(3.5, rounded up to 4)

In Sally Hepworth’s “Darling Girls,” readers are invited into a world where family bonds serve as both lifelines and shackles as three foster sisters navigate a tangled web of secrets, love, and murder. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

Hepworth masterfully toggles between viewpoints and timelines, allowing us glimpses into each sister’s past, and the tension builds as we learn about their upbringing under the watchful eye of their mercurial foster mother, Miss Fairchild. The sisters’ personalities are distinct, shaped by their shared trauma: Jessica, the pragmatic one; Norah, the dreamer; and Alicia, the rebel. They each harbor secrets that ripple through the narrative, and they learn that the seemingly idyllic Australian farming estate where they once spent their childhood conceals more than picturesque landscapes.

Labeling this a thriller is somewhat misleading. While the narrative of “Darling Girls” does have some suspense, it leans more towards contemporary family drama. The heart of the story lies in the sisters’ relationships with each other, with Miss Fairchild, and with their individual pasts, with the mystery subplot serving as a backdrop.

Be warned, however, that there is an unexpected reveal on the final page that will leave readers with their jaws on the floor. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Hepworth saves her most potent, gut-punch of a twist for the end and it’s a revelation that reshapes everything we thought we knew.

At its core, “Darling Girls” is a tale of resilience, sisterhood, and the haunting power of memory. This novel offers a compelling blend of both mystery and family drama that is sure to satisfy readers of both.

DARLING GIRLS was my favorite @sallyhepworth book yet! ARC sent from the publisher.

It follows three foster sisters who return back to the home where they were raised after bones are discovered buried beneath the home. This was an intricately plotted read that gave me more of a historical fiction vibe than thriller, and I really enjoyed it!

Read if you like:
✨found family
✨multiple POV
✨flawed characters to root for

So great. Creepy yet delightful. I had no clue where the story was going until the very end. Sally Hepworth is definitely an auto-read author for me.

I expected more from a book defined as a mystery thriller. I expect it to be a little more thrilling and mysterious.

This book wasn't thrilling but there was a mystery. The beginning was too slow for me although the he last 50 pages were great!!

Overall I would say not a bad thriller. Saved by the great reveal!

I'm very ashamed to say this was my first read by Sally Hepworth because, WOW. She did not disappoint!

This is an intoxicating yet sad story about 3 foster children and the abuse they endured at the hands of their foster mom who are called back to place where they grew up when a body is found under their foster mom's house. Hepworth leaves a few red herrings to make you guess what happened and who is telling the truth, and the book ends with a bang. You also can't help but fall in love with the 3 main characters and their found family/sisterhood as they battle back against their foster mom in the present and navigate the feelings from their youth.

I generally struggle with flashbacks and don't find them as entertaining as the current day story, but those parts were well done and kept my attention just as well. Darling Girls was amazingly written and was a truly great binge. If you're looking for a psychological thriller with a domestic twist, you should definitely grab Darling Girls!

🩷 BOOK REVIEW 🩷
Darling Girls by @sallyhepworth
𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 4.5⭐️

THE VERDICT
I adore Sally Hepworth books! She manages to write thrillers that are so suspenseful that also evoke your heart strings. This story is perfectly weaved together and will make you think about people’s capacity for evil. That final chapter 🤯 DAMN

PLOT:
Three sisters (not biologically, but bound by their shared trauma) spent a few years together in the foster home— Wild Meadows— under the care of Miss Fairchild who was anything but fair to children.

They eventually found a way to get out from her abusive hand.

Now, 25 years later, they’re forced to relive their trauma as old human remains have been found under the foster home. They have to confront their past, their fears, and their trauma, as they are both witnesses and suspects in the new investigation.

#sallyhepworth #darlinggirls #stmartinspress #goodreads #netgalley #bookstagram #books #bookrecommendations #bookreview #5starreview

DARLING GIRLS
By Sally Hepworth

Foster Parent
Found Family
Murder Mystery

Jessica, Holly, and Alicia are foster sisters who shares a bond while under the care of nefarious foster parent Holly Fairchild. They are called together once again when a dead body was found in the home where they used to live. I enjoyed the back story that lead up to the discovery of who the body was and what took place in the past. As much as I love these types of domestic mysteries, the slow burn to the truth with some twists and turns are a bit over used in this thriller genre. I did enjoy it because of the storytelling and the incredible audio narration by Jessica Clarke. I can’t seem to stop listening and begged for a long drive just to keep listening to the book.

Thank you St Martin’s Press and Mcmillan Audio.

All opinions are my own.

This book was addictive! It’s definitely my favorite of Sally’s so far. I genuinely felt for our main characters. My only complaint is that while the twist did take me by surprise, I wouldn’t say it was mind blowing. Even so, I still couldn’t read this story fast enough!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia met at a foster home ran by Miss Fairchild. They were constantly told how lucky they were, but no one knew the rules that Miss Fairchild had while they lived with her. Thankfully Jessica, Norah, and Alicia formed a very close bond while they were there.

Now as adults they are asked to return to the farm when a body was found under the home. They have to work together to figure out what actually happened and whose body was found.

I loved the different POV's and the short chapters. It was hard to read/listen to at times due to child abuse and foster children. Overall I loved the twist and turns in the book, the fast pace story line, and the ending.

Thank you Sally Hepworth, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s been awhile since I read a book by this author; but after seeing quite a few positive reviews I couldn’t wait tk dive in! This did not disappoint! I loved all the characters and the POVs going from different characters and also flash backs. The ending was good, even though I expected it; it was still worth if.

This book was so good! Held my attention from the beginning. The story was different and new. This author is so talented and so far hasn’t missed

Parts of this book were hard to read simply because they rang as so true to what I’m sure many many foster kids suffer through around the world. It had great twists and a satisfying ending; I couldn’t put it down after the halfway point.

This book was quite dark, but ultimately very good, and satisfying. Full of twists, turns, and misdirection--yet also the study of several multi-faceted characters--this was another satisfying thriller from Sally Hepworth!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook.

I saw a lot of mixed reviews on this so I was a bit hesitant to start this one, but I shouldn’t have doubted Sally Hepworth’s ability to suck me right into a story. This is definitely a twisted story with awful things that the girls faced but Hepworth writes in such a way that makes me want to keep reading. I listened to this on vacation and flew through it because I just needed to know the truth about the body found. I was questioning everything and loved the conclusion.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Multiple POVs
Short chapters
Unreliable narrators
Found family
Sister stories

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were in the foster system as children and all ended up in the home of Mrs. Fairchild. From the outside, they were lucky to have been taken into such a good home. But the three women can never forget what happened behind closed doors throughout their time living there, and I was super interested to find out how each girl grew up to be different from one another, despite their shared trauma.

Dual timelines focusing on four different characters but all from third person point of view. I love the sections where *someone* is talking to the psychiatrist (Dr. Warren) and you learn their story of horrible abuse but don’t know who they are. This book was extremely twisted and made me want to keep reading- definitely was difficult to put down. The “before” chapters especially held my interest.

Some of the negative reviews I’ve seen for Darling Girls center around the difficult topics in this book, specifically child abuse. While of course it is not easy or enjoyable to read about horrific things happening to a child, I don’t believe it’s fair to give a negative review simply because of the heavy topics covered. I also feel that Hepworth explored these topics respectfully and knowledgeably.

As always, Hepworth’s writing was impeccable. She is truly one of my auto buy authors because of both her writing style and her ability to compose an intricate and interesting plot. Her storytelling ability is 10/10 and I definitely recommend this psychological thriller!

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
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For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued and raised by the same foster mother. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, it forces the sisters and their their time in the home into the spotlight.
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What I liked:
-This book was deliciously twisted. I didn’t want to stop reading it.
-The amount of secrets and suspicions here made it all the more of an addictive read.
-I guessed one thing but there were a lot of surprises.
-I loved the ending.
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4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I was very impressed with this book and would suggest that all thriller lovers add this to their tbr right away!

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite story tellers. The Good Sister is my favorite. Darling Girls is an interesting read. It kept me engaged throughout. Thing is as is with most dual timelines the before chapters were my favorite and I wished there were more! The story is good and the twist was cool. I highly recommend.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

The twist at the end of this book defiantly got me. I was not expecting what happen to happen. This was my first Sally Hepworth and I am looking forward to exploring others she has written.
The beginning drug out for me a little but but about the 40% mark I was invested in what was going on and knowing what happened to the girls. There are defiantly characters that you will despise from the beginning of this novel and ones you will despise at the end. Jessica was not my favorite of the girls, but I see why she had her issues, and I was happy with how this whole story ended.

I read this so incredibly fast! I've never been disappointed with a Hepworth read and this is no exception. Following three girls from the same foster home, we see some psychological abuse these girls must overcome. Thankfully, they are able to leave the abusive situation. Fast forward 25 years and they are being drawn back to the same place they longed to never think about again. The secrets in this are juicy and the twists are even juicier.

This book was a little predictable but still was an interesting premise and definitely kept me guessing. I really thought I knew the ending until the very last page changed everything. I think this was an interesting look at a dysfunctional found family who is helping each other deal with the trauma they experienced growing up. I wish I could’ve seen more from the sisters after the fact of the main storyline, but it made sense to end where it did. The changing of point of view definitely kept this story flowing and would peak my interest in the other storyline as it came back up. Overall this was a decent read.