Another Hepworth novel in the books! I am always up for anything Sally Hepworth writes and really loved this one.

A disturbing case of bones being found under an old foster home, a wicked foster mother, and three pre-teen foster girls who are now women when the bones are found. As close as sisters can be, but genetically unrelated, Norah, Alicia and Jessica return to Port Agatha to speak to police about the discovery. Having endured psychological abuse at the hands of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, each has trauma and operates differently than a well adjusted person might. One has OCD tendencies, another a dysfunctional idea of sexual relationships and the third has become a well respected social worker. Who the bones belong to is a part of the mystery, but also who may have harmed the person that came to be deceased.

Darling Girls casts suspicions on a host of characters who are not always likeable and always unreliable. Hepworth chose to structure the novel into a now/then format which is my favourite style. I felt like each of the sisters were distinguishable in their chapters and had reasonable motivations. Moving with a consistent pacing kept me interested throughout. The addition of chapters between a psychiatrist and a patient slowly revealed the plot and who the patient was. I did guess the who early on here but it didn’t take away from the story whatsoever.

For fans of domestic suspense and psychological thrillers, Darling Girls will satisfy most readers thoroughly. I cannot wait for whatever Hepworth writes next but in the meantime, North American readers can look forward to this book publishing April 23, 2024. Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I wanted to like this more, but almost everything felt pretty obvious and instead of being a twisty thriller as promised it was mostly just a sad story. I did like how the author went back and forth with the timelines. I wanted this to be more of a mystery but it really wasn't.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit that I love Sally Hepworth and have loved all her books, especially The Good Sister. So I was looking forward to this one, and it did not disappoint.

This book may admittedly be triggering some as one of the settings is within the foster care system, and there are themes of abuse. However, this did move the plot forward and was therefore necessary to the story.

The book focuses on three women who survived a foster home called Wild Meadows as children. The home was a horrible place to grow up, so the women became closely bonded as a result. Although the women are now adults with very different lives, they all carry the scars of their experience, but they're doing the best as they can (and they still have each other) - until a set of bones are discovered, and the women become suspects.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this book - but the one at the end will leave you reeling. As most of Hepworth's books are, this one is very character-driven, but filled with suspense. It was a page-turner that I highly recommend. The author's sharp writing and plotting are evident at every turn.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sally Hepworth, but it won’t be my last! I found the entire story very engaging, especially toward the end as I was trying to figure out “who did it.” Knowing there would be some kind of twist, I stayed up super late to finish the book, trying to figure it out.

Darling Girls focuses on three young girls, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah, who lived at Wild Meadows foster home. Unfortunately, they endured extreme emotional abuse by their foster mom, Miss Fairchild. But the three girls developed a “sister” bond that was as strong as any blood family, which continued through their adult lives.

The girls managed to escape the abusive home in their early teens and have been living several hours away in the city. Twenty years later they are established in their careers and still maintaining their sister bond when they each receive a phone call from a detective about the discovery of human bones under the foster home they lived in.

The three women travel back to Meadows Hill to be interviewed by the case detectives. The story alternates by chapter from the past to the present day, from the perspective of all three women, which I enjoyed. I felt like I got to know their characters well this way. There are also flashbacks from Miss Fairchild, so you understand her story and how she got to be so abusive.

This book gives insight into the long-lasting effects of being raised by an abusive parent. Unfortunately, some children endure terrible conditions, and I found it very sad, but also fascinating how they were able to overcome it in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5 stars I highly recommend this book!
Publication date: April 23, 2024
#NetGalley #DarlingGirls

This is Sally Hepworth at her best. I absolutely love this book. If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers this one is a must read! I will for sure be recommending this to my friends and family

This is the second book by Sally Hepworth and I have enjoyed both. Darling Girls follows three “sisters”, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, from their time together in Wild Meadows Farm foster home to 25 years later. All three of them are called back to Port Agatha with the discovery of human remains found under the house during demolition. We learn of the treatment they received from Miss Holly Fairchild during their stay with her. All of them think the remains belong to baby Amy who had shown up as Miss Fairchild’s adopted daughter one day and then suddenly disappeared (and all traces of her) when the girls went to the police to report the abuse.

The book alternates between characters before and now, and mixed in is a first person narrative of someone speaking with a psychiatrist who we learn near the end is Miss Fairchild herself from prison. She is telling the psychiatrist about her experience living in the house with her mother and new husband, John, who was very mean to her. We find out that he raped her and she became pregnant. She gave birth to Amy in the basement and for a while stayed down there. One night after John comes down after drinking and does what we can only imagine is sexually abuse her, he leaves the basement door unlocked. Holly slips out with Amy and runs into her mom on the porch. Her mom lets her go but before they can make it down the driveway, her mom and John show up and take Amy back to the house. We are lead to believe that the baby died in their care, but both her mother and John are dead so they can’t defend themselves.

We find out that the remains under the house are not that of the Amy the girls had known because the coroner revealed that the remains did not have a sixth toe. Zara, another girl who came to town when she heard of the demolition, reveals that she had a sixth toe but had it removed. We find out that Zara was the baby Amy the girls knew, and had been stolen by a social worker and given to Holly to care for. When Jessica alerted Holly they were going to the police to report her for abuse, Holly made arrangements for the social worker to take Amy.

The book ends with Holly Fairchild’s point of view where we learn that she lied about being impregnated by her mother’s new husband, that her mother in fact had been pregnant and Holly killed her while babysitting one night. Her mother buried the baby in the basement to protect Holly so she wouldn’t lose both of her children.

Overall, this wasn’t super suspenseful but the twist at the end was unexpected. The characters are great and it reads very quickly (I finished it in one day). Norah is my favorite - love her don’t care attitude and some of the funny things she says. Hepworth is a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Darling Girls.

Thank you for the advanced copy read. I’m a big fan of Sally Hepworth novels and this one does not disappoint. I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to find out what really happened to Amy. I liked how these 3 women faced their nemesis, Ms. Fairchild and were able to let go of their past trauma and find peace.

I’m so excited to review the latest Sally Hepworth book Darling Girls. She always manages to write unique thrillers that include so much more.

Darling Girls follows the story of three young girls thrown into the Australian foster system that truly become sisters. The love and bond that they share is unbreakable.

I thought the book was very well down. There are several content warning like child abuse and generational trauma so please be aware if you plan to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the eARC.

Sally Hepworth writes interesting thrillers that don't quite fit the mold of typical thrillers, yet each are page turners that I can't put down. This book is about the foster care system in Australia, and three parentless girls that are sisters in every way but biological. The book starts when the women are in their 30's; Jessica is a married home organizer who is addicted to Valium, Norah is a beautiful girl who uses her sexuality to stuff her real feelings and Alicia works in the foster care system herself but can never allow herself any personal happiness,. The story goes back and forth in the present, when the bones of a baby are found in the basement of the former foster home the trio lived in, and the years when the girls were fostered by Miss Fairchild.

Miss Fairchild was a cruel and abusive foster parent. She started taking in foster girls to make ends meet in her large home. She started with Jessica who had no father and was left parentless when her mother died. Although she was initially kind to Jessica, she quickly changed when Jessica started going to school and she then tried to replace her by bringing in Norah and Alicia. The girls were underfed, forced to clean the entire house and then to care for infants which were brought in but never kept because Miss Fairchild never felt "loved". The girls began to rely on each other and only were able to escape their evil caretaker when a young toddler named Amy was suddenly missing from their house. Miss Fairchild wouldn't admit Amy existed and the girls were not believed but were taken out of the house and sent to a care home.

I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters and kept rooting for their happiness. As the police investigated the bones in the basement, a few twists and surprises added to the thriller element but this was more of a story of love and being able to forgive yourself for the past. The parts about child abuse made me sad but I know this stuff exists even though most foster parents are loving and want to help their children. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this advance reader copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia aren’t sisters but their pasts have bonded them together in a way that may be stronger than blood. They grew up together in a farmhouse with their abusive foster mother, Miss Fairchild. When bones are uncovered beneath the farmhouse, they must unbury their pasts to find the truth.

Sally’s books are always a bit twisty, but this one moves into the dark category. Generational trauma and child abuse are major themes, and I think it can be a bit difficult to mix those tactfully in the thriller genre.

The reviews on this novel are very high, so I may be in the minority but this wasn’t my favorite novel by the author. It lacked the levity that she is known for and capable of.

Darling Girls is out April 23, 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm already a big fan of Sally Hepworth but I especially enjoyed this story about three adopted sisters who have to get back to their hometown as a result of a body that's been found under the house they were raised. So many twists here and the ending was the best for me. Hepworth never disappoints.

with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Alicia, Jessica and Norah are sisters with a strong bond. They met when they were living as the foster children of Miss Foster. Though Miss Foster appeared nice to people on the outside, at home she was anything but. She had rules, she played favorites and if you crossed her, there was hell to pay. After finally breaking free, the girls stuck together and still are thick as thieves decades later. They all have their own unique way of dealing with the trauma they endured, some healthier than others. But when bones are found underneath Miss Fairchild’s farmhouse, the girls are each questioned by the police. Against their will, they must revisit their nightmare of a childhood.

This was my fourth read by Sally Hepworth and I swear every one of her books is better than the last! “Darling Girls” was no different, and from the first few pages I was immediately drawn into this story. Told in multiple points of view, readers get snippets of the awful childhood these girls endured. There is also the viewpoint of someone speaking to a psychiatrist. Throughout the story, these interviews are interspersed and the reader never knows who it is til closer to the end. Each girl’s experience with Miss Fairchild was very captivating; I got invested quickly in their stories and found myself rooting for them to break free. Their present day struggles were heartbreaking and I thought the author did a very respectful job at showing how past trauma can shape the future. I couldn’t put this one down until I knew how the story was going to end!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! “Darling girls” releases April 23, 2024!

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Wow what a book! I loved the past and present timelines and although parts were extremely disturbing and hard to read, I could not turn pages fast enough to find out what happened- especially toward the end! Thank you so much to NetGalley for this eARC! I will definitely be recommending this one to my fellow thriller lovers!

wow wow wow~ definitely a darker book than I'm used to with SAlly Hepworth but I LOVED it!!! I wanted to just keep reading!!!

Absolutely love this author and her new one is no exception! This story about 3 girls and their abusive foster mom intrigued me from the moment I started the book. Highly recommend this book!

This book was bonkers. Absolutely amazing. I stayed up so late reading it and I was shocked by the twist at the end.

OMG! Loved this book! The story of 3 young girls placed in foster care, the relationships they build with each other and the lives they lead.

The story follows a dual timeline with the girls childhood and adult lives. The “sisters” become involved in a murder investigation after bones are found in the basement of the abusive home they lived in their cruel foster mother. Whose bones are they and who put them there? Love the twist in this book.

Thank you for the advance digital copy.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was quickly placed at the very top of my TBR pile, and I'm glad I put it there. From the moment I picked up the ARC to read it, I could not put it down.

Darling Girls is a novel about 3 foster sisters named Jessica, Alicia and Norah who are under the care of Miss Fairchild. Each girl came into foster care with their own traumas which are carried with them into adulthood. With the added abuse of Miss Fairchild, they all have a lot to carry.

The story starts off with one of the women talking to a psychiatrist named Dr. Warren, but we don't know which woman it is. The book is told in each of the girls' points of view and goes from present to past as well as excerpts from sessions with Dr. Warren. During the present time, human remains are found on the property of Wild Meadows Farms, which was Miss Fairchild's home. Each of the women are questioned to find out who the remains might belong to.

I was not ready for the twists at the end and no matter who I thought the body was, I was proven otherwise. The ending was a shock, but it was a good one.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC for my honest opinion.

This was my first Sally Hepworth, but it will not be the last! It was a fast read because it grabbed me right away. This is the story of Alicia, Norah and Jessica... "sisters" forged out of circumstance. They lived with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother, in this house of horror. Miss Fairchild was a wild Jekyll and Hyde lady. Every moment her home wasn't entirely horrible but they learned to be on guard, for most moments were and the good ones were dripping with conditions. This story was a little dark and a lot twisty with a "family you make vibe." I could have never seen the ending coming!! Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! It centers around three foster sisters. Bones are found under the house where they spent their childhood. Even when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about this book and the characters, which makes it an automatic 5 stars for me.

I haven't read The Soulmate, but several people in my buddy read said this one was better.