Thanks to Netgalley for the ebook ARC. I loved this book! It was a quick read for me because I didn't want to put it down. Story follows 3 women who were together as children in a home. Now investigators want to talk to them because a body was found under the home. This is a crazy ride and it all comes together nicely. The twists I didn't see coming. I just Love Sally Hepworth writing.

I always look forward to a new Sally Hepworth book. This one is so very good!!!

I really loved the foster sister relationships between Alicia, Jessica, and Norah. I love how they looked after each other and the bond they formed from their situation with Miss Fairchild.

The beautiful farm where they resided with her was not as idyllic on the inside. They thought they had gotten away from all this and now a body has been discovered on the property. The sisters return to provide testimony or is it to answer accusation?

Many nice twists and turns that makes this very hard to put down!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review

Another masterpiece by Sally Hepworth. It kept me engaged the entire time! I will definitely recommend!

Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy. Page turner as usual. Not the normal same old story. Really enjoyed!

If you want a book that will send you diving into your feelings along with the characters, Darling Girls is the one for you. Sally Hepworth does not ever fail to immerse the reader within her masterfully crafted thrillers. Norah is the one character that fully captured my heart and it was heartwarming to read through Jessica's journey. The women in this novel are overall great ones with all they've been through, and the stories will shock you!

A book by one of my favorite authors' - ok!! This tale involves a foster home, 3 girls who escaped the wrath of their foster mother 25 years earlier and a dead body. As the book alternates between past and present you are drawn to what shaped the girls lives and who they are now. As with any Hepworth book, the twist is excellently delivered.

This might be my favorite from Hepworth yet! But beware: This one is dark.

I have come to love Hepworth's writing for several reasons: compelling thriller plots, natural storytelling, relatable characters, and a dark humor that at times borders on the whimsical. Her books juxtapose dark and light, heavy and soft. She has a gift for telling her character's stories in a way that you are rooting for them and become so engrossed, yet here comes a little murder to shake things up. Delightful!

But Darling Girls went a darker route than her previous books, but I am not mad about it. This book, which focuses on the after effects of psychological abuse suffered in childhood and therefore did not have room for any humor. At times, this book was a little difficult for me because it is unfortunately relatable to my own experiences. But Hepworth dealt with these heavy topics with grace and poise by not going into any graphic details, yet she still found a way for the abuse took center stage. It was the crux for everything that happens.

I could appreciate the way she wrote her characters in the past and present: The past chapters describe what went on in the foster home, but the present chapters accurately depict how the adult women were grappling with life after being exposed to such mind games and abuse from a caregiver. The suspenseful elements took a back seat in this novel, but they helped tie everything together in the end.

Beware triggers of foster care, child abuse, englect, and psychological abuse and trauma, but if you can handle it, this book was truly fascinating and one I will not soon forget about.

I received a free digital copy of Darling Girls from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows!

Stories of abuse are always difficult to read, but Hepworth balances her dark story with hope and resilience through the voices of survivors.

Miss Holly Fairchild runs an idyllic foster home, Wild Meadows, where the three “lucky” characters in this story have been sent to live. To outsiders, this home appears a godsend, but to Jessica, Norah and Alicia, who find themselves there, it’s no fairytale; it’s one of the darker periods of their lives. Hepworth examines the mindset of an abuser/victim as well as the unbreakable bond these three girls forged as a survival mechanism. When Hepworth takes us on a journey, 25 years into their future, readers ask themselves if the girls ever really escaped the clutches of their manipulative tormentor. The truth comes tumbling out when a body is discovered on the property decades later and the girls are called to the scene of the crime. Are they key witnesses? Suspects? You’ll have to read to find out.

The journey to overcome was astounding. Hepworth had me in tears. Her ability to juxtapose the idyllic setting with the trauma was amazing. That these three girls survived is a miracle and Hepworth reveals how they managed this. Not only that, she shows the strength and courage they developed in cultivating the mindset to deal with it - not one of them let the experience define them. The added perspective of the mystery character elevated this book to the next level. The ending? Hmmm...a little OTT, but fitting for this one. I didn't see it coming.

This book, one of Hepworth’s best, examines shared pasts, resilience, found family, sisterhood, and secrets. It’s a shocking and unsettling read at times, but Hepworth took me on a compelling journey into the past and showed me that the human mind can survive with the right tools. We all have scars. Hepworth reminds us to support each other to encourage us to turn our vulnerabilities into strengths.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I know the year basically just started but THIS book is going to be sitting all pretty on my top favorite thriller reads of this year.
In no moment did this slow down at all, since the very first chapter it had me hooked.
The whole read was a 5 ⭐️ for me but THAT twist at the end made this an instant favorite. Every twist was well done, every question was perfectly answered and I loved the main characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Darling Girls will be publish on April 23, 2024 🖤

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC for my honest opinion.

This was my first by Sally Hepworth and left me excited to go and read her backlist now!

Absolutely loved the multiple POVs and timelines, and I truly was rooting for the girls. After reading the acknowledgments, it's clear this story came from a disturbing amount of truth, and while its meant to be a suspenseful thriller, it was an eye-opening read as well.

Hepworth did a great job leaving pieces to put together in each chapter, and while I do think the present-day timeline dragged a bit, it definitely was worth it for how it all came together.

Highly recommend! 4 stars :)

Sally Hepworth is an auto-buy author for me, and her Darling Girls showcases her impeccable writing and character development. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah were all foster children who became sisters through mutual horrors experienced years ago. Now adults, they must come to terms with their shared history when bones are found and secrets are exposed. Darling Girls is heartbreaking to read, but Hepworth’s storytelling talents make this immersive and engaging.

Whenever I have the opportunity to read a Sally Hepworth book, I jump at the chance. This book was 4 stars til the end, and she always gets ya, 5! I knew there would be a twist.

This book, like her others, is unique to other thrillers. Set in Australia, 3 foster sisters are brought into their hometown for questioning after their foster mothers house was demolished and bones were found lying beneath,

Miss Fairchild, a sinister foster mother, recounts her childhood. 4 POVS.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read!

I highly enjoyed Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. The characters were well developed and the dual timelines worked perfectly to help the reader untangle this captivating thriller. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. .

*ARC Review* 🔅 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒆𝒑𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub date: Apr 3, 2024
Rating: 4🌟

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

Thank you @sallyhepworth and @stmartinspress for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

This novel is well written and very captivating, right from the beginning. I was able to finish this book in 2 days because it kept me invested right from the first chapter. Sally Hepworth does a great job of developing each character through the use of multiple POVs - that of Jessica, Alicia and Norah, and multiple timelines. Thrown into the mix is an unknown POV that retells her past to a (rather odd) psychiatrist, Dr. Warren. Thus only adding to the suspense. Seeing the experiences of Jessica, Alicia and Norah, not only through their personal POV but also that of their sisters’, really allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the trauma that each girl faced at the hands of Miss. Fairchild.

All that said, I was extremely triggered by some of the content covered in this novel. As a mom of an infant daughter, the theme of child abuse is very challenging to read. However, instead of the difficult themes triggering me to the point where I couldn’t finish the book, I found myself NEEDING to finish it so I knew how everything turned out for them. I had to put it down about 3/4 through so I could go to sleep, but I could have easily read the whole thing in one sitting.

I am going to put a VERY strong warning out there though… as interesting as this storyline is and as well as it’s written, it has some EXTREMELY disturbing content. I’ll put the trigger warnings below for your reference.

Again, thanks to the author and publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review this ARC. I had read The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth earlier in the year so when I saw the opportunity to read Darling Girls, I jumped.

⚠️Major trigger warnings:
•death of an infant
•child abuse
•sexual abuse
•drug addiction/drug abuse
•mental illness

First I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for my ARC of Darling Girls.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters, not by blood but bonded by the trauma that they have been through. Rescued from family tragedies, they’re all placed in foster care at Wild Meadows with Miss Fairchild. They’re all told how lucky they are to live on in this beautiful farm house and now have a second chance at a happy family life. However, their lives are not the fairytale they thought they were getting.

Miss Fairchild is unpredictable. At first she seems like a loving kind woman but then everything changes. She obsesses about their schedules, what they eat and keeping the house clean. When she’s crossed she punishes them and is very cold. The three girls make a pact and decide they need to do something. When they finally reach out for help and get away from her they think they’re finally free.

Years later they all receive a call from a detective that turn their worlds upside down. A body has been found under the home they’ve grown up in. The girls are forced to go back and help in the investigation. But are they witnesses or are they being blamed for the crime that’s been committed?

This was my first book by Sally Hepworth and it kept me guessing till the end! This book is told from all three of the girl’s points of view. The characters are well developed and you could feel all of their emotions. Their bond with each other was very genuine and made the story entertaining to read. I thought I had it figured out but I never saw the ending coming! This one is definitely a page turner. I will definitely be reading more of her work!

I really enjoyed this thriller!! Darling Girls follows three sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, all who met through foster care at Wild Meadows. The book starts by the characters discovering that bones have been found buried beneath Wild Meadows, and we spend the rest of the book trying to determine who was murdered and who did it. I really loved this book because of its focus on the foster care system and the traumas many foster kids develop from their experience in the system. I felt like Hepworth did a great job really highlighting the raw, real, awful issues within the foster care system, while also showing the goodness that can come out of it and the people that can come together, I really enjoyed how real each character felt, as if I could feel their pain and their anguish over Wild Meadows and their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. I was horrified by Miss Fairchild and her treatment of these children, and found myself on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what had happened to them and what they witnessed.

This book kept me entertained and hooked the entire way through and while there were a lot of plot points I did guess, the end of the book and the plot twists completely caught me off guard! This was the perfect thriller for me, with a good balance of depth/emotion and not too much horror in the story. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sally Hepworth for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!!

This is a story about systemic trauma.

This was a fascinating book that hit super close to home… I never expect to cry when reading thrillers but this one absolutely left me in tears. The juxtaposition of adult survival with childhood trauma was super well done & I wasn’t sure where it was going! Overall definitely another solid read from a fantastic author.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @sallyhepworth for the eArc!

Always a sally Hepworth fan. Love a thriller from her and this was on par with her other books. I would recommend it.

This was my first experience with Sally Hepworth, and it likely will not be my last! I was hooked from the first chapter. I found myself quickly attached to many of the characters, and the story was fast-paced and easy to follow along with. All signs pointed to an excellent thriller. And in many ways, it was. Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that took away from it, but it was really enjoyable overall.

I loved the characters. That’s not necessarily to say that they were “lovable” as most were pretty flawed, but they were exceptionally well developed and interesting, and their interactions and relationships with each other felt real and intriguing. It’s hard for me to enjoy a thriller when I don’t care about the fates of the characters, and that definitely was not a problem with this book.

I struggled a little with the subject matter, particularly the traumatized foster children and the abuse that they suffered. I know this is a realistic part of the foster care system, and it’s heartbreaking. I’m not faulting the book for it, I actually think it’s an important topic to bring awareness to, but I think it’s worth a warning. It was pretty difficult to get through at times.

The ending was where everything went wrong for me. The final chapter of the book seemed like it was added simply for the sake of a shocking plot twist, and I didn’t think it was done well at all. It felt like a quick, cheap addition. The concept was fine, but I really think it could have been integrated into the story in a way that benefited and lifted up the plot, but it instead fell very, very flat. Without that ending, I likely would have rated this even higher.

Regardless, I really enjoyed my time with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for an advanced reader copy. All thoughts opinions are my own.

Rounding up to 4.5 stars! Whenever I pick up a Sally Hepworth book I expect a thriller that's heavy on family drama, and I'm never disappointed. This story of three foster sisters toggles back and forth from the sisters' childhood in foster care to their current adult lives, taking you on a journey of intrigue, gaslighting and survival despite very challenging and traumatic circumstances. (Read: adults who do NOT have the girls' best interests at heart.) If you're a fan of Sally Hepworth's work, don't miss this one!

Content warning: Child abuse

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy!

Release date: April 2024 🗓️