I've read just about every Sally Hepworth book and this one goes down as my very favorite. I just couldn't stop reading.
Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up together in the same foster home, under the care of Miss Fairchild. Life with Miss Fairchild is tough, unfair, and cruel. Cleaning, punishment, and the emotional manipulation she plays among the girls is disturbing. Now years later and all grown up, the girls are contacted by a detective because human bone remains have been found on the property. Now they must go back to the place they grew up, resurfacing all the bad memories and abuse they endored during their time at Wild Meadows.
The book alternates between past and present, and the point of view of each girl. I loved reading the back story of their childhoods, leading up to present day, and trying to figure out whose bones were buried on the property..and O.M.G...what an ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An excellent read! I LOVED this one!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the way the character’s backgrounds were written. The time transitions were easy to follow. The girls are so lovable. Miss Fairchild reminded me of Professor Umbridge (ugh…Harry Potter reference for those who don’t know!). LOL. Really good book all the way through!!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and St. Martins Press . All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Publishing: April 23, 2024

Sally Hepworth never fails to provide a thriller in her stories. Darling Girls was a very good read and I enjoyed this story very much. Kept me on my seat and was a nice read while on travel. Not a fan of psychological thrillers, but this author proves me wrong every time I read her stories.

“From the outside, Alicia, Jessica and Norah might seem like ordinary women you'd meet on the street any day of the week. Sure, Jessica has a little OCD and Norah has some anger issues. And Alicia has low self-esteem that manifests itself in surprising ways. But these three have a bond that no one can fully understand. It's a bond that takes them back decades, to when they were girls, and they lived on a farm with a foster mother named Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed.

In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild, and they thought they were free. But the reach of someone with such power is long, and even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When bones are discovered buried under the farmhouse of their childhood, they are called in by the police to tell what they know. Against their will, they are brought back to the past, and to Miss Fairchild herself.”

This book was an amazing psychological thriller. It takes you on a wild ride through 4 points of view and 1 is a mystery. Each character sticks with you and has their own unique quirks. I especially love their sister bond. It also beautifully intertwines the past and present and has you racing to the end so you can get the whole story. The twists in this book had me screaming at points. I’m a sucker for a epilogue and this one freaking ✨delivers✨ I definitely suggest picking this one up

I fell in love with the characters. The writing style was such that I could see what was happening throughout the book. The storyline was easy to follow and flowed well.

Sally Hepworth quickly became my favorite author early on in her writing career. Her books keep getting better and better, this one is no exception. This one surprised me with the subject matter and I ended up loving it. Gave me "Tennessee Children's Home" vibes. I loved the ending.

This was such an interesting psychological thriller that kept me invested the whole book. We have Norah,Jessica and Alice who are like sisters and grew up in a foster home together. In past and present timelines we get to see their characters and how being together in the same home and their foster mom affected them. They come together in the present day timeline because bones were found in their childhood foster home and there’s now an investigation. This story was twisty, fast paced and also sad when you think about some stuff that the kids had to go through. There is a lot about the dark aspects of foster care, manipulation and child abuse so be warned. The ending and final twist was a nice conclusion to the book. Overall a good thriller read for me. 4.5/5
Thank you SMP and Netgalley for this arc for an honest review.

Ive enjoyed all of the Sally Hepworth books I've read and this is no exception. It was fun and twisty, and kept me turning the pages. I would recommend this to my audience and can't wait to pick up more of Sally's books in the future.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia may not be related by blood but they are sisters in the truest sense of the world. Now adults, they were fostered together as children and lived through some truly disturbing years with their foster mother Holly.

Darling Girls is told in both the present, as the girls are involved in an investigation when remains are found beneath their childhood home and the past, where we learn of the trauma they endured as kids.

Another gripping thriller from Sally Hepworth! Darling Girls could certainly be triggering for some as it delves into child abuse and the ending is very dark. I found the book intriguing and poignant.

4 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of Darling Girls

For fans of Sally Hepworth, you will truly get lost in her latest, Darling Girls. Past and present chapters with multiple points of view drive the forward push of this psychological thriller. Norah, Jessica, and Alice are friends through literal thick and thin from youngsters to their adult lives. There is a lot of dark subject matter in this one, including child abuse, foster care, mental anguish and abuse, and violence. The three girls have endured abuse that is unimaginable, but fast forward twenty-five years and we find out how their lives have played out. We also have a point of view from Holly, the manipulative and monstrous foster mother. This was gut-wrenching and unputdownable. Make sure you read the author's notes!

Absolutely loved this ARC from Netgalley. So grateful for the chance to read it.

This is my second Sally Hepworth book, but my first five star SH book.

I absolutely tore through this. The character development between the sisters was outstanding. The plot moved quickly and was engrossing. I would recommend to anyone who likes a solid thriller. I had to know how it was going to end, but unlike most thrillers I was more invested in the story and the journey than the outcome at the end.

I always love a good domestic thriller from Sally Hepworth. This was another good one that kept me engaged. The switching of timelines helped bring the story all together.

It was really hard at times to read about the abuse Jessica, Norah and Alicia endured. I hate that this is going on in the world. But I'm grateful for authors who find a way to bring up hard topics.

The ending had a great twist and wrapped up nicely.

Thanks Netgalley for my advanced copy!

An enthralling story about the foster system at its worst. Alternating chapters in past and present, examining both through the viewpoints of the 3 girls/women. I couldn't put it down, was glad that it did work out for the girls in the end. A must read.

I was intrigued by this book because I enjoyed _The Soulmate_ but WOW Hepworth loved to remind you how atrocious humanity can be. The three main perspectives were distinct and well written. Sometimes multiple perspectives and times can get overly complex and blend into each other, Luckily, this book never suffered those issues and was an entertaining read.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I just love books that keep me guessing and this one delivered!! I’m a longtime fan of Sally Hepworth and I think this one might be my new fave from her. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you’re led down a new twisted path. The gloomy scenery of the story along with the characters full of their own dark and disturbed histories made this a perfect spooky season read. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s, and the author for the ARC.

Another twisty, dark domestic thriller masterfully crafted by Sally Hepworth. She’s an expert in complicated family relationships and blindsiding the reader in the end with a final twist that drives it home.

In a delicately woven tale of 3 foster sisters with an unbreakable bond, Darling Girls goes between the past and present, with little sprinkles of some therapy sessions mixed in. When a body is found beneath the foster home where Jessica, Norah and Alicia spent their childhood, old wounds and decades old secrets creep back into the light.

It’s a slow burn but worth the time invested to get to that final moment that wraps the book up with a satisfying conclusion.

I really enjoyed this book, like couldn't put it down wanted to reas the next five pages in any free time. For mystery lovers or those who like a mild thriller this book IS IT. The characters were all believable and well crafted, keeping the story moving forward. I really recommend this book. If you enjoyed other books like None Of This Is True or Before I Go To Sleep this is for you.

Holy smokes did I love this book! A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. This story follows Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Three foster children who ended up in the same foster home together under the care of Mrs. Fairchild. An unpredictable, cruel woman. The girls escape, but in the end over twenty years later the past comes to haunt them. As bones are discovered under the home, the girls must face everything the past had buried. Told from two timelines - present and past - Darling Girls is going to be one of the hottest new thriller reads of 2024. A huge five stars from me and would recommend this book to anyone!

This book catches your attention from the beginning. Different points of view and 3 sisters together in foster care make the book a great thriller. Nice ending and would recommend...

Three girls enter the foster care system for varying reasons and end up in the care of Holly Fairchild. Jessica, desperate for attention and love and would do anything to gain Ms Fairchild’s favor. Then Norah came to the house. Norah was harsh and brass and after a life of abuse, Norah often finds herself protecting Jessica when Ms Fairchild is picking on her because of Jessica’s weaknesses. Soon comes Alicia, the last of the girls to make up the trio of “sisters”. The girls must always be in their toes, watching for the next mental, physical or emotional abuse to come from Ms Fairchild, but at least they always knew they had each other to make things better and watch out for the others.
Now it’s 25 years later and when the home they were raised in is being demolished, a body is found in the ground underneath it and the girls are brought in for questioning. The girls have remained family all these years despite not actually being family and nothing is going to break that bond now, despite what Ms Fairchild might try to do. The girls have a lot to work through as they all have their own issues stemming from their childhood and now they have to go back and face it all again and help the police figure out who the bones belong to, but maybe facing it as adults might help them to understand what happened when their thoughts and memories were so influenced by their fear of Ms Fairchild.
This was fast paced and easy to fly through! I read it all in one day because I couldn’t get enough-I had to know what was going to happen! A dark and intense look at foster care.
Thanks to St, Martins Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.