This was a wild ride from start to finish! I loved the suspense and the intense thrill. I loved the exploration of siblings relationships and childhood trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Review 4.5 ⭐️
Miss Fairchild came up with a new way to hurt them.” Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Wow and wow, did Sally Hepworth keep me on my toes with this one. While this was much darker than her usual family dramas, her exceptional storytelling is undeniable and the secrets and lies unfold one, after the other as the reader continues throughout the book. The book is told from the perspective of three different foster sisters, both past and present. In the beginning, as you getting to know the characters, it can be a little hard to keep up with who is who, but Hepworth does an amazing job giving each character a detailed background and who they grew up to be after leaving their foster care situation. I found that the chapters involving the past and the girls’ childhood more interesting and the present to be a little slower paced. This did help the reader come out from the darker points of the book. Of course, you can’t have a Hepworth book without the twisted ending, and this one left me with my jaw on the floor. This is more of a fiction novel with mysterious elements, so if you are looking to dip your toes in to more mysteries, this is a good one to start with.

The shared traumatic experiences at the hands of their narcissistic foster mother have forged an unbreakable bond of sisterhood for Jessica, Norah and Alicia. When bones are discovered buried under their old foster home, they travel back to where it all began to try find answers. The story is told in both past and present and from the perspective of each of the three women. There’s also the recounting of therapy sessions with Dr. Warren interspersed throughout the book where initially it’s unclear who the patient is. The way the story is told keeps you interested and invested in finding out what really happened. I do think this was a good story, but it did drag at times and lacked the level of suspense that I was hoping for.

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors and dare I say Darling Girls is one of her best? I read this back in the spring (I'm a bit behind with reviews, I know) and I still remember details about this one. That's the sign of a good book! I loved the storyline. It kept me guessing the entire time. I also loved how the POV changed throughout the story, and it was slowly revealed who the mysterious POV was. I loved how everything ended. Sally Hepworth is brilliant!

The story of three foster sisters dealing with the aftermath of their narcissistic foster mother was riveting with a delicious unexpected twist. I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's style of weaving complex family dynamics, secrets, and trauma with an arsenic bite of humor (similar to Liane Moriarity). I found all the POV's engaging and the storyline compelling. This was well-paced and satisfying.

In Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth, three foster children reunite after being informed that a body was found buried beneath the foster home where they grew up. They lived together and survived the abuse from their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, and now are leading their own lives. Those lives, though, are marred by the haunting childhood they shared. Now there's a crime that was committed on the property of their former home, and who is to blame for the death of this mysterious person?

Alternating chapters cover the present day for the three women and other chapters cover the past when they endured the abuse from their foster mother. I liked the different perspectives and also the characters are very distinct. You will not be confused as to who is narrating the chapter. This gives you a lot of insight into the different ways the girls handled how their childhoods played out. I thought that was effective.

One problem I had was one character seemingly pops out of nowhere, and you never find out what they were up to from the time the girls spent in the foster home until today. I felt like I needed that background, at least, in a paragraph or something.

Another issue I had with the book is the epilogue for one of the characters. It felt false, forced, and just a little too over the top. I almost felt like, of course, this had to happen.

This brings me to my next issue although it doesn't bother me that much. A lot of times throughout the story, it felt predictable. I could guess the trajectory of the character or the situation. While there are definitely some surprises, some things I figured out early on. I can't say it was disappointing because I really liked the characters except for one that I felt was bordering on cartoonish. Hepworth's writing shines through, and I enjoy her characterizations and descriptions of different situations. Maybe I've read too many thriller/suspense stories lately.

Anyway, this book isn't my favorite of the author's, but I did enjoy it and could have easily absorbed this in a weekend. It was a fun read, and I'm sure I'll be on board for her next book!

I really enjoyed this thriller from Sally Hepworth. It was a bit of a “slow reveal”, and maybe a little drug out at times, but overall was quite enjoyable. Will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Read this for my August book club with my girlfriends but also received as an ARC from #netgalley. I read the Soulmate by Sally last year and loved it and this one did not disappoint. So many different layers and complex relationships and trauma. I suspected a lot of things that happened but didn’t see it playing out entirely the way it did. It’s truly so heartbreaking that people go things like this in real life but I loved the sister relationship and how that got them through such hard times. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense novel that makes you think about bigger things.

#disneysongchallenge - Tangled - Mother Knows Best - mommy issues
#welcometotheerastour - Mastermind - a book with a big plot twist or mystery
#the52bookclub2024 - book by neurodivergent author

#netgalleyreview #netgalley #booklyapp #5starread #bookreview #darlinggirls #sallyhepworth

“Darling Girls” deals with a traumatic past and an unbreakable bond between three women. Although it reads more like a women’s fiction novel with thrilling elements, the “mystery” portion was a bit predictable as more is revealed through the past and present narratives. Definitely a fast paced read that will leave you wanting to know what exactly happened.

Sally Hepworth is becoming one of my favourite mystery writers. I previously read her books "the soulmate" and "the mother in law" and quite enjoyed them.

Darling Girls follows the lives of foster sisters Jessica, Norah and Alicia from their upbringing with Miss Fairchild to their second chance family. Their childhood was anything but a fairytale. Miss Fairchild is a foster mom from literal hell and this book makes you wish foster kids were given greater attention. The girls in present day are on there own and managing their own lives when a body turns up at their old foster home. This book will make you wonder if they are prime suspects or key witnesses. I was not prepared for the twist regarding Amy. I didn't want this book to end. I do love that she tied everything together at the end. I particularly loved Alicia's ending. I would love to see this get picked up for a movie or television show. I cannot wait to read what Sally writes next.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this thriller! Pretty fast-paced in the beginning but slows down about midway through. Definitely a satisfying ending but didn’t find it to be a jaw-dropping ending.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quick, satisfying read, Darling Girls invites us into a family created from necessity. Three foster sisters bond through the the trauma inflicted by their unstable foster mother. Each carries her own set of baggage. Atmospheric, the bucolic foster home only later presents as a house of horrors when the body of an infant is discovered during demolition. The sisters are called to the scene by authorities. Each has a piece of the puzzle. Will justice prevail? More suspense than an actual thriller, Hepworth none the less has brought another crowd pleaser to the shelves!

I am thankful that I was able to read and review a copy of this book. Another great read from Sally Hepworth! Ms. Fairchild was wonderfully creepy and disturbing and so unreliable. It gave such a current of tense unease while reading and kept me wanting more. I also loved the relationships with the sisters and how each of their stories worked out in the end. I’d highly recommend this book to others!

This was a great, can’t-put-it-down, read-in-a-day book! The character development for the stepmother was perfect - you could feel the tension not just when she was physically present, but when the girls were thinking about / remembering her. High on the creep factor. Twisty, with surprises throughout. I was not expecting the outcome of the major plot, and it’s always nice for the mystery to remain a mystery right to the end. If you’re a Sally Hepworth fan, or enjoy psychological thrillers, add this to your TBR for sure!

This was SO good! The twists and turns it took were amazing and always had me trying to figure out what was really going on.

The only reason it's not 5 stars for me is because it was dragging a bit in the middle. It could just be me though since I started it, took a break to read a different book, and came back to it.

Definitely recommend this one though!

Sally Hepworth is THAT GIRL. she is incredible and writes the most thrilling and gripping mysteries. I can’t wait for this next one if it’s anything like this

I just could not get into this one for some reason it wasn’t grabbing my attention. I’m usually a big fan of this author I just couldn’t get interested in this one!

I was so excited to have received an ARC of this book from one of my favorite thriller authors! This book clearly presents the long-lasting effects of being raised by someone who is an abusive parent and a narcissist. Though at times difficult to read, I could not put it down and really appreciated her shedding light on some of the harshest realities of the foster care system. There are multiple POVs, three of which are girls who shared the same foster home, and the ways in which they got there and how they are dealing with their foster mother, Holly Fairchild. Through a series of psychological games, she leaves scares that last longer than the time it took to escape her. All protagonists had a unique characteristic that made the story much more enjoyable. I would totally recommend checking this one out and reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book.

I love anything Sally Hepworth! This kept me on the edge of my seat and was a great summer beach read.