This is my first read by Sally Hepworth. The cover got my attention and I made me interested. Despite the slow start, I really enjoyed the plot and the multiple points of view. This is a superb read!

Fast becoming a fan of Sally Hepworth! I may have read every book she's written and this one does not disappoint!

Three foster sisters, Jessica, Alicia and Norah are still haunted by the trauma they endured while children in foster care. Years later. bones have been discovered on the grounds of their old foster home and they must return and face their past. The mystery of who the bones belong to kept me turning the pages.

The story is told in different perspectives and alternates between past and present. I highly recommend for thriller lovers! I anxiously await Ms. Hepworth's next book. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

4 stars! Darling Girls is a psychological thriller following foster sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia after a body is discovered underneath their foster home. The book starts with an interview with Dr. Warren, a psychiatrist and is written from multiple perspectives. The sisters depict their lives growing up with Holly Fairchild as their foster mother along with the struggles of experiencing this discovery. It definitely picked up throughout the book and by the end I was invested!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press and the author for the ARC!

4.5 stars. 3 girls who grew up together in foster care are reunited by a call from the police...a skeleton was found under the house that they grew up in. Miss Fairchild was their foster mother, and the book alternates between past and present. This is a thriller like I've never read before, with an evil stepmother vibe. Just when I thought I knew where the plot would go, I was wrong...time and time again...There is a sense of foreboding throughout the entire book with a totally unexpected ending.

The beginning was slow but the last 25% was great and I didn’t see any of the plot twists coming. I loved the dual timelines with multiple POVs. Literally heart wrenching

Darling Girls is like that friend who’s always fun at parties but never quite the life of them. Hepworth serves up a juicy family drama with enough twists to keep things lively, even if some of them are as predictable as a soap opera plotline. The characters are engaging, and I definitely enjoyed the read—it's the kind of book that makes for great weekend entertainment. It’s got its moments, but it doesn’t exactly redefine the genre. Perfect for when you’re in the mood for a bit of drama without needing to solve world mysteries. All in all, it’s a delightful read with just enough cheekiness to make it worthwhile!

This wasn't what I expected this to be but I still enjoyed it. I liked the character studies but wish the mystery was a bit more shocking at the reveal.

This was very intriguing and I was hooked from the very start! I loved the plot and can say I have not read a book quite like this one before! I loved being on the edge of my seat throughout, trying to figure out who did what- who it was- just all of the things! I loved the different POVs we were given and think they helped tell this story perfectly!

Always love a Sally Hepworth!! She writes so well and turns the characters into real life. I loved reading this one and thank NetGalley for the early read. I can't wait to share with my followers who will love it too. Looking forward to more!

REVIEW: Darling Girls 📝📚

SUMMARY: Three sisters are called in for questioning when a child’s bones are discovered on the rambling property of their childhood foster home. Jumping between their youth in the care of enigmatic Miss Fairchild and the struggles they face as adults in the present, Darling Girls is a story of secrets, love, and loyalty. 💔👧🏼👧🏽👧🏻

I LOVE Sally Hepworth! Her domestic thrillers are always psychologically intriguing without veering too dark, and this book was no different. While the book does touch on serious topics such as emotional abuse and toxic parents, the tone is relatively neutral and enjoyable to read. 👍🏼📖

Also, and I’ve said this before, I need characters to root for. I don’t love thrillers where everyone low-key sucks, and I feel like this book delivers the type of characters I like while keeping them interesting and multi-dimensional. 🙌🏼👩‍❤️‍👩

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Oh what a fun little murder mystery this was! This book is twisty and had me hooked from the very beginning. Hepworth is my go-to when I need to escape into a thriller that will keep me on my toes. I loved the focus that this story had on sisterhood - Hepworth always does domestic thrillers so well!

I loved that the three girls formed an unbreakable bound during a difficult time in their childhood. They continue to be there for each other as they go on to lead diverse lives. Sally Hepworth does an excellent job of building the story, continuously adding hints at what was really going on in the past. As the reader you are forced to question who is telling the truth and what actually happened, the twists just keep coming.

All I can say is WOW! Hepworth does it again! This was a dark, twisted thriller. I absolutely devoured this book!

The workings of a twisted mind taking care of foster kids and the traumas they dealt with under her care. Fast forward to their adult lives and a shocking discovery is found under their foster home.
This book has you guessing to the end, and the ending with shock you!
Highly recommend!

Another Sally Hepworth novel that did not disappoint! I devoured this book in just a couple of days. I love when a novel has shorter chapters especially a thriller. It makes it so easy to just keep reading until you realize you’ve reached the end and didn’t even know it. Also, the twist in this one had me baffled, did not see it coming. If you are a fan of Sally Hepworth and/or thrillers, do yourself a favor and pick this book up you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. Her books are so easy to read and keep my attention with the way she weaves mystery with human connection is masterful. Darling Girls was no exception here, I needed to know what happened to these girls and what Ms. Fairchild had going on. Found siblings, tragic childhoods and now a child's body is found where these girls spent their childhood? A recipe for an un-put-downable read!

Wow this book was so good!!! The things these girls went through at Wild Meadows was just so sad and absolutely crazy! There was a then and now time line and then there is perspectives from each of the girls and someone unknown in a therapy session. This book wasn’t fast paced like a thriller but the drama and the secrets kept me wanting to absolutely devour this book, cause I gotta know what is going on here and whose dead body was it under the house! There are parts where you don’t know if they are telling the truth or lying, there was so much going on and I ate it all up! That being said make sure you check your trigger warnings before going into this one cause I do feel like this one is darker heavier read from Sally Hepworth.

Darling Girls is a thrilling, disturbing story of a foster mother, Miss Fairchild, who raises her foster children on a sprawling country property in Australia. The story has multiple points of views and alternating timelines between past and present. The past describes the foster daughters' traumatic experiences under Miss Fairchild's care, while the present describes an investigation into bones - likely a baby's - found buried on the property and the investigation into whose bones they belonged to, and what happened.

While the ending was somewhat unsurprising, there were still some unexpected twists and turns to the story. I give this one five stars for being a quick, addictive read, something I always look for when I read a thriller. This was my first time reading a Sally Hepworth novel and I look forward to exploring her other books.

Read if you like...
📚 Domestic and psychiatric thrillers
👥️ Multiple POVs
🗓 Dual timelines

🙏Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for a gifted advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ Potential Trigger Warnings (may not be an exhaustive list): foster care system, graphic child neglect/abuse, sexual assault, homicide.

I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's writing. She does a great job of creating intensifying suspense while also providing good character development, and she keeps getting better and better. The end was a bit out of nowhere and I think there are a few holes in the conclusion, but it was such an enjoyable read overall that I didn't mind too much.

Sally Hepworth does it again! A psychological thriller that has kept me flipping pages and trying to figure out the truth amidst so many secrets. In Darling Girls, Hepworth takes on the lasting legacy of abuse of foster children as they are growing up in a flawed system. These three "sisters" have faced some challenges and found strength from each other. I think the thing I appreciate most about Hepworth's writing is her ability to bring characters to the page that are so perfectly imperfect. Jessica, Norah and Alicia have lived through very difficult times, and still manage to put one foot in front of the other, despite the secrets they have all had to harbor. My only complaint for this book would be the ending, which felt a bit rushed and tidy in comparison to the remainder of the story.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Sally Hepworth has become one of my favorite authors of thrillers as of late. The first third of the book was a little on the slow side for me setting up the backstory of the girls’ childhoods vs. where they were as adults, but the plot itself was interesting and I enjoyed the journey this novel took me on. The ending wasn’t nearly as twisty as I was hoping for, but satisfying none the less. All in all, I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Sally Hepworth for this digital ARC.