Book Review
DARLING Girls by Sally Hepworth

Tropes
Drug Abuse
Fostering/Adoption
Neglect/ emotional abuse and trauma
Narcissist
Multiple POV
Extortion and blackmail
Found family
Small town
Past and present timeline

Characters
I saw a bit of myself in each of the 3 women who survived Miss Fairchild’s upbringing:
Jessica- a woman with the need to control her environment and a people pleaser
Alicia- a nurturer who puts others needs before her own
Norah- a sexually promiscuous and quick to anger hot head in Norah.
And
Miss Fairchild - one fucked up person -her story unfolds as told to her “therapist” while in prison and I struggled to find any empathy for her.

Overall Thoughts- A truly messed up domestic suspense thriller that makes you question the mind of the author that dreamed it up. My heart bled for these women and the abuse they suffered only to find healing at the end as they came to terms with their past. An emotional roller coaster of a read .

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own

Sally Hepworth is an auto-read author. She continues to keep me entertained. Thrilled to see what she cooks up next. Great plot with a lot of questions around the ending but enjoyed it. Thank you for the chance to read early!

I continue to adore Sally Hepworth and I will read everything she writes! This novel took me on a roller coaster of feelings. I was able to empathize with the sisters' close friendship as they persevered through their difficult upbringing together. Reading it was taxing; I needed pauses, but I couldn't stop trying to understand what was happening. The author's style was at once tragic and compelling; you couldn't put the book down. I think the author did a fantastic job of making it easy to keep track of the story's chronology jumps and multiple points of view. I became really attached to the ladies and cared a lot about what happened to them. The portrayal of the detectives seemed a little too idealistic, but that wasn't a dealbreaker. Although some of the subject matter can be somewhat weighty, I continue to recommend this book to others.

Thank you so much to #netgalley for this free copy for an honest review.

I've read 3 other Sally Hepworth books and have really enjoyed all of this. Darling Girls was no exception! This book was about three "sisters" in foster care and was written in past/present and the different character's perspectives. There was some confusion in the book, when someone was talking to a therapist, that I struggled with, perhaps that was just me. However, that was cleared up near the end of the book. I was not expecting the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The plot of Darling Girls isn't really the selling point-the "deal breaker" is how the plot evolves. Slow going at first, Sally Hepworth saves the absolute best for last. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are put in foster care at the home of Holly Fairchild. At first it seems like Miss Fairchild will offer her charges the love and stability that was sorely missing from their lives, but Holly quickly shows her true and ugly colors. As the three girls band together to survive, their "mother" becomes increasingly violent and unstable. When the bones of a baby are discovered under the Fairchild home Holly's past is exposed, turning the story upside down. Sally Hepworth has written a devilishly clever story in Darling Girls, but the burning question becomes "exactly who is the devil???" It's hard to keep up the momentum when dealing with the grind of daily living in the Fairchild home, but Miss Hepworth gives these chapters enough suspense that you won't lose interest. And you'll be rewarded for sticking around with one of the most jaw dropping endings out there. The devil is in the details, and they are a doozy!!

Right from the start, I cared about the characters in this story and was invested in the outcome. I felt sorry for the girls and wondered why no one had ever considered that they all had PTSD and got them help. However, I also enjoyed every twist and surprise, and really liked the way it ended. Well, mostly, but I won't spoil it.

3.5 ⭐️ a twisty, slow burning mystery, and the last chapter was pretty shocking.

i also loved how close the sisters were and how they stuck together and supported each other no matter what.

thanks netgalley!

Loved this one! Sally Hepworth novels are always must-reads for me and this one was no exception. The back story and character development in this was powerful in understanding how each of the “darling girls”- Norah, Alicia, and Jessica came to be. The psychological manipulation and games made the trauma and confusion they experienced palpable to the reader. The mystery kept me intrigued and guessing until the very end. Another win for Sally Hepworth.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in foster care under the rules of Miss Fairchild. Years later they must return to their former farmhouse foster home after bones are found under the building. I enjoyed the pacing of this story. I felt the multiple POVs and timelines were very well done - all perspectives were interesting. Sometimes with multiple POVs and timelines one or more voices doesn’t feel like it adds to the plot - that was not the case in this story. Hepworth did an excellent job writing Miss Fairchild’s character.
The final plot twist was something I didn’t expect which added to my overall opinion of the book.
I would definitely recommend Darling Girls if you are looking for a twisty psychological thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of this book.

“Look at you, my darling girl.”

Wow! Sally Hepworth, bravo!! When I tell you my jaw dropped on the last chapter….
A spine chilling and disturbing tale of secrets, sisterhood and surviving their childhood in their foster home with abusive Miss. Fairchild.

The book goes from present day and back in the past. Present day, 25 years later, the sisters get a call from a detective that the home has been demolished and bones have been found underneath the home. They need to return to Wild Meadows but that will require reliving their past and also Miss. Fairchild….
I absolutely loved the characters, minus Miss. Fairchild. They each have their own personality and we get to know each of them in the then and now.
I would check any trigger warnings as there is very sensitive topics.
Darling girls is a captivating domestic thriller that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end. And like I said, that last chapter…..changed everything.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for and honest review.
@netgalley
@stmartinspress
@sallyhepworth

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publishing date: 4/23/24

Summary:
Three sisters grow up in foster care with a nasty psychotic mother. They all experience a lot of trauma. A detective calls the girls and tells them bones were found under their childhood home and would like to speak to them about it. They are forced to face secrets and the haunting grip from the past.

This book was an intense psychological thriller! The characters drawn you in and for me I couldn’t put it down!! I really liked the dual timeline and multiple povs. I highly recommend you add this to your tbr!!!!

#read #bookworms #readmore #booksyoucantputdown #bookstagram #bookaddict #thriller #suspense #books #tbr #sallyhepworth #darlinggirls #stmartinspress #netgalley #revenge #sisters #mystery

Twist after twist and tons of great suspense! This is exactly why I love Sally Hepworth books so much! This book had me completely hooked from beginning to end. From the background of the foster sisters to the investigation, living with Miss Fairchild, and more, I couldn't put this one down. Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming one of my favorite Thriller/Mystery authors. I can't wait to pick up more of her backlist!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC. Darling Girls out 04/23/2024!

I get excited when I see a new title by Sally Hepworth. I can always count on her stories to be interesting, entertaining and have a bit of a twist. Darling Girls does not disappoint. Three sisters have taken very different directions in their adult lives. Jessica is a tightly wound, organized business owner. Alicia is a social worker who deals mainly with foster kids. Norah hasn’t really figured out her professional life, but her anger issues often get in her way. When bones are found on the grounds of the foster home they shared, the girls are summoned by the small town police to possibly shed some light on the situation. Unfortunately, Miss Fairchild is also in town. She’s the manipulative, hateful woman who took then in as foster children. Warm and fuzzy she is not. As each woman’s story unfolds, their healing begins. But what about the bones? Pick up a copy of Darling Girls and see how this mystery unravels.

THAT TWISTTTTTTTT! I liked this book but felt like there were times when the mystery and intrigue drug on. Most of the book was spent keeping me on my toes about Norah and Jessica’s impending exploits. Like obviously these hidden things were going to come to light and why they couldn’t tell their sister about it was baffling to me. That being said, I loved the foster kid representation and loved Alicia’s character. I felt like the ending really saved the story for me. I also LOVED Jessica and her husband’s relationship at the end.

Sally Hepworth is a master at the slow-burn thriller! Darling Girls is a dual timeline thriller from three POVs- Jessica, Norah, and Alicia chronicling their time in foster care and their resulting individual trauma. The twist is pretty obvious early on but the depiction of how abuse manifests and persists in different people is what really makes Darling Girls stand out!

Sally Hepworth's Darling Girls is one of the best books I've read this year. A rich, complex multi-POV story that shows a found family, alternating past and present. It's the sort of book that makes you SO uncomfortable and yet you care so much about the characters you just have go keep reading. I'm so impressed with Hepworth's ability to write thrillers that all feel so different and yet GOOD. I was also impressed with the research the author did to really get into the hearts and minds of foster children. Make sure you take the time to read through the acknowledgments, too.

WOW!! What did I just read? Very well written book about three foster girls( Alicia, Norah, and Jessica) who bond while is foster care. They are now sister and years later human remains are found at the home where they resided with their foster mom Miss Fairchild. Told in the past and present tense this book weaves an incredible tale. While it sounds like it could be confusing, this author does it in a way that does the opposite. It brings the story together and you understand these three women and why they do what do. From mannerisms, protecting one another, habits, life choices, etc. Sally Hepworth has done it again and written a superb book! Thank you for net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

I was excited to read this, as I love Sally Hepworth, and it did not disappoint. The story follows three women who became sisters in the foster care system, growing up together with a sociopathic foster mother in an isolated mansion. It’s a slow burn, classic to the author, and a searing portrayal of trauma.

This was an incredible slow-burn of a thriller. I felt like I was living this story along with the characters. Sally Hepworth really knows how to draw the reader in and keep them hooked.
This is such a twisty story of 3 foster sisters and their terrible foster home. The sisters have to come back to the home from their past when a discovery is found on the property. I loved how Hepworth told the story from different viewpoints and timelines.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! Darling Girls comes out in April
2024!

This was a great book for character development. It follows three young women who were all foster children at the same home together. They consider themselves sisters because of their shared trauma. The novel explores how each of them have internalized their childhood trauma and are still acting out due to their trauma. In addition, the story is centered around a mystery. There are human bones discovered under their former foster home. It was an interesting, enjoyable read.