The beginning had me hooked… the middle lost me for a bit… the ending seemed alright. THEN THAT LAST CHAPTER?! I loved that. I wish the whole story packed that same punch. Then again, maybe the ups and downs are what made it SO impactful.

The 4 main characters were well developed. I was truly invested in each, past and present. That can be hard to do with so many POVs! Impressive as always, Sally.

Sally Hepworth is an auto-buy author for me and will continue to be even though this book wasn't my favourite. This is a story of 3 girls raised in foster care and jumps between their childhood and adult lives. When bones are discovered under their old home, the girls must return home and dig up difficult memories that they'd rather forget.
As Sally does so well, this is full of twists and turns, but this one was a bit too dark for me. It has a lot of horrific child abuse that was difficult to read.

I received this ARC from NetGalley! All opinions are my own. Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

I'm on a psychological thriller kick, maybe it's the spooky season looming right around the corner - and this book did NOT dissapoint!

I loved this book!

The last chapter left me in shock and saying what just happened!? What a way to end a book and grip ahold of your reader in the best way possible!

This is my first time reading a Sally Hepworth book and I gotta say it was a page turner. It was hard reading about the abuse foster children go through but it’s a reality. This book is about three women who went through the foster care system and ended up in an abusive foster home with Miss Fairchild. They have a sisterly bond and after growing out of the system, 25 years later, bone remains are found under their childhood home in Wild Meadows. Now they must go back and relive the memories to figure out who the bones might belong to. This book is written in 3 different POVs but it’s pretty easy to follow, not confusing at all. That ending really got me.


Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

When Jessica, Norah and Alicia are in foster care, they live with a monstrous mother called miss Fairchild. As adults the 3 sisters are still close, each trying to cope with their abusive childhood in different ways-anger, drugs, avoidance. When a body is found beneath the old foster home the sisters are asked by detectives to come home for questioning. From there the nightmare story unfolds. Told from different perspectives and dual timelines, this story has lots of twists. I didn’t figure out the truth until the very end. Trigger warnings… Child abuse, child, murder, mental health issues, drug abuse, issues, sexual abuse. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

I want to start out saying I LOVE SALLY HEPWORTH and was so excited to be able to read this eARC book from St Martin's Press. Thanks Net Galley and Sally Hepworth for this opportunity! This is a SOLID 4 star book for me! (I do not readily give out 5's).

Darling Girls is a book about three "sisters" who were raised in foster care, and their foster mother Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows Home for Children. Fast forward many years later and Detective Ashleigh Patel is investigating the human remains discovered beneath the farmhouse at Wild Meadows. Every one of the women are suspects, and as the story evolves so do the atrocities and abuse that took place there. Who was responsible for the bones that lay beneath the old house?

Jessica, Norah and Alicia aren't REAL sisters, but after being raised by Miss Fairchild they all consider themselves as such. Early on, the reader is introduced to each flawed sister, and her problems. Ultra-successful businesswoman Jessica is extremely organized, extremely anxious, has attachment issues, and a prescription pill abuse problem. The gorgeous Norah, the middle sister, has a long history of assault and trouble with the law. Norah has her own relationship issues, and has quite the "dysfunctional attitude regarding sex" according to her therapist. Alicia, the youngest of the 'sisters' is a lesbian social worker who loves helping kids, but is grappling with her sexual identity and terrified to admit she is in love with Meera, her lawyer friend.

MIss Fairchild, the initially loving guardian in charge at Wild Meadows, has her own history of childhood trauma, and attachment issues. So which of the women, flawed as they are, was capable of true evil? Read and find out!

Don't miss this truly excellent page turner and check it out April 22, 2024! Please note that I received a complementary copy of this eBook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

If Sally Hepworth writes it then I’m going to read it. She’s one of my favorite contemporary thriller authors but for me this book was just middle of the road. Told from the past/current POVs of 3 foster children this book moves slow. The only thing that saves it is that the chapters are mercifully short but still, the plot could’ve moved along quicker.

The other let down for me was the lack of twist. Yes, the final chapter will have you screaming “WTF” but other than that there’s not a lot of drama in this book which is usually the point of a thriller.

Quite a compelling read - def a pageturner for a night of reading till the end. Three women with childhood bond and a foster mother like none I've read about before. Hepworth is a gifted writer and this latest is quite a good solid novel with dysfunction, no doubt, at the core. Reader will be enticed into these girls' past and present - good one!

This was probably my least favorite book of Sally Hepworth's in the last five or so years. I generally enjoy her domestic thriller-esque novels, but this one was a letdown. Early on in the book, there's a heavy focus on abused foster children, told from their POVs, which makes the novel slow-moving. If the novel had spent more time in the present day, with the adults, that would have been more enjoyable. The twists involved were predictable, except the final one, which felt like a last-minute 'gotcha!' that has been a bit overdone in the industry as of late. I'll still read her next book, but this one wasn't it for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A good thriller novel for those looking for something more domestic. I loved the psychiatrist interludes and the way the story was structured. The characters were well developed and interacted well. The bits in the past were a bit hard to read because of the tough subject matter.

I love a good psychological thriller and Sally Hepworth delivers. This one is my favorite of the ones I've read.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to review in exchange for an ARC.

Three girls, held together by their bond through Foster Care under the care of someone who shouldn't be given the opportunity to be. They're called back to their homes 25 years after leaving foster care due to their caregiver's bones being found. I would tread lightly as it does talk about child abuse and that could be a trigger for some readers.

This book is written from multiple POVs, but it is easy to follow and quick! I was not ready for it to end.

Propulsive but somewhat predictable, the dark themes of this book emerge rapidly, with enough intrigue to keep me hooked but not quite accomplishing that big twist I’d hoped for.

Told from multiple points of view and timelines, mystery is built through unreliable character narration and emerging backstory. The story focuses on three very different foster ‘sisters’, now grown up with new problems, but all sharing a difficult upbringing at the home of their foster mother, the main antagonist.

The storyline does uncover some very disturbing scenes which may be triggering for some. They did add to the build up of tension but I never really felt a sense of peril for the characters.

I’d recommend this book as a page turner in its own right can be an enjoyable past time but if you need payoff in your mysteries and thrillers, look elsewhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this book as an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Just when Jessica, Alicia, and Norah thought that they would never have to think about their childhood home again, the three sisters received a phone call from the police forcing them to revisit their past. This book portrays the lifelong effects these ‘sisters’ experienced due to the emotional and physical abuse they underwent while living with their foster mother. I loved hearing the different perspectives and did not expect the ending. That last chapter - wow! I would definitely recommend this. Great character development and very well written.

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A psychological thriller focused on three girls: Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, and their horrendous foster mother Holly Fairchild. The three girls formed and intense bond (they would say even closer than biological sisters) when under foster care. Twenty five years later, they must deal with the aftermath when a body is found underneath the Wild Meadows house where they grew up.

This story alternates between different POVs as well as past and present. Sometimes in books this can be difficult to follow, but Sally Hepworth did so seamlessly. I have so much love for the sisters. I was so confused reading the parts with Dr. Warren for the longest time, but that confusion kept me reading. I devoured this book and did not see the twist coming. One of the best books I’ve read this year and one of my favorite thrillers ever!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press - Thank you!

I have read several of Sally’s books and have enjoyed some and DNFed one. This one was my favorite by far. It caught my attention from the very beginning and didn’t let go until the end - which was tough since I started on a flight leaving for a vacation where there wouldn’t be a whole lot of downtime for reading!

I sometimes lose interest quickly when reading this genre but that was certainly not the case here. It was well written, easy to follow and had great character development. I don’t always like changing POVs but in this instance I found it a great method of storytelling and keeping attention. There were just enough twists to keep the reader guessing and just when I thought I had it figured out I realized I was very, very wrong!

Another great book by Sally Hepworth. Three foster sisters, very different, but close because of their traumatic childhood in a foster home together, are forced by the police to return to the town where their foster parent, Miss Fairchild used to live because bones have been found buried under the old farmhouse. This ordeal reawakens bad memories for all three of them as they try to work out who the bones belong to.
Chapters are the perfect length, the book keeps you reading right until the end when you're not sure you want the book to end because you're enjoying it so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sally Hepworth for the opportunity to read this book. Darling Girls has multiple POVs, combined with the “then and now” writing style AND another narration going on, all at the same time. Jessica, Norah and Alicia are three foster girls (Darling Girls) under the care of Miss Fairchild, a childless, unmarried woman with a large home, lots of land and seemingly a heart so ready to love Jessica(the first girl to arrive). We read the POVs of the arrival of each girl (First Jessica, then Norah, and finally Alicia) and the experiences of each, throughout the beginning of the book. The book begins with a phone call twenty five years after leaving this foster care experience, one that will turn the girl’s worlds upside down. Jessica receives the first phone call from a detective on a case. Bones have been found underneath Miss Fairchild’s home, the home where the girls were fostered. (The home had been recently torn down.) All three girls are asked to come back to the town to assist in the investigation. The book describes in great detail, each girl’s arrival, time spent at the home and the abuse they experienced. It also shares with us the sisterly bond these girls formed. This bond continued throughout their lives. The blurb states, “In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild”. This is not entirely true and the reader is none the wiser after the girls finally go to the principal to report years of abuse at the hand of Miss Fairchild. Where did they go? What happened to Miss Fairchild? We have no idea what happens to them. We are only left with the scene of the girls in the principals office. I wouldn’t call this a “breakaway”. The story then picks back up in the present and stays there. It appears none of the girls know whose bones those might be but they do fully cooperate with the detectives throughout the investigation. To share any more would be giving away spoilers. The narration, the events that transpire and people who join in the story, both old and new, make this story sensational. The twists, deception and outcome of Darling Girls is remarkable. A true psychological thriller. TW: forms of child abuse and neglect.

This was a really hard book for me to read as a mom of two little girls. There is a central theme of child abuse and neglect.
The book has a dual timeline with foster girls going from present to past to retell their trauma in a foster care home. In present, the police called the girls after finding a body under their previous foster home. The police believe it was from the time when they lived in the home. In the past, it is going through their trauma to discover who's body was found.
The book was addictive, but fairly predictable. I did consider DNF'ing a few times because I find it very difficult to read book about children getting hurt.
If you're a fan of Sally Hepworth it's definitely worth a read, if you're triggered by child abuse or drug abuse I'd skip this one.

This is my first book to read by Sally Hepworth. I enjoy having the past come in throughout the book instead of having it all within the first chapter. This helped keeping me guessing as to what really happened. Caution, this book does have abuse in it.

Three foster girls that grew up at Wild meadows Farm, form a bond that is as strong as if they were biologicals sisters. This was bonded by their past struggles and survival of what they had been through together.

Bones were found under the farmhouse at the Wild Meadows Farm. Come to find out, it happened while the girls were there. The question is, were the girls involved or were they the ones that buried the body there. Maybe the main question that should be asked is, what really happened to the girls while they were at Wild Meadows Farm.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Sally Hepworth for the advance reader.

Dear Ms. Hepworth has done it again. Another edge of your seat, thinking you know what is happening when...oops, you don't story. So good is this story of foster girls living together and becoming "sisters" forever. Thinking they know everything going on and have figured it out, out comes an almost different life. Brilliant and so easy to be wrapped up and engrossed in this story. Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#DarlingGirls