I've seen Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth described as a thrilling page-turner, and that is absolutely not how I would describe it. If you go in expecting a fast-paced thriller, you will likely be disappointed. However if you are looking for a psychological thriller, this might be for you. I typically prefer plot-driven books, and this one leans heavily on the characters. However, I was hooked from the start. I have not read Sally Hepworth before, but in this case, she wrote characters who drew me in. I wanted to know more about them and cared what happened. I won't say anything specific about the plot, as I think it's best not to know too much going in. If you like stories that look at the human experience, familial bonds, shifting loyalites and uncertain circumstances, give it a try!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for a free copy of #DarlingGirls by Sally Hepworth. All opinions are my own.

This story is about 3 foster sisters who share a bond like blood sisters would.Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up together on a farm with a terrible foster mother.Years later bones are found in their childhood farmhouse yard and all of the girls are summons in to the Police Dept for questioning. When all the pieces are put together at the end the revelation is absolutely SHOCKING. Highly recommend.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is a great psychological thrill. When three foster sisters must face their past after something is discovered at their old foster home the reader is taken on a wild adventure.
I loved the multiple points of view and all three of the main characters. I loved the thrill of this book and the mystery.

Darling Girls was somehow my first Sally Hepworth book but not my last! I've added all of her books to my TBR! If you love a good mystery, this is a book for you! Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was by far my favorite book by Sally Hepworth. It is a heavy story that touches on topics of grief, child and sexual abuse but so well written and emotional that you are hooked right from the first page. Multiple POVs and flashbacks to the past painted a full story of three sisters’ childhood and how those experiences shaped their adulthood. I really loved their bond and love for one another.
This is a twisty, emotional thriller that you can devour in one sitting, just like I did. Highly recommend it!
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.25/5 stars

Trigger Warnings for child abuse, drug abuse, sexual assault and child abandonment

This was my first Sally Hepworth book but it won’t be my last. I was so invested in this dark, thrilling and mysterious book. I had to know how it ended. Sometimes it was hard to keep the three sisters straight in the beginning but I made notes and was able to reference them throughout the book. This book definitely opened my eyes to the foster care system and what some kids go through. I had to read the last chapter 3 times because I was so surprised as to what happened. I really liked how each of the sisters stories ended. The back and forth timeline was confusing at some points but I think it was done well overall.

I’m eager to read another book by this author as she is amazing at writing thrilling book!

This book reminded me of why I like Sally Hepworth novels. This was a well-researched dive into the horrors that can happen in the foster system. Part of it was about the relationships and bonds that are formed. The rest of it was about the body under the house...

The dual timeline moved between the sisters' time together, their individual traumas that brought them there, and some brief interludes with a psychologist. I loved how Hepworth created an almost gothic feel to the foster home, "Wild Meadows", where Jessica, Norah, and Alicia spent their formative years. The punishments were rarely physical, but the psychological harm they inflicted had long-lasting consequences. I could see a very type-cast Jessica Lange playing the role of Miss Fairchild, the gracious to others, but cold, uncaring foster mother to all of the children under her care.

This was a dark and twisted story and I loved every minute of it!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an advance reader's copy.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of Darling Girls. WOW, WOW, WOW!! I cannot believe I read this in a day, it was soooooooo CONSUMING! The dark side of foster care is Horrible, so very sad. This book was so well written about a taboo subject and had such a wonderful ending. The characters were Fantastic, this book will stay with me for a loooong time. You do NOT go wrong with a Sally Hepworth novel, she ALWAYS comes through. FANTASTIC, COMPELLING, EMOTIONAL, RIVETING!

A dark story with dual timelines, One timeline is three girls' time in foster care. The second timeline is the girls as adult women dealing with the trauma they experienced as children. It was dark and sad but I was fully engrossed in the fast paced story.

Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for a copy of this book. Before you read this, be aware that there's depiction of child neglect and abuse that is heartbreaking. This story is told in 3 POV of the "sisters" that grew up in a foster home together. It's told in past and present and gives you a good backstory of each of these ladies. The story is interesting and I think the author did a good job depicting that not all foster homes were safe. I got a little muddled in parts of the story with so many POV in audio. The narrator did a foot job and the last 1/3 of the book really picked up and tied the story together.

Three foster girls spend two years together in a hellhole with an evil foster mom, but somehow they manage to grow into responsible adults with not too many hangups. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have stayed close and always considered themselves sisters, the only people who understand each other and what they actually went through. Then one phone call brings it all crashing back down.
A body has been found buried in the basement of the home they all fled as young girls. They’re each considered a suspect along with their foster mother. Once again, they’re thrust together with no choice but to cooperate and help the police solve who died in the home and how this death happened.
Rehashing through horrific flashbacks, the three sisters must relive much of what they’ve worked so hard to leave behind. And Miss Fairchild is still up to her old tricks of conniving, fooling the police, and even more evil than ever.
With characters you hate and others you empathize with, Sally Hepworth has written another thriller that takes you careening through the full gamut of emotions. A must read for thrill seekers.
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for the Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is April 23, 2024.

Sally Hepworth has a unique talent. I have loved all her books. They are typically centered around women and yet they are all so different from each one.

This book flows so well. Jumping from POVs makes it so much more interesting. You are easily intrigued by each character and eager to know more.

All the twists are shocking and satisfying. And there are a few.

This story is entertaining and endearing. I loved it.

Once I hit 10% in this story I was absolutely hooked! Darling Girls is told from the perspective of 3 girls who were in foster care at the same place. The book has dual timelines telling the story from when the children were young and the current time that brings them all back together when a body is found underneath the house they lived in for foster care. There are also excerpts from session with a psychiatrist speaking to an unnamed patient This story has twists and turns and kept me guessing until the last minute!

I think I probably would have given Darling Girls five stars if not for the ending….I love a twist, but this one was perhaps just a bit too disturbing for me, Other than that, I found the book an easy and quick read that kept me guessing. I loved the sisterhood between Jessica, Alicia and Norah, and I found each of them to be well developed characters.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are young girls in the foster system. They are supposed to feel lucky to have Miss Fairchild as their foster mother but their life isn't the fairytale that Miss Fairchild wants portrayed. When a body is found under the home in which they grew up, they are back together trying to figure out the mystery of their time at Wild Meadows.

I always look forward to Sally Hepworth's books. They have a touch of suspense/mystery that keeps you turning pages. And she is always great at the surprise ending. I loved the alternating timeline and the chapters alternating between the girls and the time Miss Fairchild spends at her therapists office. Makes for quick reading.

Read if you like: the bond of sisterhood, some mystery and suspense, twists and turns, well developed and flawed characters, and any previous Sally Hepworth books.

I read this book from start to finish on a flight home. I loved it right from the beginning. Although I guessed who it was speaking to the psychiatrist pretty early on, I was shocked by the ending. I loved all of the characters and learning their background through dual timelines.

There’s multiple povs from the girls that grew up together in foster home Wild Meadows. The story is told in past and present timelines between their time in the home and them now as adults. I loved how the story unfolded.

I highly recommend this thriller. It’s been awhile since I read a thriller that fully immersed me like this. There are triggers, so please look into them if you’re concerned.

Thank you netgalley and St Martins Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars……. I went into my first Sally Hepworth read gung-ho, but finished a little disappointed. Darling Girls is about foster care and three “sisters” bound by their childhood, living at Wild Meadows and being raised by Miss. Fairchild. I liked that we got to see Norah, Jessica and Alicia as children and as adults. I loved learning about them and how foster care affected each of them more than the mystery of the story.

I loved the beginning of Darling Girls and was telling my peeps they had to read it but as it moved along I felt the writing was a little to simplistic, the story slowed down and the whodunit and who was buried under the house became less important to me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely read another book by Sally Hepworth. After reading reviews on her other books I think I may enjoy those more.

There’s nothing quite like sisters and secrets — and this psychological mystery is full of both. One by one, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia find themselves in foster care under Miss Fairchild, a seemingly idyllic and loving foster mother, who they quickly realize is anything but. Escaping as teens, the three women have moved on years later, each taking their own path. But when remains are discovered at the home they grew up in; secrets are unearthed once again. Throughout the novel, there’s pieces of a session between a woman and a psychiatrist…but much of the novel keeps you guessing as to who, and there are plenty of twists even in the final pages.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

Sally Hepworth knocks it out of the park again with this novel, it was so much fun.

First, I loved the sisters, the patchworked way they became sisters, and their ongoing relationship. Should all siblings have such unconditional love for each other. I thought that the way the story was pieced together, especially with the psychiatrist visit interjected was very clever. And the main plot, the mystery, had everything you could ask for, twists and all.

Well worth the read if you like a mystery with rich story and heart.

Unreliable narrators and multiple points of view builds this story of three “sisters” who grew up in a horrific foster care situation. They each have issues all related to trauma, and it all comes to the forefront when human remains are found on the property of the foster home. The little twist ending surprised me. I think Sally Hepworth is becoming an auto-read author for me!