Another great Sally Hepworth read. I really enjoy her writing and the stories she tells. Thank NetGalley for the eArc.

This book exemplifies the horror stories of foster homes.
Three young girls arrive at Wild Meadows, an idyllic farm setting that seems like the perfect place for young girls to thrive. But the Mother of this house is a conniving, manipulative woman who loves having control.
The three, all about the same age, arrive at various times and for various reasons. The girls become “sisters" in this wretched facility, taking care of each other through the torture they endured at Miss Fairchild’s hands until they are freed from her grasp by county authorities.
Now 25 years later they are called together by police about bones found under the house: the bones of a child. Who was that and who was to blame? Suddenly fingers are pointing to them.
What’s interesting is how the younger personalities were mimicked in adulthood. You could see how they developed into who they were and what they did in life as adults.
It was upsetting to read what happened in that house as children and how Miss Fairchild could still manipulate them 25 years later.

Sisters by circumstance, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia survived foster care with Holly Fairchild in Sally Hepworth’s latest novel, Darling Girls, available April 23. Miss Fairchild, with her demanding rules and her unpredictable demeanor, psychologically scarred each of her charges. While social workers thought they had placed the children in good hands on a country estate called Wild Meadows in Port Agatha with horses and a swimming pool, they were so wrong.

Twenty-five years later, detectives from Melbourne are asking all three adult women questions about a body recently discovered when Miss Fairchild’s home was demolished. Bound together by misfortune, the women must face going back to Port Agatha to assist in the investigation, not sure if they are witnesses or suspects.

Jessica desperately craves the love she thought she was experiencing with Miss Fairchild until the other foster children came along. Norah struggles majorly with an intense anger that has landed her in trouble with the law as she has lashed out physically toward others. Alicia, who was only supposed to be a temporary placement while her grandmother was hospitalized, becomes a shadow of herself as she struggles to redeem her life by being a social worker who places children in foster homes.

Readers have come to expect twisty plots from author Sally Hepworth, and Darling Girls will not disappoint. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting February 24, 2024.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in foster care at Wild Meadows under the care of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They’d been told that they were lucky to be placed there, and to the outside world they had a good life. But Miss Fairchild was different behind closed doors and had a strict set of rules that her girls had to follow. When they finally escape it seems that no one believes what they had to say, but when bones are found under the house the secrets and lies will be exposed.

This is my first Sally Hepworth book, and I must say I will definitely be picking up her others after reading this one! I was hooked from page one! It’s told in the POV of Jessica, Norah, and Alicia from both past and present day, as well as a mystery person (for the first half we don’t know who it is) talking to a psychiatrist. It a twisty tale that is as heartbreaking as it is enthralling. I was so invested in all of the characters and sympathized with each of their stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Sally Hepworth knows how to propel a story. Fast paced with enough mystery to keep the pages turning. Three former foster sisters are suddenly forced back into a world they desperately wanted to put behind them when a body is found under their old home. Some parts you could see coming, but Hepworth definitely got me in the end!

I thought the story started out strongly, with good character development and an intriguing plot line, but somewhere along the line, the story derailed. Characters became inconsistent, plot twists were ham-handed, and I gave up on trying to keep track of babies.

This story is about 3 women who were raised in foster care. As far as they are concerned they are sisters. The book goes back and forth between the past and present showing each girls experience in foster care and how it impacts their present lives. I couldn’t quite figure out where this book was going but the ending still caught me off guard, I didn’t see it coming. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I am a big fan of Sally Hepworth, and Darling Girls was another entertaining installment in her repertoire of thrillers. We see the perspective of 3 different girls affected by an abusive foster parent. I enjoyed learning about each of these characters and the ride filled with twists until the end. If you love a good thriller, this is a solid one.

This book got me right from page 1 and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last line. The twists and turns just kept coming. So many times I thought I figured it out but nope….WRONG. Even when you find out what happened…is it really what happened?? If you like thrillers then this is a must read. I will definitely be adding this to my list of recommended books.

I enjoyed reading Darling Girls. It was a fascinating mystery, and it unfolded at the perfect pace. I found the three “sisters” who grew up in an abusive foster home together to be interesting, particularly the way the trauma manifested itself differently in each of them as adults. I was also struck by their loyalty to one another and the deep bond they shared.

I love Sally Hepworth’s writing style. She has a way of keeping her reader’s wanting to read “just one more” chapter, which is exactly what I did over and over until the book ended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book..

Wow...I read this book in one day. I could not stop reading it. I wanted to know what was was going to happen and when I tell you it was mouth dropping. It was.

Three girls end up in a foster home with what seems like a loving caring mom. Well looks can be and are deceiving. And 25 years later human remains are found when the ranch is torn down to build a restaurant. Who is it and who put it there? The three sisters find themselves back in the town and facing traumas they experienced.

Unputdownable!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up as foster children at Wild Meadows under the watchful eye of Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild presents herself as a giving, loving person. Someone who just wants to help a child in need. Only the three girls know what happens behind closed doors. Twenty-five years later, after the house is long gone and memories have become foggy, bones are dug up. Now the former inhabitants of Wild Meadows must return home. But what are they returning home to? Who has been buried all these years?

This is the third Sally Hepworth novel I have read, and it is probably my favorite. She has a way of making you immediately know who the characters are as people and making you care for them soon after. Darling Girls is really the story of sisters.

The chapters alternate between then and now and we get each of the sisters' perspective. Much in the chapters is hard to read. There is a lot of sadness, but hope shines through. There are also, surprisingly, some humorous moments.

The thing that stands out throughout the book is the relationship between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. I loved seeing them be there for each other. This book truly feels like their story.

As everyone tries to sort through events and get to the truth you will think you have it figured out. Things will be revealed though. I don't know how mucn surprised me as I figured things out just before the characters did. Then after the main story ends, we get a wrap up with each of the characters.

There is one last twist that will surprise you. Some might not even like it. All I can say without spoilers is that it reinforces some early thoughts I had that got swept away by the narrative and answers some niggling questions. In the end everything is complete in this compelling story.

This was pretty good!! I loved the time alternation as well as the points of view! Overall 3.5 stars!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia: forever told how lucky they were. Lucky to have been taken from unfortunate backgrounds and put into the hands of their loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They each very quickly learned in their own way to not cross Miss Fairchild. Twenty years later, a body was found under the foster home in which they grew up to be such darling girls, as Miss Fairchild would say. Told from the perspective of each of the girls, in past and present, and from the office of a psychiatrist (you’ll find out the patient later), this story is one of secrets, murder, the bond of unbiological sisters, and what one would do to feel the love of a mother.
I was absolutely blown away, and I wish I could reread this novel for the first time again. You couldn’t help but feel for each of the girls in their tragic situations. On more than one occasion I thought to myself “I need to adopt a child and get them out of the foster system.” I cannot believe how much I enjoyed this novel. Sally Hepworth delivered on this one.

This book is set to be published April 23, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

This was a good book! Darling Girls is a definite must read in my opinion. I was very engaged in the story from start until finish. Really liked it a lot.

How is Sally Hepworth just so good? Literally how? This book is just as good as The Soulmate.

I started reading this book on vacation and finished it in 48 hours. It was one of those books that you really have no idea what's going on until the end. I loved the three women and their different personalities. In addition the twist at the end was not something I was expecting and I'm hard to surprise!

Get this book if you love thrillers. You will not be disappointed! I don't want to spoil this book so I know this is a small review but literally you need this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

Jessica, Nora and Alicia are all young girls living with a foster mom. While living (and being tortured in one form or another), there, they form a sisterhood that is unbreakable. With this sisterhood, comes a secret that they want to keep hidden, for life. As adults, they are called upon to come back to the house, the town and discover that their secret wasnt the only secret!

Wow! What a heartbreaking story about three girls in the foster care system who end up in this seemingly perfect home with Miss Fairchild. They quickly learn how unstable Miss Fairchild is and how they can only depend on one another.

The story goes back and forth between the present time and their terrifying time at Wild Meadows. They now have to make their way back to Wild Meadows because human bones have been found on the property and they're called in for questioning. Each sister has their own secret they're dealing with while trying to get answers about who the bones belong to.

It was a fascinating read but also deals a lot with child abuse, so be mindful of that. I loved their bond and how they cared for each other even in their adult lives. I also enjoyed each sister's individual story and how they overcame those struggles.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This is the second Sally Hepworth book that I've read. The first being "The Soulmate". She nails it with this one. I went into it without much detail and I'm glad I did. This one wowed me until the final page. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a great mystery!

Wow. That was definitely a ride on the crazy train!! That Ms. Fairchild is one crazy, messed up, horrible human being. You think you know what's going on here. I even spoke out loud to myself at one point because I was sure I figured it out. It was so obvious...and that should have been my first clue. I'm not that smart!!! I was thrown for a loop by a last minute curve ball, which I asolutely love.