Jessica, Norah and Alicia meet in foster care while living with Miss Fairchild who is not the care giver she pretends to be. 25 years later a child’s bones are found under the house the girls lived in and their nightmare is brought back to the surface. Twisty psychological story.

I was invited by St. Martin's to read and review this book on Netgalley. This might be the best book I've read from this author. The different timelines were woven together perfectly and were easy to follow. I absolutely did not see the final twist coming. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good twist.

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors. She does a great job delving into complex emotions and relationships. This book does not disappoint.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are not typical sisters and they did not come from a typical family circumstance. They do care for each other and are trying to stay connected but it isn’t easy. Their lives are very different and they want very different things from their relationships with each other. But the estate where they grew up has revealed some of the secrets that once imprisoned them with their abusive foster mother and in an attempt to gain some closure and clarity for themselves, they go back to the estate. As they attempt to understand what happened when they were children, they reveal to each other the people they are now and find answers to who they are individually and as a family.

Their story is revealed to the reader through flashes of their current life events and their past life horrors. The story is told from each of their perspectives and as a dialog by an unidentified patient of Dr. Warren. The sisters are determined to work together to decipher their events of their horrible past in light of the current estate discoveries.

Sally Hepworth has done it again…

Jessica, Alicia and Norah all spent a few years living in foster care under Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows. Through circumstance and choice they became forever sisters.

With the recent demolition of Wild Meadows, bones were found under the house. The police were asking the three sisters to come back to Port Agatha to answer some questions about their time in foster care and to hopefully help determine whom the bones belong to.

Through flashbacks from when the sisters were in foster care, they each told the story of the abuse they went through in Miss Fairchilds care.

In the present, while in Port Agatha, the three sisters are forced to confront how the time spent living with Miss Fairchild affected each of them later throughout their lives.

I thought this book was very well done. The gaslighting and abuse were horrible to read about, but made the sisters sympathetic and you couldn’t help but cheer them on. There was one twist to the story that only became obvious 3/4 the way through the book and the twist at the end, although should have seemed predictable, was not obvious.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author Sally Hepworth for the advanced ebook for my honest review

I am a big Sally Hepworth fan, and somehow she just keeps pumping out the hits. I thought this storyline was extremely unique, exciting, and addictive. I was fully invested in the three main characters. I absolutely loved their relationship and learning about the evolution of it throughout the story. I did not see the twists coming, and I also loved how each sister had an interesting current life situation that was very easy to follow. Another five star from me for Darling Girls!

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Growing up under the care of Miss Fairchild, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were constantly reminded of their supposed fortune. Rescued from personal tragedies, they were raised on an idyllic farm by their foster mother, where they believed they had been given a second chance at familial bliss. However, behind the facade of happiness, there lurked a darker reality. Miss Fairchild ruled their lives with strict regulations and an unpredictable demeanor, instilling fear and apprehension in the hearts of the three girls.

In a daring bid for freedom, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia dared to break away from Miss Fairchild's grasp, believing they had escaped her influence for good. Yet, the specter of their foster mother continued to haunt them, lingering in the recesses of their memories. Their perceived liberation is shattered when a body is unearthed beneath the very home where they spent their formative years, thrusting the foster sisters into the harsh glare of suspicion. Are they mere witnesses to the crime, or could they be the prime suspects in this chilling mystery? As secrets unravel and the past resurfaces, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia find themselves navigating treacherous waters where trust is scarce and danger looms at every turn.

As someone who grew up in a secure and nurturing environment, reading about the challenges faced by the girls in this book was eye-opening. The stark contrast between my own upbringing and the struggles depicted in the story highlighted the harsh reality that many children endure. While I never had to worry about safety or access to basic necessities, it's heartbreaking to acknowledge that these hardships are far too common for some.

The powerlessness experienced by the girls resonated deeply with me, serving as a poignant reminder of the injustices that exist in the world. Their journey of facing adversity and overcoming obstacles shed light on the resilience of the human spirit, despite the daunting odds stacked against them.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC. First, I LOVED Darling Girls. I think this is my favorite Sally Hepworth novel yet. Darling Girls follows 3 sisters, Jessica, Norah with a H, and Alicia. All 3 girls were assigned to their foster home named Wild Meadows. 25 years later, bones are discovered under the home. Miss Fairchild was their foster mother when they were children. She is manipulative, abusive, however, she just craves attention/love. Once the bones are discovered, all 3 sisters receive a phone call from Det Patel to get to the bottom of whose bones were under Wild Meadows. Through many twists, your jaw is for sure to drop while reading Darling Girls. Everyone including the neighbor Dirk has secrets, but the biggest secret of them all is whose bones are under the house and what happened to them?

Another great, original story by Sally Hepworth.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia grew up in foster care with Ms. Fairchild where they suffered tremendously. Now as adults, remains have been discovered under the house which brings them back to the town where the endured so much pain. Who's body is it? Who killed them? What secrets is everyone hiding? Read it, and you won't be disappointed!

Thank You to #Netgalley for allowing me to read this. This book was Fantastic!!! I cannot wait until this comes out. Really had me on the last chapter. Thanks again 😊

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia face their nightmarish pasts when the childhood home they grew up in as foster children is found to have a body buried on the grounds.

This book was a slow burn but I loved it. The character development was fantastic, and I appreciated that all three sisters had backstories of their own woven in. I love the alternating timelines between the past and present and everything it led up to. While I *thought* I had figured out what was going on about halfway through, it did not make me enjoy reading it any less. It was so satisfying seeing it all play out. Then that last chapter hit and I was mind-blown, and I loved it even more. The plot was unique and entertaining. I have read all of this author's books this is definitely my favorite!

What makes a sibling, is it blood or ties that bind? Jessica, Alicia, and Norah have been told how lucky they are for most of their lives. Growing up in the foster system isn't easy, but they all came together at Wild Meadows. Cared for by Miss Fairchild, in the eyes of the system they are doing very well. What happens behind closed doors, is more than meets the eye. Miss Fairchild flies into fits of rage, insanity, and bordering on truly demented. So when remains are found at Wild Meadows, the girls return in the hopes of finally laying some of their past trauma to rest.

Sally Hepworth can write a thriller. She employs a character driven plot that makes you root for these characters to get answers. The story is told through several perspectives and dual timeline. This may be my favorite work of hers yet. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Intensely readable. I love all of Sally Hepworth's work and this was no exception. The story was heartwarming, intriguing, and clever. My one critique of the book is the sheer number of awful stories of foster carers - it felt stigmatized and very generalized. Hepworth writes a sweet acknowledgement to carers in the back but I wish it was front and center. The ending was also kind of weird and like Hepworth's editor asked her to add an unnecessary twist element. I will still wait for the authors next book with bated breath.

Darling Girls is a story about foster care gone very wrong. The relationships between the sisters help readers to connect to what each must feel as a sister is mistreated by their “mom”. Readers will understand their feelings and how valuable the bond they share is the the survival of each one. The ending leaves you in wonder in the best of ways

OMG.....This book held my attention from beginning to end. I highly recommend this page turner.......

Jessica, Norah and Alicia consider themselves sisters, not by birth, but by choice. Growing up in foster care, in the home of Ms. Fairchild, others consider them lucky. The girls have a different story to tell.

Still haunted by the past and struggling to forget their childhood at Wild Meadows, one phone call changes everything. The girls are forced to revisit the past and their traumatic lives under the care of Ms. Fairchild. With the discovery of skeletal remains where the home once stood, what really happened in their childhood home, and who is really knows the truth? How do the traumatic events of ones past, pave the path of the future? How important is it for a child to feel loved and wanted?

From past to present, being told from Jessica, Norah and Alicia's point of view, this book takes you on a roller coaster of a read. Just when I thought I had things figured out, there came another plot twist.

Testing the bonds of sisterhood, the desire to know the truth, and the will to overcome the past, this book will keep you up all night, racing to discover what happens next. It has been my favorite read of the year so far.

A BIG thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for one amazing read.

This story is of 3 foster children, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah. It is about their sisterhood and how they stick together during tough times of their life as foster children of Ms. Fairchild. It goes back in the timeline and talks about what they went through then and now when they are pulled back to their childhood home where there were bones found of a child. They are some twists along the way. All in all not bad read.

The writing was fine but with the overused elements of dual timelines, mixed POVs and using dialogue to move the story forward, this one wasn’t for me. This is a personal preference and I’m sure many people who don’t mind these stylistic choices will enjoy it.

This book is a page turner! I realized within the first few chapters that I would not want to put it down! It’s been a while since I’ve read a Sally Hepworth book and I now want to pick up a few more.
Three adult sisters who are former foster children are dragged back to where they were fostered and have to share old memories of that time. It was not a pleasant experience for them. Their foster mother is involved which makes things worse. And when you believe the story is over, think again!
Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC. I really enjoyed it!

This book was not exactly what I expected. Marketed as a thriller, it's more of a crime-forward novel with huge TW for child abuse. It felt like a vast majority of the book was about the abuse three girls underwent in the hands of the foster family system, with a crime that has now come to light in their adult years (bones discovered under their old foster home). There were some surprises and plot twists toward the end of the book, but none of it really kept me on edge like a true thriller. The sadness, abuse and gaslighting the girls endured while they were children takes front and center in the novel, as does the ramifications of that abuse in their adult years (tendencies to violence, detachment from relationships, substance abuse, etc.)

One pet peeve -- the number of times the girls referred to themselves at "sisters." I know they found family within their trio and decided they were like sisters but the mention of "my sisters", "your sister," etc., got super repetitive. We got the point.

In the end I'm sort of neutral on this book. It's not my favorite Sally Hepworth, and it does seem like a diversion to her other work. It won't be the right book for everyone, especially if they are sensitive around issues of child abuse.

Darling Girls had a different vibe than the other Sally Hepworth books that I've read but I was hooked from the beginning. The day I started this book, I was in a bad mood and chose to read it from my Netgalley shelf because I know that Sally never let's me down and I needed something to escape into. The stories of Jessica, Norah, and Alicia will tug at your heartstrings as well as enrage you because of the things they went through at the hands of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. I liked the addition of the patient in the psychiatrists office. I thought it added intrigue and nuisance to the story. I will say that I was utterly surprised by the ending but I love that it made so much sense. Darling Girls has moved up in rank to my number two spot for Sally's books. The Good Sister remains at number one but the story of Darling Girls will remain with me for a long time and honestly has me thinking about foster care more than ever.

Sally Hepworth has done it again!! Another hard to put down book that is both thought and emotion provoking. As with her other books is is well written, thought out, gripping, and twisted, moving and just down right shocking! I enjoyed this book so much and thank you so much to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read it early.