Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.
Hepworth is a master when it comes to domestic thrillers. Taking on the heartbreak of the foster system, and the particular horrors of three little broken girls who survives because of their close bond with each other. I thought I had the plot figured out, but that didn't curtail my enjoyment of this book, and yet Hepworth introduced a slight twist at the end! Like in The Good Sister, Hepworth left the ending open ended for the reader to wonder if the narcissistic perpetrator once again could manipulate her way out of any consequences.
I highly recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Darling Girls
Sally Hepworth
4⭐️

If you’re in the mood for a dark & twisty character driven thriller, Darling Girls will hit the spot! Hepworth did not disappoint with this page turner! It was unique, quick, engaging, and full of twists and an ending I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the flashbacks/dual timeline and getting each sister’s POV. It added so much to the story.

What I Enjoyed:
✨ Slow Burn Suspense
✨ Dark & Twisty Stories
✨ Domestic Thriller
✨ Flawed Characters

This made for the perfect buddy read!

Pub Date 4/23/24. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved it but then again I love everything Sally Hepworth has written. I liked the character development and the story line. Well written, easy read and keeps you invested in the story.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia were three foster girls who lived at a farmhouse called Wild Meadows and cared for by their foster mother Miss Fairchild. Jessica was first to arrive and formed a bond with her. Norah was violent due to foster homes she was in that were abusive. Alicia came to the house as a temporary stay due to her grandmother’s accident. The girls formed a bond and became lifelong sisters.
Twenty five years later they are called to come back by the police because remains were found buried under the farmhouse. During the investigation they come across Miss Fairchild who they’re not happy to see. They also have to confront the past and present.
The story is told from past to present and the points of views of the women. There are parts told from an unknown woman that’s in therapy sessions.
The book shed a light on the foster care system and the psychological effects on children when they are in an abusive, neglectful, unloving home. The bond of the three women shows how family isn’t always blood related. The author did research on foster care interviewing women who were in foster care as kids and interviewed social workers and foster parents. In the author’s note she asserted there are heroes in foster care system but more is needed. So true. There are so many kids that need homes and love.
Thank you #stmartinspress, #netgalley, #sallyhepworth
Publishing: April 23,2024

This book hooked me immediately and I read it very quickly. It goes back and forth between past and present and has a great pace. It was just the right amount of messed up without being hard to read and it was a wild ride. Multiple plot twists and a crazy ending. Highly recommend to others.

Another good read by Sally Hepworth. Definitely a quick read. Some of the details were slightly unbelievable. However, the storyline overall was definitely enjoyable. Did not expect the final chapter.

I love a good Sally Hepworth and holy buckets, Darling Girls fits the bill. The story goes between three former foster children who have remained close into adulthood. They are all informed that bones have been found on the property of their former foster home, where they suffered with an emotionally abusive foster mother. The women have all handled their past in different ways, carrying different challenges into the present, but they all come together during the police investigation.

I honestly can't even describe just how twisted and unexpected this book was - I was actually taken completely by surprise in a couple of places, and I loved it. So so good!

I chose this book because of the author, Sally Hepworth. I have enjoyed her books in the past. The subject of foster care is the main plot line here. There are so many wonderful foster parents that bring up children in a loving and caring home. Unfortunately Miss Fairchild was not one of them.
Three young girls are tormented by Miss Fairchild and the foster care system fails them terribly. Their story, and later their adult lives, continue to be impacted by Miss Fairchild. Sally Hepworth has incorporated a murder mystery into this book and that part of her typical style of keeping the reader interested.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and netgalley for allowing me to read Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. Once again Hepworth did not disappoint. This book was good the twist and turns had me on the edge of my sit the entire time.

Twisty and dark, this new thriller is perhaps Sally Hepworth’s best yet.
Three darling foster girls whose shared misery at Wild Meadows create a bond that lasts forever. Sisters together who enable and support each other into adulthood without truly helping each other overcome the barriers of abuse. And then one day they receive a call that will change their lives. A body was found buried beneath their old foster home and they know more than they are willing to let on.
Fantastic characters, tense prose and a superb villain in Miss Fairchild. This was an exciting, page turner till the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s for the ARC.

Sally’s best work yet! What an amazing plot and creative story. I loved the unlikeable characters and the writing was so intriguing.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author. The storyline sucked me in and kept me hooked. The characters were likable and relatable. I very much enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author.

This sad story revolves around three girls caught in the foster care system, under a narcissistic foster parent. How they deal with their trauma and overcome their abuse. Excellent read. Do not miss this one.

What a great psychological ride into the memories of three girls who shared a foster home. Hepworth does an excellent job with understanding trauma responses and the bonds that are created for those who share in it. Very interesting to be able to see into the mind and what makes a victim into a perpetrator. Some of it was hard to read with the mistreatment of children, yet Hepworth goes beyond into the characterization of these girls and how they evolved and survived as women. And with an excellent twist you probably won't see coming! #darlinggirls #sallyhepworth #netgalley #goodreads

I absolutely loved this book!! The characters were so relatable and well written. The story was intriguing and fast paced. There was not a moment where I wanted to put this book down and not see how things were going to unfold. The emotions were all over the place throughout this book; from anger to headache.

This story is a tale of three "sisters" that form an unbreakable bond through their foster care with Mrs. Fairchild. They are bonded together as they try to live their lives with the sinister foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. This story also moves between the "before" and "now" times of these three sisters. As a result of their horrible time in this foster home, each of the three girls have a lot of deep rooted issues that carries with them throughout their adult lives. Then a bomb shell is dropped on them as there is a body found under the basement of the home in which they lived with Mrs. Fairchild. Going back to the town to answer questions on what happened in the house when they are little bring all the issues that these girls carry to a head.

The author wrote a shocking ending that I didn't see coming at all, which was honestly my favorite part! I love thinking I know how the book will end and then get blown away.

Call Hepworth is an excellent writer that keeps the story moving at just the right pace with just the right amount of details. I can't wait to read more of her stories!

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin Press for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.

Darling Girls is a great read! It takes place in Australia where a skeleton is uncovered underneath a former foster home known as Wild Meadows. As detectives try to determine the identity of the deceased, three of the long-time residents, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah return to provide any information they may have. Each of these young women have back stories of their time at Wild Meadow, and their relationships with Miss Fairchild, the caregiver,, that are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Lots of unexpected and unpredictable events work together to bring closure to a very traumatic chapter in their lives.

Thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Darling girls is filled with twists, some you’ll see coming, others were a big surprise to me. Overall, I enjoyed the POV switching from sister to sister so that I could get a better idea of the head space of each character.

The one thing I found ridiculous is that the three girls actually believed they made up Amy. Come on, they were all in high school, there’s no way they all individually had the same shared delusion.

Overall, another great read from Sally Hepsworth! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 (4.5/5)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is about three women who grew up together in a foster home run by an abusive and horrible woman, who receive a phone call that authorities have discovered a body underneath the house, and return “home” to aid in the investigation.

I feel like so often thrillers can kind of get repetitive for me… there’s an unreliable narrator, you don’t know who to trust, blah blah. However, THIS thriller, was fantastic and had such a unique storyline and plot to follow, that I couldn’t finish it quickly enough.

I loved the flashback timeline and multiple POV aspects of this story, and thought they added a lot to the book. So between those two, and the unique plot, this really was a great one!!

However, the story of what happened to these girls in that home is very sad and heart wrenching so please review content warnings before diving into this one!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you Netgalley and author Sally Hepworth for the early release copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book follows Jessica, Norah and Alicia who were fostered and abused by miss Fairchild but when bones are discovered buried under the farmhouse, they are called in by the police to tell what they know.

This was such a page turner with multiple POVs, suspense and so many twists! Release date: April 23, 2024.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have a deep, seemingly unbreakable bond. One that goes back decades to when they were girls - forced to live with an abusive and unpredictable foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on Wild Meadows Farm.

The three adult women, suffering from the effects of those traumatic years, are trying the best they can to carry on, when bones are found buried under the farmhouse where they spent those difficult years. They are questioned by the police, as a part of an investigation to find out whose bones are buried and who is responsible.

Each character has a distinctive personality and has responded to trauma differently. Relationships and relating with people are complicated. And Hepworth does a good show of this. The suspense and tension build quickly.