This book was absolutely amazing. I could not stop reading it. After the soul mate that was just ok for me, this one totally took me over the edge. Does sharing the same blood make you family? Not for the three girls of the manor they were fostered in. The girls forged a bond like no other while surviving the torture and torment of their evil foster mother. Told from each girls perspective as well as an unknown perspective who is speaking to a psychiatrist. A body is later found buried underneath the manor. Who's body is it and how did it get there? I look forward to reading more of Sally's books.

Wasn't sure what to expect, but in the end I really enjoyed this book. Through the books there were a few parts I did not initially follow, but the author brought it all together at the end. Well told and engaging story.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Sally Hepworth has certainly made a name for herself in the thriller genre. Her non-linear story telling is masterful and the ending is something I actually didn’t see coming. Read this one in one night, it was so good I could not put it down. Characters were real to me and had plausible and different reactions to trauma, which adds to the personal connection you feel to them.

I also read her last book and authors can fall into the a slump after a certain number of books but this is definitely better than The Soulmate and will stick with me for awhile. Makes me want to read some of her older books as well. I also appreciate the clear research that was done into the foster system that makes it feel more grounded in reality than if counter examples weren’t given.

My only qualm is that I would’ve liked some analysis of DNA testing/explanation there to have given another layer to the book. Leaving that vague so as not to give any of the twists away. But that’s the only thing that was missing.

If you like a thriller, would definitely recommend picking this up as soon as it comes out. Looking forward to more from her!! :)

“Darling Girls” is yet another superb Sally Hepworth thriller, this time involving a former foster home/house of horrors and its survivors. Twenty-five after escaping the woman who psychologically tortured them as pre-teens, but maintaining a strong bond as foster sisters, Jessica, Norah and Alicia are called back to the small town of their youth. It’s where “Wild Meadows”, the home they were in, has been torn down to build a McDonalds, but human remains were found in the excavation.

The story has 4 POVs: the three women (all dealing with some sort of current personal crisis that’s possibly related to their trauma in foster care) and another person talking to a psychiatrist. It’s also a dual timeline of now and then and it neatly unfolds to reveal a story of a broken system as well a murder mystery. I was mesmerized, as usual, by how intricately Hepworth constructs her characters. You can’t help rooting for the adults who are still healing from painful childhoods and it was great to see how their shared stories kept them together for years. As the author describes them: “sisters from different wombs.” Hepworth delivers a great tale again (complete with a jaw-dropping twist at the very end). 5 stars!

Cuteness alert (in an otherwise bleak setting): Norah’s three dogs, Couch, Converse, and Thong, are all named after the first thing they ate/destroyed when she adopted them.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Amy’s blue eyes are a plot point, but no green ones.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO No horticultural references at all.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

sally hepworth knows how to write the scariest, creepiest and skin crawling thrillers!! this time, it’s involving an abusive foster family relationship and boy the gaslighting was so extreme!! I wanted to throw myself into that house to save the kiddos 🥹

I loved learning about the dual POVs of all three foster sisters, between jessica and norah and alicia and their ways of coping that were definitely ✨ trauma unhealthy ✨ and how each of them were so different but here for each other thick and thin

it was a fast-paced heart-pounding story from start to finish, leaving out key details until the very end to fool you all 🤯 and that last chapter? had me screaming

the plot itself could have used some reshaping to avoid repetition, especially in dialogue - but I couldn’t put it down regardless

I think this may be my new favorite sally hepworth novel!! I can’t wait for the world to read this one!

a huge thank you to netgalley and st martins press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc

Darling Girls is a story of girls brought together by the foster system and forged a family of their own. A story of how abuse can make or break you. A gripping, suspenseful, and believable story, full of twist and turns. And I especially love how the best twist was saved for the very end.
Thank Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
#Netgalley #Darlinggirls

Pub date; 4-23-24

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This book leaves breadcrumbs throughout and makes you want to keep reading. I liked all the POVs!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I have read many of Hepworth's backlist, so I was excited to get this review copy. Alicia, Jessica, and Norah were "sisters" - fellow foster kids staying in the same home run by Miss Fairchild. Now adults each with their own issues, they get called by the police when a body is discovered buried at the farmhouse. Told in a nonlinear timeline, we hear from multiple viewpoints as the propulsive mystery tumbles to a startling conclusion. This was exactly the book I needed on the plane as I returned from vacation. Hepworth's research into trauma is extremely evident (sometimes to the point of research dumps), and she made me care for the main characters. I appreciated an accurate portrayal of adoption/foster care/trauma/abuse in a page-turning story, and the twists are classic Hepworth.

This book hooked me in the first few chapters. I really enjoyed the character development it helped show the bond of the girls sisterhood. The ending had me shook! I did not see that coming and then a few more chapters later another twist I wasn’t ready for! If you’re looking for a good psychological thriller/mystery type book you’re in for a ride with this one! I love multiple viewpoints in books, to be able to read through different viewpoints makes the story more fun and exciting in my opinion. I had the privledge to read this on NetGalley & it is OFFICIALLY out in Australia & New Zealand!!!

This book is amazing. LOVED the structure, LOVED the characterization. The twist at the end had me reeling! Completely unexpected!

There are a few minor spelling errors throughout the ARC, but by and large, this book kept me hooked from the beginning to the end!

First of all, this book has some trigger warnings for child trauma and abuse. It is gut-wenching, you'll want to fight Miss Fairchild and cheer for the girls. I have a moderate understanding of child trauma and I think the character profiles make lots of sense. It was 5 stars due to the writing and how the plot unfolded. Thanks for the advance review copy.

3.5 stars
I'm not sure if this is a fault of reading an ARC but I was confused by the chapters with Dr. Warren - I felt as if they should have had their own pages and not lumped at the end of an existing chapter because it was confusing for me.
This was definitely twisty and fast paced but was hard to read at some points for me. Would definitely recommend checking out content warnings.

The Ties That Bind

Blood is thicker than water – we’ve all heard that line, but what about foster sisters? Is their bond stronger than blood?

We meet Jessica, Alicia, and Norah as they revisit their foster childhood when the police have called them in 25 years later. They used to all live with Miss Fairchild, and it has affected all three of them. I did like the authentic friendship the three women shared.

We get snippets of the present and past, and I tried to put all the pieces together. There are also some chilling chapters from a psychiatrist. Who is the patient?

This author is known for her twists, and this one was no different! As clues about Miss Fairchild came to light, her sinister and manipulative nature emerged. How is she connected to the bones found under the house? Or are the darling girls responsible? And whose bones are they?

This one kept me intrigued, and the final reveal was a doozy!

This was the second title of Ms Hepworth's that I've read and I'm quickly becoming a fan.

Well written and plotted, Darling Girls is told in four voices in a dual timeline.

Compelling and twisty, moving and mysterious, this one started off slow (to me), but kept my attention throughout.


Triggers include child abuse in foster care.

Recommended for when you have the time to devote because you're going to want to keep reading.



Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC!

This was an interesting, fast-paced read that kept my interest until the very end. I loved the deception and decoy lines that kept you away from the truth.

Wow what did I just read!! Have you ever read a book that just blew you away? Hepworth’s newest book, Darling Girls, was that book for me. I have read Hepworth’s other books so I was already a fan but she completely outdid herself with this book. The book switches between before and after as well as is told from multiple view points. Sometimes this can be incredibly confusing but Hepworth did it masterfully. The story focuses on three sisters who grew up in an awful foster home and the horrors they experienced. When years later bones are found on the property the past is revisited and the girls face their past.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this amazing book.

This is my first Sally Hepworth read and I loved how it pulls you in from the very first page.

A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love and murder. Told with dual timelines, through the eyes of Jessica, Norah and Alicia, Darling Girls tells the story of their life with their abusive foster mother.

A very solid mystery with lots of important information on foster care added in. If you get a chance to read Darling Girls, make sure to read the “Acknowledgments” at the end!

4.5 Stars! Sally Hepworth is becoming one of my favorite Mystery Thriller authors! I really enjoyed this book, but that last one chapter... wow! It just blew my mind. This book talks about three foster “sisters”, who grew up together at Wild Meadows foster home. Fast forward and they are now grown and living their own lives when they receive a message 25 years later from a detective in Port Agatha where their foster house used to be. They have to go back and help on the investigation about the discovery of human bones on Meadows Hill.
This book has a lot of twists and turns, but the end is definitely not expected.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC copy of this book for my honest opinion.

I dragged my feet a bit in reading this because the subject matter seemed so grim. And while it does involve some upsetting topics, it doesn't linger on them in a prurient way. That's good, obviously, since they're load-bearing part of the plot. It all adds up to a compelling story with a few shocks along the way.

Thank you so much netgalley and St Martin's press for this advanced copy. Wow. What can I say about this book. We follow 3 sisters who grew up in foster care, raised by a foster mother from hell. From the beginning of the book, I felt appaled and horrified by what these girls endure. As adults, they're living somewhat dysfunctional lives when they find out Bones have been discovered under their former foster home. From there we dive deep into the mystery of who's bones these were while simultaneously going back in time to discover the sisters past and how they made their escape.
The twists were shocking and heartbreaking. I felt every emotion reading this book. I rooted for the girls, hated the mother, and cried at the end. I couldn't put it down. And that final chapter really packed a punch. It was so good.