I like Sally Hepworths books but I have to be in the right mood to thoroughly enjoy them. I think the story was well told and it makes you wonder what would you do if you were in a bad situation with no other way out.

This story centers on three women who return to their traumatic childhood foster home after news that a body has been found buried underneath. The mystery unfolds through dual timelines of their time at Wild Meadows and present day. Will the police believe them this time?

This was a very entertaining read by Sally Hepworth! I loved the bond between the three foster sisters. It was heartbreaking to read about the abuse they suffered at the hands of their cruel foster mother, but at least they had each other. I was so gripped by the story, especially towards the twisty end!

Rating 4 ⭐️

Physiological thriller. Women’s fiction. Sally Hepworth. Say no more. The ending will truly shock you and really added on to my overall rating!

This book was a very good portrayal on the life-long lasting effects of being raised by an abusive, narcissistic foster parent/parent. There was also a good character study done on that of Miss Fairchild, and how she was able to manipulate everyone around her.

I highly recommend reading this book, as the twists and turns were plentiful!! I read this book late into the night, and the ending was well worth it!!

SHE'S BAAAAAAAACK!

Thank goodness! Sally Hepworth has been a go-to for me when I want a solid family drama with a side of mystery type of read, but I found The Soulmate to be a real stinker. Luckily that was a one-off and this tale of a body discovered buried under a house, three (now grown) foster sisters and a real Mommy Dearest that had me flying through the pages. Per usual some of the “mysterious” elements are fairly predictable, but once again Hepworth provides a real whammy of an ending.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

First off a big thank you to St. Martins Press via NetGalley for this ARC.

Sally Hepworth is one of my fav authors so when I was approved to read this I squealed, yes squealed, I was so excited! “The Good Sister” is in my top 5 thrillers.

“Darling Girls” starts out with a bang, I was really into it, wanted to know more. But there was just….something I don’t know. I can’t quite say I loved it. I liked it, it’s ok but it’s definitely not her best one. Still good and would still recommend it
3.5 rounded to 4/5 ⭐️

Sally Hepworth is a must buy author for me. I love the way she writes her characters and gets into their heads, and this book is no exception! You’ll be speeding through this book, it’s so addicting. Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!

I LOVE Sally Hepworth and how she takes on difficult topics of common issues that society often turns its back to. Normalizing something relatable. Everyone has pain they're working through, so writing a thriller with sensitive topics (in this case, Fostering/Adoption) has got to be challenging in accuracy, discernment and rapport. I am continuously awestruck by the depth of her Characters and Twists.

Darling Girls is a past and present timeline with different perspectives surrounding a single Woman and what led her to the present dire circumstances surrounding an investigation, gathering reluctant connections for answers. It shines light on the foster system and some of the issues within that result in so many other emotional consequences those children face later in life. I highly recommend reading this with friends because there are so many jaw dropping moments and discussion points!

Thanks to NetGalley / publisher for allowing me to read this one early! I liked this book. It was a pretty solid thriller, although I did feel like it didn't surprise me as much as other novels from this author. Overall, it was a good storyline, but I wish for more of the shocking impact that some of my other favorite thrillers have. 3 stars.

This was a great story about the strength of bonds between people who endure hardships together and the lengths they’’ll go to to protect each other. It’s also a reminder of the lasting effects of things we experience. I loved the bond between these three main characters. I was captivated by the twists and turns and the ending was surprising and perfect.

I loved this book! Very intriguing and gripping from the start with different povs and a great plot twist!

First I'd like to thank St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was gooooooood!
I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's writing and this one is just what I want from her books. It's dark, twisty, with a creepy setting and some captivating and flawed characters. Combine that with fast pacing and short chapters... I mean... what more could you ask for in a psychological thriller?

Read this!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance read. This was a hard read for me as I normally like Sally’s books but I found this one to be a bit boring and repetitive and not shocking as her other ones. I found it hard to press through but I did I will continue to read her books.

This was gifted to me by Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth is back with her newest book, titled "Darling Girls" and does that name ever do the book justice. We are following three different women, all with quirks. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia all have their own things that they are working on, but these three have a bond that is not shakable. It dates back decades of time from when they were all in a foster home.

They all broke away from the horrid Miss Fairchild, who was their foster mother. They thought that they could run away and be free from her, only to find that their past follows them for far longer than they could have imagined.

As per usual, the author comes back with another BANG. I always enjoy the commentary and awareness that Hepworth brings into her novels. This is another big win for me, and I think that if you have enjoyed any other works from the author you will also enjoy this one. I highly recommend picking this up when it comes out!

This book was good! I liked the characters and thought they had good growth. It was slow going at times which did make it hard to get through those parts, but over all really enjoyed it

Another great one by Sally Hepworth. Do you have to share the same blood to be family? This thrilling novel explores 3 women who experienced a traumatic childhood together growing up in foster care. The women spent their lives trying to break free both physically and mentally from their controlling foster mom. The past comes rushing back when they return to the childhood home after a set of bones are found hidden under the house they lived in. The women must navigate their own version of the truth to come to terms with their childhood and fully move on.

Alicia, Jessica and Norah met as children, a group of young girls known by their foster mother (Miss Fairchild) as her “Darling Girls”. To the outside world, Miss Fairchild was a loving caretaker but the girls in her care suffered unimaginable abuse bonding the girls as sisters. Now as young women, the three are trying to navigate “normal” lives despite their trauma. They soon learn that a body has been discovered in their old home and the police are asking them to revisit their past and once again return to the place that holds the memories they have been trying to forget.

Darling Girls is a twisty new mystery by author Sally Hepworth which follows three young women bonded by the trauma they experienced while in foster care as children. Typically I really love this authors work but this one wasn’t a great fit for me. The book is well written and had a fantastic twist at the end but reading about the abuse and continued trauma of young women in foster care was very depressing. Each of the women continue to suffer as adults using sex, addiction, etc as ways to cop and their abuse and trauma was the primary subject of the story. Overall the book just made me feel very heavy with emotion and in desperate need of a pick me up novel after. That being said, I think many reader, and fans of this author will still really enjoy this on.

Sally Hepworth is my go to girl for domestic thrillers! I can devour her books in a couple sittings and always love them and look forward to the next. This one, I felt, was a bit of a pivot from her previous works. It is dark! So dark. There are some sensitive topics that may be disturbing for some readers, namely abuse and specifically, child abuse. The realization that this does happen to children who are fostered and adopted is sickening. Sally did her research and really got into the minds of these children to create this novel and it is so well executed!

This book goes back and forth from present to past with three girls, who think of themselves as sisters as they spent time in a foster home together. To get through the trauma, they came together to form an unbreakable bond. You can see how their upbringing has made them who they are today. When bones are found under their old house, they decide to go back and face their fears.

There are so many appalling moments that had me gasping and twists that had me holding my breath to see what would come next. Sally really leveled up her writing in this book, and that’s saying a lot because I have loved all of her previous work! I loved the ending and how everything came together!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I enjoyed this story, it did take me a bit to get into it though. I felt everything fell into place and the end and everything made sense. BUT then they threw the last chapter in and the twist- I didn’t see coming!

I enjoyed Darling Girls!

Three women were brought up in foster care together and consider each other sisters. In present day these 3 have a very strong bond.

Bones are discovered under the foster home they grew up in. Whose are they? How did they get there?

The story is told through their 3 point of views in present and in past time.

Theres definitely some child abuse in the story. So readers be aware.
But this was a good thriller/suspense! Definitely would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!