Darling Girls is another great read from Sally Hepworth. While it is not my favorite read of hers, it still was highly entertaining and had me flipping pages to see where the story was going. I didn’t necessarily feel that strongly about any of the characters but I was invested in the story. The twist at the end was one I didn’t fully see coming which was great.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC and the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was my first 5 star book of 2024. As usual Sally Hepworth crushes the game. A story of sisters, secrets and murder it blew my mind.

Another twisty tale from Sally Hepworth! I couldn’t help but root for the girls and get invested in their stories.

Loved the multi timeline / POV. Twisted sisters is my new fave trope. Definitely a slow burn but worth the read just for the ending. Four stars! 🌟

Sally has become an auto-buy author for me! Her books are page turners filled with twists and turns that keep me guessing up until the end. She paints incredible characters that even when they’re terrible I still want to know more about them. Darling Girls was another home run for me. I stayed up to finish it because I had to know how it ended. Can’t wait for her next one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free digital copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.
Although this was not my favorite Sally Hepworth book, I still found it very intriguing. It drew me in, and I was emotionally attached to the main characters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, who were foster children. They formed an unbreakable bond in foster care as they tried to deal with the abusive and manipulative behavior of their foster mother, Holly Fairchild. I was immediately drawn into the story when Jessica, Norah, and Alicia received a call from law enforcement informing them that bones were found buried beneath the remnants of their childhood home. I did think this novel moved a little slow but the last 5o pages were great and things really sped up. I did enjoy this book and of course, Sally Hepworth's writing is phenomenal.

While it moved slightly slowly, it was an excellent read. Hepworth's style of chapters alternating between characters and periods always makes for an exciting read because you never know what the next chapter will reveal. And even with the piece-by-piece chapters, everything always finishes in a neat package with a clear ending.

Sally Hepworth is one of faves and this did not disappoint. I loved the dual timelines and trying to figure out how they were connected. I also liked all of the sisters and their stories. I was cheering for them to make it! Hepworth is still one of my must read authors!

This one was a tough read for me because I struggle reading about children being helpless and abused. That being said, this was a compelling book that took a bunch of turns. I loved the dynamic between the sisters. I also liked the dual timeline of the story - flipping between current day and their childhood. I thought I had it figured out but I did not... I love when that happens!

Ms. Hepworth is starting to become an auto-buy author for me. She once again has wrote an amazing book that keeps the reader guessing! The twists and turns throughout are amazing. This book pulls you in from the very first page.

This book was such a wild ride! I loved the relationship between the three sisters and how they were so "ride or die". I also liked the concept of jumped between present and past time. It kept me thoroughly engaged. The twist had the end had me actually gasping!!

Really fast paced read. I couldn’t put the book down until I knew the identity of the skeleton. While I had suspicions that were close to being correct, I didn’t foresee all the details. The multi pov & timeline keeps the suspense & thrills high as the story slowly divulges little details that lead to many red herrings.

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This book was great! I loved the multiple POVs with all of the sisters and the different timelines. The writing was addictive and engaging. I was surprised by the ending and how things wrapped up and really enjoyed it.

really enjoyed this domestic thriller and the three "sisters". Their backstory and how they overcame was well plotted out. Twisty and fast paced!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc for review!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are three "sisters" who spent their formative years in a foster home with the "loving" Miss Fairchild who turned out to be not so loving. While the girls escape the abusive home they are brought back 25 years later when the body of a child is found under the house.

This who dun-it read more like literary fiction to me. I was hoping for more mystery and suspense. Overall I found it to be a good book and would round up to 3 1/2 stars. I liked the little twist at the end but wanted more of that!

Sally Hepworth writes the type of suspense that's great for folks who like suspense but don't want to wade through a bunch of violence. She also knows her way around writing tension. The kind of tension that suffocates the reader from the first page to the last. Darling Girls tells the story of Jessica, Norah and Alicia, three women who were rescued from family tragedies and raised in foster care by Miss Fairchild, who owns an idyllic farm out in the country. Things, of course, are not what they seem. The girls, now grown, are called back "home" when construction workers, tearing down the house to build a new development, uncover the skeletal remains of a small child. The "sisters" are now called back as potential witnesses (or possibly suspects) and none of them are all that ready or willing to revisit the past.
Out of the gate, all the trigger warnings for childhood trauma and abuse (psychological and emotional). Miss Fairchild is one of those evil adult characters whose milk and cookies image is hiding a monster underneath. It's very hard to read and unsurprisingly all that childhood trauma has manifested itself in unhealthy ways now that the girls are adults.

Told in a dual timeline between past and present, the suspense is very slow burn (hence that suffocating feeling) and doesn't truly begin to cook until the final third, when I could not tear myself away. There's a twist at the end that had me gasping out loud, but also took off a bit of shine. It moves this book firmly from suspense to the thriller category - meaning it leaves a door open more than a crack and I'm not convinced the person how needs to be punished (mightily!) truly will be. However, all three women do end up in a better place by the end of the story, which goes a long way in making me feel less annoyed. While I'm assigning this the same grade, The Soulmate edges this one out for me, but it sure as heck is still plenty riveting.

Final Grade = B+

Three foster children were all adopted by Miss Fairchild at various times. Miss Fairchild lived alone on a secluded farm which she grew up on. She prided herself on cleanliness. The girls were made to do all of the chores to keep the house clean and punished if things were not up to Miss Fairchild’s standards. Jessica, Norah and Alicia are as close as sisters now that they are older and will do anything for one another. When the body of a child is discovered on Miss Fairchild’s property, the three of them return to the town they grew up in to help in the investigation. When they were young, a fourth girl was brought into their home but soon disappeared. They never knew what happened to her and it’s been weighing on them all of these years.
This is a twisty, wild ride. Between the gaslighting, abuse and manipulation by Miss Fairchild to these young girls, you will feel so shocked and appalled. It’s literally insane the things that are said and done to groom them to her liking. The story flips between present day, when the girls were living at the home, and with a psychiatrist transcript of who we don’t know the patient.
The ending twist is enough to keep you thinking well beyond the ending of the book. I love a thriller that keeps me thinking.
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review this title! This is my fourth read by Sally Hepworth and ties with The Good Sister for my favorite.

ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite reads ever. This is dark, thrilling, with complex characters that will continue to keep you guessing and turning pages.

Darling Girls was incredible!! I recommend this book and audiobook to everyone. I read the ARC and then listened to the audiobook. The narrators brought it to life in a different way that I thoroughly enjoyed!! The story left me guessing and that isn’t easy to do. I fell in love with so many of the characters. I cannot wait to read another Sally Hepworth book.

This was my first from this author and definitely won’t be my last. I love a good book that weave back and forth between past and present. This book had me hooked from the start.