even left me feeling a bit traumatized.

Sally Hepworth has another bestseller on her hands!



Expected Publication Date 23/04/24
Goodreads Review 24/03/24

This is my second Sally Hepworth I've read and yet again, she did not disappoint! If I could give this book more than a 5 star review I would. This book had great pacing that kept me engaged while also having so many subtle misdirections that I didn't know what was going to happen next! While there were some things I could see coming, the way in which they were revealed was not at all what I was expecting which to me is so so good in a thriller!

I loved that this book had such good character development! I might have cried a little bit at the end because I loved being able to see the growth from these main characters! 10/10 would recommend!

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life. But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thought it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. 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?

This was a multi-perspective who done it. The writing was great and it kept me turning the page. She does a great job unveiling things at the perfect moment. And I enjoyed the dual timelines between their time in the care of Miss Fairchild and the present. While I found this book incredibly intriguing and page-turning, overall I felt this was glorifying child abuse and sometimes found it hard to read. While it wasn't graphic in writing, just the idea of it all and the neglect from the adults supposed to be helping these kids made me so sad. There were also maybe 1-2 too many side plots, I'm looking at you, Kevin. Also, the last chapter of Mrs Fairchild really peeved me. I don't like when the whole story we are told one thing, then it gets resolved and in the last chapter, they refute something.

Overall I'd give this a 3.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 4/23

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!

#bookstagram #bookreview #readersofinstagram #stlbookstagram

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!