Sally Hepworth has a way of sucking you in to her stories from the beginning and this was no exception.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters although not biological. They are brought together in childhood when they are all placed with the same foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. However, despite fair being in her name, she is not. Jessica is the first to arrive and Mrs. Fairchild seems a little excessive in her scheduling of cleaning and such, but still a caring and doting mother to Jessica until Norah arrives. Once there is a second child, Mrs. Fairchild seems to change and become extremely strict and unloving.

All three sisters are called back to town when remains of a child have been dug up on the property her house was once on. We are brought back & forth from past to present to try to put all of the pieces together of what really happened in their childhood.

I have to say that I did not figure out what had really happened until Hepworth revealed it, but there was so much going on that I once in awhile got lost and had to circle back to figure out what was going on. With that being said, it will keep you on your toes and surprise you!

Another great read from Hepworth!

Told from different points of view of the three girls that grew up in this house of horrors. This one will keep you guessing until the last chapter, the way a great story should be told.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this page turner.

I found this mystery fascinating. Twenty-five years after they left their foster home Wild Meadows, three 'sisters' are called by the police to help unravel a mystery. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I love that this story is written by each of the three women that alternates between the past and the present. All three of them have experienced and witnessed child abuse from their ironically named foster mother Miss Fairchild. All three sisters have a strong bond and have been affected by their time in Wild Meadows. Interesting, there is also a fourth POV that describes each session with a psychiatrist. It's uncertain for a long time if it's written by one of the sisters or someone else. From the beginning of the book, I was compelled to finish it. There are lots of red herrings and the POV's are so interesting. The book kept me guessing, which I love.

I hate to say this, because I really enjoyed the previous books I've read by this author, but Darling Girls missed the mark for me.

First, and I completely understand that ARCs are unfinished and all, and it should be expected to find an error or two, but I expect a little more from a major publisher--I haven't encountered as many typos in an ARC before and it really took me out of the story in several places rereading to make sure I wasn't crazy.

As for the story itself, it's so unrelenting in its misery. The abuse is so repetitive and constant that it loses its emotional impact. You eventually become desensitized to it all. Which is a problem if you're supposed to be sympathizing with the three main characters. Which I just couldn't, with possibly the exception of Alicia, who is trying to do good things with her work. But I just found Jess and Norah unlikable--especially Norah, who is just obnoxious about the dogs and goes around compulsively assaulting people.

The pacing also felt a little wonky as well given that this is told in a past/present narrative. I was ready to DNF at the point the girls tell us, and I'm paraphrasing, "And then we went to the authorities and they put us in a group home, the end."

And while I don't mind "unreliable narrators" in books, this one felt poorly done. You end up feeling entirely cheated with being led to feel one way only to have it end with "HA HA SUCKERS I LIED!"

In the end, it feels like you just have to read this with a blank mind. You can't think deeply about it or ask any questions--Does Australia not vet its foster parents? Are their social workers untrained and utter morons? It's one thing to bring to light abuse in the system, but there's so much going on here--rampant child abuse, accusations of pedophilia in more than one character, child killing, child trafficking, exploitation of immigrant parents, police incompetence, adult lives going off the rails as a result of childhood trauma, sexual extortion, drug use/abuse/overdosing--that it's just hard to take it seriously.

Thanks so much to the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, it just wasn't a good fit.

Oh boy was this a heavy read. It has quite a few trigger warnings such as child abuse, SA, and neglect. But with those warnings, there was also found family, sisterhood, and love. I actually enjoyed the multiple POVs in this when I usually stay away from more than two POVs. The women in this story being as devoted to each other as they are was really heartwarming. They protected each other in childhood and continue to do so in adulthood. I also really liked the uniqueness of a story of children in foster care and the trauma of that. The ending didn’t disappoint at all. Very good!

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER...

A 4.5⭐️ thriller that I am recommending as a must read!

I am a big fan of Hepworth and her genre of smart domestic fiction. I was very excited to receive an advanced ecopy of her upcoming release (thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press) and IMHO it is her best book yet. This psychological thriller centres around three girls- Jessica, Norah and Alicia- who are "lucky" to be sent to live with Miss Fairchild after they are placed in foster care. At first Miss Fairchild presents herself as the perfect doting foster mother- but her instability and dark nature start to seep out and she becomes the scariest kind of the monster- the one that you never see coming. The trauma of the abuse bonds the girls together as sisters.

The book jumps between the girls' time with Miss Fairchild and present tense (25 years later) as the girls- now women- struggle in their adult lives. An unexpected call that a body has been found underneath their former foster home shatters their current existence and the crime unearths old secrets and brings them back to the scene of their nightmare to figure out what happened once and for all. There's a lot of speculation about who the body may be and if the girls are responsible, and it definitely adds to the foreboding atmosphere of the novel. I was glued to every page and an AMAZING twist that I didn't see coming two-thirds into the novel literally left me with my mouth hanging open.

Well-written and well crafted, Hepworth did a fantastic job of making all of the characters believable and unique, each with their own behaviours and demons after surviving their time in foster care. Jessica with her need to please and keep everything clean and orderly, Norah with her emotions too big to contain and her violent streak, and Alicia with her inner voice that keeps telling her she is just not good enough. I felt for these girls, understood their bond and rooted for them to be okay.

As for the pace and length? This thriller was so good I binged it in one sitting. I highly recommend you pick it up or order it as your next BOTM!

.More twists than the corkscrew I used to pop the bottle of wine I needed while reading it!

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: 3 children (Jessica, Norah, Alicia) are bonded by a sisterhood experience - living in foster care at the same “idyllic” location in the country. But Miss Fairchild, the owner and foster parent is anything BUT a proper parent. Flash forward to adulthood and the 3 women are now called back to the house they survived. Bones have been found. Secrets will be revealed. But who is the person responsible and just how deep do more secrets lie? And whose bones have been unearthed? 🤔

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Daaaayyyum!! Hepworth has done a MUCH better job with this novel (Loved The Good Sister but hated The Younger Wife). Granted I’m no foster care expert, but as an inner city school teacher I’ve had experience in this general arena. Hepworth does this topic insanely proud with thorough research and an engaging plot I’d LOVE to see in a movie. She also paints these flawed characters with a broad stroke - never focusing on their trauma, but rather their individuality. All with the twisty moments we crave in the psych thriller genre!

The characters are well-written and engaging, my favorite being hot-tempered Norah (because sometimes you DO need to smack someone down) 😆. In their own ways they are fragile, but Hepworth gives them merit, a presence , a voice and for that I will say 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼. Yassss! Anyone with siblings will know the bond.

This is one of those FOMO books EVERYONE will be running to read. Just Do it! Because Nike was right about that in so many ways…

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Domestic thriller

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: All the psychological /domestic thriller fans will be talking about it.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: I think if you’re over the plot twists like Verity and The Silent Patient (which I loved!)

Thank you to the author and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and for not forgetting this long-lost reviewer who had a medical battle last year that wrecked my %. You welcomed me back and I am forever grateful. ☺️

Definitely darker than her previous books but it was one of those ‘can’t look away’ types of dark. I just had to know how it was all going to wrap up even with the tough subject matter of child neglect/abuse all throughout.

Hepworth is my go to for domestic thrillers. I have enjoyed all her books and this one did not disappoint. A dark look into the foster care system. Many twists and turns. The ending threw me for a loop.

Norah, Jessica and Alicia all grew up together in a foster home ran by Mrs. Fairchild. Now as adults and still very close are faced with their past when a body shows up in their childhood home after it has been torn down. Each still managing and masking their own trauma from childhood learn new secrets about Mrs Fairchild and the circle of abuse.

Another solid read by Sally Hepworth. Good twists and turns.

This book. THIS BOOK!!! I don’t even know what to say except READ IT. This book was easily a five star read, and then I got to the final chapter and it immediately became a more than that. If I could give it 100 stars I would.

Told in multiple POV’s and a dual timeline this book explores how cruel the life of a foster child can be. The long-term effects of neglect and abuse.

Hepworth made me feel connected to the sisters from the start, and even managed to evoke some sympathy from me for Miss Fairchild. I was constantly guessing what the outcome would be, and once I thought I had it figured out she just laughed and said “you thought!”

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book!

At first read, I couldn't tell who was meeting with the psychologist. I thought that added an another element of surprise. I liked how they told.each of the sister's perspectives and connected them throughout the entire story.

I loved it. This is exactly the type of thriller I like to read. It kept me engaged the whole time and I couldn't wait to finish it.

This felt like a little bit more of a suspense and family drama than thriller. Still really liked it! SH writes such complex characters that you kinda love them all even though they have tricky pieces- just like the rest of us. Love the cover, the setting, the pacing. Great finish!

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!