Sally Hepworth has become well-known for writing domestic suspense novels. Her latest offering, Darling Girls, is by far the most intense and her best one yet! You will find yourself turning the pages quickly to try to solve the mystery within. There's a lot of horrific stuff going on, so brace yourself.

I liked all three of the main characters. They were messed up from their time with Miss Fairchild and it shows. I love that they kept a connection going and always looked out for each other. Miss Fairchild was truly awful, but then there were times I felt sorry for her. It was disconcerting to have that mix. The story overall was really well-written and twisted. It kept me guessing the entire time and I couldn't predict what would happen from one moment to the next.

This spine-tingling thriller will be available in late April, so be sure to add it to your spring TBR.

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Jessica: Janet Montgomery
Norah: Meaghan Rath
Alicia: Catherine Bohart
Miss Fairchild (in the past): Emerald Fennell
Meera: Jessica Clark
Ishir: Raymond Ablack

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TW: child abuse, sexual assault, death of a child, drug addiction

Sally Hepworth is forever and ever a favorite thriller author for me!! I can only hope she keeps the books coming. Darling Girls was everything I had hoped it would be and was shocking like her other novels have been.

This was a great classic suspense novel. Was there murder? Yes. Did the story have you guessing which direction it was heading? Yes. Nothing too gruesome but completely captivating with some twists and turns that had you guessing to the end. The three main "darling girls" were extremely flawed adults but the story flip flops back and forth from past to present and you can see why. This book also makes you stop and think about the foster system and how it is really hard to come of out of it and function as an adult.

I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth for a few years, and I was beyond excited to be given the chance to read this ARC.

Darling Girls is a multi-timeline, multi-POV story following the lives of three women who grew up in a foster home. Their foster mother seems like the dream placement, but as time passes each girl is met with challenges, some worse than others. These trials and tribulations bring the three together as they form a bond that seems unbreakable. 25 years after leaving Miss Fairchild their one-time foster home is torn down, leading to a discovery that will bring the women back home for the first time.

This was such a trip to read. Sally did a wonderful job building a connection between the reader and each character. I truly felt protective of these girls. I loved the mysterious vibe and the journey of discovery. Even though things slowly continued to click, I was still left shocked in the end. The pace was perfect to keep the reader interested as the multi-timeline events unraveled.

A complete page turner that kept me guessing all night long. This is a psychological thriller with a lot of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. WOW. A must read.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth has written quite a few books, and I have been lucky enough to read a few on Netgalley. I was pleasantly surprised by 'The Soulmate' last year so wanted to try 'Darling Girls' too!

I love a multiple POV story. I love dual timelines.

There is a lot of abuse in this book. I saw a few reviews about the trauma going too far, but as a Social Worker, sometimes it just IS that bad.

Check the trigger warnings! There are a few for sure.

This book made me mad but in a good way. 3 girls growing up in an abusive foster home and truly becoming sisters. They all struggled in their own ways and had to overcome their struggles. Such a psychological thriller twists and turns that I honestly didn’t see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This was my first Sally Hepworth novel. I read in 2 days; wondering where was the author taking me. I felt the multiple timelines were great for the story being told. So many unexpected twists and turns for Jessica, Norah and Alicia. I felt Hepworth did a good job at telling the ways each girl was individually affected by their time in foster care. The fourth voice is that of their foster mother. I never expected the truth of her story. This is a story of “3 sisters” that never gave up on each other and were able to heal. While this is a work of fiction, be sure to read the Acknowledgements at the end explaining the author’s research regarding foster care.

Classic Sally Hepworth with twists and turns I did not see coming. Some of the child abuse content was a little too real, but I thought it was handled honestly and realistically. Great book. Loved the ending!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an online arc of Darling Girls.

Darling Girls is the second Sally Hepworth book I have read, and I was excited to receive early access since I enjoyed her last book, The Soulmate. While the two stories share family ties as a theme, they could not be more different. I would be remiss if I did not note that this story is messy in a much darker way.

The narrators of Darling Girls, three sisters Norah, Jessica and Alicia and a mysterious fourth voice speaking during therapy sessions, all move the story along its twisty path to an even twistier conclusion. The novel tells the back stories of the three and their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, as their lives intersect again in the present over the mystery of the bones of a child found under their foster home.

I felt so much sympathy for these three women as you learn how their time in foster care affected their preteen and adult lives in major ways. Their heartbreaking narrative moves seamlessly between past and present, giving the reader insight into why this is so. There was also great character building of Holly Fairchild, their foster mother through the narrative and psychiatry sessions. By the time we encounter Miss Fairchild again in the present day, you can’t help but hope she gets her comeuppance for how she treated those in her care. (Her name really irked me as she is never “fair” to any “child” at any point in the story.) By the end of the story, which expands the cast of characters through a police investigation, we learn the fate of a missing child, the identity of the bones under the house, and how the main characters move forward with their lives in the aftermath of the investigation. This one was hard to put down, as I wanted to learn how it wrapped up. While I did see some light for the sisters at the end, the final chapter is a doozy!

Darling Girls goes beyond the edges of a straight psychological thriller with its depictions of a foster care system that sometimes fails those who need protections the most: the children. Make sure that you read the author’s acknowledgments at the end. It will make you think about the word “lucky” in ways you never thought of. 5/5

I am a huge Sally Hepworth fan and I’m so happy to say that this is my favourite book of hers yet!

This was a ride! The first few chapters, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it and then I got completely sucked in and couldn’t put it down. The story follows three women who were previously in foster care and their younger selves. When a body is found at their previous foster home, their lives begin to unravel and suppressed secrets come to the surface. I felt like the characters were so well done and I fully felt connected to them while reading. Overall, this was heartbreaking, twisty and a really unique thriller. The end went a completely different way than I guessed and I absolutely loved it.

I will say this was really dark and has a lot of subject matter that someone may find triggering so feel free to message me for any trigger warnings!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐟…
✨you love multiple timelines
✨you’re craving a good twist
✨you enjoy dark storylines

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🚨Pub Date: April 23, 2024
🫶🏻Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartins for the ARC!

Hepworth is back to showcasing her talent for writing nuanced relationships and I am here for it! I absolutely gobbled up this novel in a two days after being instantly sucked into the lives of the characters. Hepworth shines so brilliantly when she writes about the complex relationships other authors don’t want to touch and for Darling Girls she centers on three foster care “sisters” and their unstable foster parent. Hepworth captures the incredible bond between the girls forged by going through shared trauma but doesn’t neglect the complicated feelings of resentment, guilt, sadness, and hope. She highlights the issues of foster care without lecturing. None of the characters are one note which adds such richness to the novel and I really appreciated the multiple time lines woven within the novel. Hepworth surprise zingers are tucked in Darling Girls too making the entire read engaging and unputdownable. So glad to have this version of Hepworth back again!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book from Sally Hepworth and it definitely won't be my last! I enjoyed how the story was told in multiple POVs. Sally Hepworth is definitely a great storyteller.

Sally Hepworth's "Darling Girls" is yet another feather in her cap! From the very first page to the FAST PACED, climactic conclusion, the narrative is a rollercoaster of emotions, earning a solid four-stars from me! The last chapter of this book is CRAZY and I loved every word of it. Truly, if an author can surprise me with an ending, automatic bonus points!

The story centers around three foster sisters who, after 25 years, are brought back together by the discovery of human bones at their former foster home, Wild Meadows. As they face detectives at Meadows Hill, memories resurface, revealing their challenging past under the cruel foster mother, Miss Fairchild.

I enthusiastically recommend "Darling Girls" for its abundant twists and turns. The narrative is so engrossing that I found myself reading late into the night, and the payoff in the final chapters is truly satisfying.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for providing an ARC in exchange for my review. Mark your calendars for the publication date on April 23, 2024 – you won't want to miss this gem!

I read The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was excited to read an ARC copy of Darling Girls. This book is about Jessica, Norah and Alicia who are bonded through their experiences in foster care on a farm. Miss Fairchild is the foster mother and she did not make it easy on these girls. Norah, Alicia and Jessica vowed to look out for each other and became sisters from their experiences. Little did they know that when they became adults this same farm would bring them back because of bones found on the farm and Miss Fairchild may have some secrets they were not even aware of. This is a psychological thriller, fast paced and has a huge plot twist. This book really touches on the dark side of foster care and how it can have an effect on the children even as they get older. I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to more books from Sally Hepworth.

Wow this book truly took me on a journey. I love the dual timelines, so you get a better understand of the character development as well as what the girls experienced. I loved how it kept me on the edge of my seat and had a few small twists throughout the story. The ending (and final twist) was shocking! Absolutely wonderful but be sure to map out some time for this as you will want to read it all in one sitting!!

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

I have read seven books by Sally Hepworth and enjoyed all of them. Her latest, however, fell flat for me. Additionally, I didn’t care for the child abuse storyline. I’m looking forward to a better book by Sally Hepworth next time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Darling Girls is a suspenseful journey through the lives of three girls in foster care. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia may not be blood sisters, but they share a unique bond that is reinforced by enduring the torment caused by their foster mother. Not wanting to be separated they keep quiet until an event occurs that is life-threatening. Years later, the police discover a possible murder that occurred at the home bringing the sisters reluctantly back to the place where it all started. The story switches between the past and the present which makes the book so hard to put down. Once you think you know where the story is going, you are shockingly surprised. 
*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author, for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My favorite characters in this story were the sisters, Jessica, Nora and Alicia They showed a wonderful sisterly love and relationship. My least favorite character was Miss Fairchild because who could like such a horrible and terrible character? My favorite part of the story was whenever the sisters were together and supporting each other. My least favorite part of the story was whenever Miss Fairchild appeared. She gave me a creepy vibe and was just an unpleasant character.

Amazing! I devoured this book in one sitting and was actually sad when it ended. This book was hard to read in parts due to that abusive situations that the characters endured, but well worth reading. Loved it!