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.

Sally Hepworth can do no wrong in my eyes at this point. This book was wonderful! Kept my attention and I would definitely recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth in exchange for an honest review.

Set in and around a former Australian foster home where the bones of a child have been found, Darling Girls features a split timeline and explores the lives of protagonists Jessica, Alicia and Norah (“with an H”) as they navigate life with foster guardian Miss Fairchild as children and return to the site of their upbringing as adults. The mystery of the bones is one of several themes running through this propulsive novel, and the end was perfection (it turned this from a four star to a five star read for me). Put it on your TBR list now. Coming in April 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Couldn’t put it down! The story was so interesting as well as the characters! It’s a dual timeline of 3 sisters that grew up in a foster home and stayed close after their shared trauma there. The villain is pretty clear but the twist! Just wait!

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors for a reason. She consistently delivers addicting reads and Darling Girls is no exception.

This is a twisty novel told from three sister’s points of view alternating between present and past. We open to seeing them in their present day lives as they receive a jarring call that causes their childhood traumas and memories to instantly come back. A detective calls each of them to inform them bones were found at their previous foster home, and they would like to interview each girl. The novel progresses from them going back in time to understand what happened at that home while they deal with the current day findings.

Darling Girls was captivating from the beginning and all the way through the end. There were twists and shocking information learned throughout along with a very big twist at the end. Satisfying ending!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Sally Hepworth, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy.

•Plot: 5/5 (Three former foster children are forced to confront their traumatic past when a body is discovered beneath their former foster home.)

•Characters: 4/5 (Each of the girls has a distinct personality and even with the changes in perspective and timeline, each voice comes through.)

•Writing: 4/5

•Ending: 3/5

This is the Sally Hepworth I know and love! This is a return to form and I loved every second of this twisty novel. Special thanks to Sally Hepworth, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC.

I have read other books by Sally Hepworth and this one did not disappoint! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was thrown for a loop. It does pull at the heart strings and was very emotional, but I felt so connected to the sisters!

From the outside, Alicia, Jessica and Norah might seem like ordinary women you'd meet on the street any day of the week.

Great mystery with great twists and turns. Well done.

Sally Hepworth is definitely one of my favorite authors. Her books are interesting and easy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed “ Darling Girls”, which takes place in Australia and captures the story of three little girls placed in the foster system with a less than desirable foster mother. Couldn’t put this book down.

Sally Hepworth is an author worth reading. With each book she writes, she unleashes a mystery from the first page to the last, making you want to read until you've finished the book. I fell in love with her when she released The Good Sister and she is now a staple on my "Must Read Author" list.

Alicia, Jessica and Norah (with an 'h') are sisters, though not by blood, who will do anything for one another. They share a bond that nobody really, truly understands. After a harrowing childhood in the foster care system, with a monster for a foster mother, Miss Fairchild, they are all thrown back in time when they all receive a phone call about a dead body being found at the site where their old house sat. They've told their story once before, but will anybody believe them this time around? Told from multiple view points and different timelines, this is a book you will want to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth in exchange for my honest review.

Darling Girls by sally hepworth was an addictive read I could NOT finish fast enough.

Three sisters raised by the same foster mother in a rollercoaster ride of unpacking their past while coming to terms with found bones at their childhood home.

This is a book to preorder for sure. I can NOT wait for more people to get their hands on this story.

4.5 Stars!!! An arc from Netgalley and I DEVOURED THIS BOOK. Super dark, but the strength these girls show one another was really powerful and moving. Loved loved loved the ending!!

Thanks to Netgalley for access to this E-ARC! I really enjoyed this. The characters were very well-written & loved the setting. I also enjoyed the twists. Definitely will continue reading this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for giving me the opportunity to receive an ARC for this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I need no other reason to pick up a book other than seeing Sally Hepworth's name on the cover. What else can I say? Another fantastic read that did not disappoint.

IF YOU LIKE.. dysfunction main characters, toxic family relationships and generational trauma, then well, read any book by Sally Hepworth, including 'Darling Girls'. While this one was maybe not my favorite so far from her, I did love every minute of it. Hepworth has such a skill for representing flawed characters that feel natural, real and relatable.

I am sure that the last chapter of this one will be controversial, but I am here to say I loved it! I didn't really think that the final page twists were necessary for this book to be great, and I think that is why it did catch me by such surprise.

I was delighted to receive an e-arc of Sally Hepworth's newest novel Darling Girls courtesy of @netgalley and @stmartinspress.

📚 At its core, this is a novel about child abuse and trauma in its myriad forms, both blatant and subtle, the impact it has on those children as they grow into adults, and the inner power we all have to heal. It is also a story about love in all its different versions: between a parent and a child, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren, social workers and their charges, siblings, new lovers and old flames. Oh, and it is also a fun, twisty mystery about three former foster kids, their foster mom, and the bones of a young child who are found beneath the home they all once shared. Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors, and she has penned another great read with Darling Girls.

🩺 One of the characters has a sixth toe on her left foot. Polydactyly, the medical term for extra digits on the hand or foot, occurs in about 1 out of 500 births. It can be inherited, and is more common among certain ethnicities or communities, such as among Amish and African Americans. It is often associated with other medical syndromes, is more common in males than females, and affects the hands more than the feet.

There are two things I look for in a Thriller: some kind of sympathy for the main characters and surprise. My first wish was fulfilled. The three sisters are loveable yet flawed and show support for one another through their trauma. I liked how the sisters were very distinct characters with different backgrounds. Where I think it was lacking is the surprise aspect. Once we get a few passages in from Dr. Warren's office, you know what will happen. You can also guess that the it is an unreliable narrator and while I did not expect the ending I understood quickly that the patient was Miss Fairchild and that she could not be trusted in her testimonies.

All in all a very enjoyable read with a strong start and ending. The middle was dragging a little bit, but kept me on my toes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. What can I say.? Another Sally Hepworth book that I truly enjoyed. I have read her entire back list and was extremely excited to get selected to review in advance copy of her current novel. All I can say is five stars all the way!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of Darling Girls in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were all orphaned as children in the 1990s, and eventually they were all placed in foster care at Wild Meadows Farm. Under the cruel control of Miss Fairchild, the three girls bonded together until the day in their early teens when something so terrible happened that they were finally able to escape. 25 years later, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia each have their personal struggles rooted in that past trauma, but still think of each other as sisters. And then they each get a call from the police that bones have been found under Wild Meadows Farm—bones that may date back to the time they were there with Miss Fairchild. So now they are forced to go back and face their past, and Miss Fairchild, as they and the police try to piece together what really happened 25 years earlier….

For 59 chapters, Darling Girls is a solid psychological thriller. The four main characters—Jessica, Norah, Alicia, and Miss Fairchild—are all well developed. The story moves at a good pace, with revelations and twists at all the right times. There adult trauma was believable, though there were a couple of odd side plots. Still, the flashback scenes to when the girls were in foster care were chilling.

But then you get to Chapter 60. Unfortunately, Darling Girls is one of those books that tries to execute the one-last-twist-that-changes-everything ending. I’m not a big fan of that idea generally because it risks making a lie of too much of the rest of the book. And I felt like it was done especially poorly here. In the last two pages, the author completely undermined the explanation for one of the character’s actions and—even worse—failed to offer a new explanation for why that character had done what they did. A disappointing ending to an otherwise good book.

I always get excited to read another Sally Hepworth book! This one was a good one and so much darker than most.
This book follows 3 foster “sisters”. It’s a dual timeline from growing up and present day. They are back together where their foster home is because bones from a body have been found under that house.
The details of them growing up is so sad. Each girl goes through something even into adulthood. There are some really slow parts where not much is happening but overall a good story.
The last chapter is SHOCKING!
Read trigger warnings!

Twisty and turn-y. Alicia, Norah, and Jessica are sisters, bonded and close. Foster sisters who endured abuse at the hands of Miss Fairchild. Who saved each other in the end. The book goes back and forth between the present where the girls are now grown and their childhood with Miss Fairchild. Bones have been found buried beneath the house they once lived in. Who is it? The girls must come together and tell the police what they tried to tell them all those years ago. The past left its mark on all of them. Read to find out what happened. Whose bones are under the house? What happened to the sisters and to Miss Fairchild?