Darling Girls is about three adult women who grew up as foster children in the same abusive foster home run by Miss Fairchild. They bonded over their shared trauma and became sisters in their hearts and remain a part of each other's lives. When bones are discovered at Miss Fairchild's house, the police contact the sisters, which opens old wounds when the women are forced to return to the town to cooperate with the investigation. This was a tough book for me to get through. I find depictions of child abuse very difficult to read, of which there are many in Darling Girls. But I'm glad I stuck with it and read through to the end. There are many twists and turns, and I enjoyed Darling Girls overall. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This book hooked me in from the very beginning & is my first book by this author. It rotates between all 3 of the sisters & mixes their backstory with the current events going on. I'm so glad I had the chance to ARC read this! Thank you NetGalley! I definitely recommend getting this book when it comes out 4/23/2024.

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

"Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth is a new psychological thriller coming out this April & man, is it good.

This novel surrounds three foster "sisters" -- Jessica, Norah, and Alicia -- and the torment that cemented them together in their foster home. Now, years later, the police have come calling because a body is found under their foster house, and they've got questions.

I really liked this one. It was a good amount of suspenseful and the twist? OKAYYYY. But something is holding me back from a 5/5....maybe I was expecting a little more twist? Maybe I was just not as surprised as I wanted to be. Not sure. Either way, this is a good one!

Make sure you snag it on April 23! Big thanks to @stmartinspress for the ARC!

#darlinggirls #sallyhepworth @netgalley #netgalley #stmartinspress

I just recently discovered this author and have loved everything I’ve read. However, this beat the rest, hands down. This story kept me guessing. I was scrambling to figure out what exactly had happened in the past and trying to catch the twist before it was revealed. I failed.

I loved the format this was written in with the labeled flashbacks as well as another point of view that was slowly unraveling throughout the story. Thus began the scrambling and the guessing. I have never flipped from back to front to back again and again as often as I did while reading this book. I was desperate to find the answers to my questions.

This was such a great story filled with characters that were flawed but that called to me in a way I’ve not experienced before. As much as I was thrilled to learn all of their secrets, I hated to see their story end.

I hate to say it, but this was not an enjoyable read for me. Darling Girls tells the stories of three young women raised in a foster home with their horrible foster mother. The story rotates between past and present, with the present day search for the identity of human remains found under their old foster home.

Every time the story switched to the past, it was hard to read. It is quite heavy and details the abuse these young girls endured under the "care" of Miss Fairchild. I found it upsetting to read all the particular ways she abused them, both physically and emotionally. The reveals along the way weren't very surprising and ultimately didn't help to propel the story very much. I did enjoy how it ultimately wrapped up, but it just was not enough for me to appreciate the book. I've been seeing really great reviews and a high Goodreads rating for this one, but it was a huge miss in my opinion.

Trigger Warning: This book details instances of abuse and neglect of children in foster care. As a Social Worker myself, the portrayal of SWers that exist in books like this infuriate me but I was able to look past it for this story.

Norah, Jessica and Alicia are sisters in every sense of the word except biology. They grew up in what we come to learn is a house of horrors masquerading as a foster care placement. Many years later the girls get a call informing them a body was discovered when that house was torn down and now they are asked to come back to help figure out whose body it is. The book jumps between present day and the past revealing the answers to the mysterious body along with the traumas the girls suffered.

As with books, by Sally Hepworth, the male and female characters have depth. The plot moves along smoothly to the unexpected conclusion. I was not disappointed by this book.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

This was my first Sally Hepworth read and it did not disappoint! There were many twists in this domestic thriller, and I felt really connected to each of the three sisters. 5 stars, highly recommend for an exciting, fast-pasted, non-puttdownable read!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was such a fun book and I finished it in less than 12 hours. I could not put it down. I loved the sister dynamic in this book. Definitely look up triggers before reading this book, but for a thriller I would give it 5 ⭐️. Fantasy is my favorite genre so I don’t think it necessarily compares to a fantasy book, but it was one of the best thrillers I’ve read so far in my reading journey!

3.5 stars

Reviewing this book is a bit tricky for me. I've been a fan of Sally Hepworth since her first book, but I've had mixed feelings about some of her later works. So, I never really know what to expect. However, I finished this book in just a day and a half, which says a lot about how I felt about it. I was genuinely intrigued by the mystery and couldn't wait to see how it all played out.

I quickly connected with the three young girls, especially enjoying the backstory more than the present-day plot. Norah (with an h) was my favorite along with her three dogs. They added a nice touch of humor, although given the serious subject matter feels somewhat insensitive of me.

The story is told from the perspectives of each in both the past and present, with an additional mysterious narrative from an unknown character. While this added an interesting element, I did find the story to be a bit long-winded at times. As the book wrapped up, I had to suspend my disbelief and rethink some earlier parts, which left me feeling a bit disappointed with the ending.

Overall, this book touches on some sensitive topics that may require trigger warnings for some readers. However, to say what they are would feel like spoilers.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to dig into this book. This was a great story about the unconventional family of the three "sisters," the abuse they underwent as foster children by a narcissistic caregiver, and the effects they felt from it. And of course, my favorite part of any book is the twists, turns, and suspense. I definitely found myself thinking I was done reading for the time being, but kept reading one chapter more. I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Sally Hepworth for this digital ARC to review.

I absolutely love Sally Hepworth. Every book she writes is compelling and a page turner. Will also read her books.

Wow!! What did I just read?! I couldn’t put this book down!! The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this incredible book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

Sally Hepworth does it again. She is an automatic read for me and there is a reason. She catches your attention right from the get go and the book flow by. So good. So interesting. Such good character development.

Good beginning, good ending. I don’t know if it’s just my mood was off but this took forever to get through the middle.

I’m a Hepworth fan and this was just ok for me. It wasn’t my fave, (that title goes to The Soulmate) but I’ll definitely be back for her next one. Shes worth a so-so book every now and then.

Btw, if you don’t follow her on social media, you should. She’s a hoot.

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

If you’re looking for a thriller that’s told in a unique format, I think you would really enjoy this. You get two POVs, plus news articles and letters written by Ruby.

I got sucked into this one pretty early on, once I read the first letter by Ruby I was hooked. Although I don’t think this is really a “thriller”, more so a juicy, rich people family drama.

I really enjoyed Ruby as a character and loved the setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains in NC. Ashby house felt like another character in the book and I felt I could picture it perfectly.

The only thing I disliked was that it was pretty predictable and none of the twists or reveals blew me away, but I’d still recommend if you’re looking for a quick read about uncovering family secrets.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. There were plenty of twists and turns that had actual substance to them. I genuinely cared about each character and couldn’t wait to get through to see what happened in the end. Definitely a binge worthy read!!

When I saw Sally Hepworth had a new book coming out, I immediately requested and received an ARC. This book didn’t disappoint. It drew me in from the first page. The twists at the end had me reeling! My heart went out to these girls in the foster care system.

Blown away! Every Sally Hepworth novel gets better and better! I was ready to discover what Ms.Fairchild's trauma was and this book did not disappoint. The girls were such a powerful force, I thought for sure I knew the ending but I was so wrong. I love a book that keeps me on my toes!