I have loved everything Sally Hepworth has written that I've read. This was no exception. It was thrilling and kept my attention the entire time. You never quite know who you can trust her books and this held onto that theme very well.

While Sally Hepworth is definitely a favorite author of mine, Darling Girls was not one of her favorite books for me. There is a lot going on in this story: foster care, child abuse, murder, and drug abuse to name a few. But there is also suspense, alternating timelines (which I love), and a few twists/turns. I would have liked to see more character development in the "sisters." While this was touched upon lightly in describing their careers (home organization business and social work) and their dysfunctional relationships with other people, I wanted more. Jessica's husband was barely touched upon and it was disappointing to read that he basically swept her drug addiction under the carpet. Also, the almost voyeuristic tendency of the conversations with the therapist were a bit strange. I thought Hepworth did a great job showing how trauma affects the lives of people and their future development into adults. All in all, this was a good read but not quite the thriller I was hoping for.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader edition of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beautifully Orchestrated!
This story tells the tale of three young girls brought together and bonded for life through the misfortune of becoming foster kids. We get an insightful look at the circumstances that led them to their shared foster home, their heartbreaking struggle while living together, and a detailed look into the mental and physical repercussions of all they've endured. All alongside a "side story" and masterfully crafted mystery that brought them back to their childhood foster home.

Sally Hepworth has done an outstanding job of laying this story out in such a way that has your mind constantly engaged and craving more.

Thank you so much @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Alicia, Jessica, and Norah are three girls who survived the foster mother, Miss Fairchild and as adults remain friends and "sisters." The novel flashes back and forth from the past in Miss Fairchild's home to the present when the girls are independent adults. Suddenly called back by the police to their former foster home, they wonder about the bones of a young child found underneath the demolished house.

The focus is on foster children and how they might fare under foster parents who are abusive, controlling, emotionally unhinged. And a foster care system that might also have social workers not invested in the welfare of children they supervise.
The book becomes a mystery to be solved about the identity of the child who was buried years ago under the house they called home.

The characters are delineated carefully, their stories sometimes horrific. The novel has a twist at the end that is chilling.

NetGalley ARC - Sally Hepworth does it again! She’s a true favorite of mine, and this read clearly shows why - she is a pro at writing about family dysfunction, while making you laugh, and trying to piece together a mystery. Fun, fast and fabulous! Loved this book so much! Can’t wait for its US release, so I can buy copies for several friends. Thank you!

5 🌟
☆ Thoughts ☆
I read this on the plane and I absolutely loved this one sm! Wow I am absolutely loving multiple POV these days especially in thrillers! Something about the way Sally wrote this book was addicting and I devoured this book like seriously! The book itself is thriller but it has many heartbreaking moments and left my heart aching. I feel heartbroken for the three main characters who went through so much and how the pain they experienced traumatized them until this day just hurts me. The book does get a closure so don't worry and I am excited for everyone to read this next year!

Thank you Netgally, Sally, and St.Martins Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5⭐️ love this author but this was not my favorite . The beginning caught my attention but I found the middle mediocre, the ending was good and unexpected. Trigger warning - child abuse , I felt the point would still come across with less description of abuse.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Sally Hepworth has written a truly delicious thriller in DARLING GIRLS, a novel that explores the intricacies of sisterhood, hidden secrets, and the haunting specters of our buried pasts.

SUMMARY
At first glance Wild Meadows appears to be a sanctuary for foster children, with its sprawling house, inviting pool, and kindly foster mother, Miss Fairchild. It all seems to be a dream come true for four-year-old orphaned Jessica. To please Miss Fairchild, Jessica is willing to do anything. However, Miss Fairchild's demands are far from ordinary. When Norah and Alicia also find themselves living at Wild Meadows, the three girls band together to navigate the harsh rules imposed by Miss Fairchild and ultimately form an unbreakable sisterly bond.

As children who have endured their share of trauma, isolation, and neglect, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia each employ unique coping mechanisms. Jessica rigidly controls every aspect of her life in a desperate quest for perfection to keep her doubts and insecurities at bay. Norah engages only in "transactional relationships," maintaining a distance from everyone except her sisters. Meanwhile, Alicia, a compassionate social worker, foregoes any personal relationships, choosing to focus only changing the foster care system that once failed her.

However, when human remains are unearthed beneath the abandoned house on Wild Meadows, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia must confront not only their past on the farm but also their enigmatic foster mother, Miss Fairchild.

REVIEW
DARLING GIRLS is a mesmerizing narrative that skillfully weave together four alternating points of view, with a timeline that seamlessly shifts between past and present. In the present, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are complex women, marked not only by the circumstances that led them into the foster care system but also by the scars left by the manipulative Miss Fairchild and her ever-changing rules.
All four characters, both in the past and present, are vividly portrayed, offering a rich and deeply engaging reading experience. What truly sets this book apart is Hepworth's ability to create an authentically haunting psychological novel, complete with narrators whose reliability is constantly in question. Hepworth resists the temptation to rely on cheap tricks or sudden twists merely for shock value. Instead, every twist, turn, and revelation seamlessly integrates into the narrative, heightening the suspense and delivering a psychologically compelling experience. The unexpected conclusion will leave you gasping. DARLING GIRLS is a must-read for fans of smartly written psychological thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: 23 April 2024

I greatly enjoy Sally Hepworth’s novels and while this particular novel was quite enjoyable and well written it wasn’t my favorite. However, a worthwhile read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127280429

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the early release ARC.

Loved the bond the sisters have throughout the book, the family turmoil they fight their way through, and an ending that I did not see coming! Great read.

Trigger warning: child abuse/grooming

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. This was a fun captivating read and I really enjoyed it. The characters were captivating and I enjoyed the plot and twists.

Thank you so much @netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy. Three girls grow up in foster care and become as close as sisters. The situation is terrible, and they draw together for strength. They grow up and get out, but are called back when human bones are found under the farmhouse. The diabolical Miss Fairchild is still around, and it brings back all the old feelings. Whose bones are these, who has died, and who is the murderer? The story goes back and forth between present day and their teenage years. We learn a lot of secrets, and some of them go back much further than expected. It’s a good psychological thriller, kept me reading and interested. #darlinggirls #sallyhepworth #fostercare #humanremains #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #prepublication

Sally Hepworth has delivered another 5 star - must-devour-immediately-then-talk-about-it-with-all-of-my-friends read!

Darling Girls is a dark and twisty tale of three girls who bonded over the trauma they shared during their time with Miss Fairchild while in foster care.

Jessica has always been the organizer and the one who craved the attention of a mother figure. Norah is combative and rebellious finding little reason to like, let alone love, anyone. And Alicia is able to find the good in everyone but herself.

The three girls, now women, forged a sisterhood that is stronger than blood and that strength is needed when bones are found under the porch of their former foster home. Each are contacted by police and questioned about their time with Miss Fairchild. While all three would love to leave the events of 25 years ago behind them, they know they owe it to someone from their past to find answers.

The story teeters from the past to the present and is told from the perspective of each woman. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are each wholly different yet share a love for one another that neither time nor tragedy can break.

I am so appreciative of the opportunity provided by NetGalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martin’s Press to devour and review this novel ahead of its anticipated release in April of 2024 in exchange for an honest review.

Really loved this book! Sally hardly disappoints me! I was super stoked to receive this ARC. I’ve been lucky in the past to get a few of them so it was awesome.

Such a good one! I can’t wait until pub day so everyone can get their hands on it!

Oh Sally Hepworth.. you never disappoint. This book was amazing. Crazy and amazing! Definitely one of my favourites of their books. I HIGHLY recommend this.

Girls are sent to ne fostered b y Mrs Fairchild.. She is a mentally ill abusive foster mother. Secrets unfold and the foster girls are brought back together. Likeable characters and an interesting Australian setting. Howecer, the plot didn't really draw me.in.

Darling Girls is amazing! I couldn't put this book down. I am not surprised as Sally Hepworth never disappoints! The story about Jessica, Alicia, Norah is one that keeps you guessing and puts the spotlight on childhood abuse for foster children. Hepworth focuses on these women overcoming obstacles and being heroes meanwhile their bond gets stronger with whatever comes their way.

3.5 stars to Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

Many thanks first and foremost to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, Sally Hepworth for sending this ARC!

I think it should be said before continuing that this book has BIG trigger warnings. It should be noted that the entire book discusses child abuse (both physical and sexual), discussing the suspected murder of a young child, how said child was murdered, and also sprinkles in some mention of human trafficking.

While the book certainly brings awareness to child abuse happening in foster homes, I just think it is a tough read. I would say I was not the best audience for this book with a young child myself. There were times I was nearly in tears.

Darling Girls follows the story line of 3 main characters - Jessica Lovat, Norah Anderson, and Alicia Connelly. The story also includes inserts of "The Office of Dr. Warren, Psychiatrist" and his patient who remains unknown for a portion of the book. In addition, there are two timelines being discussed in the book (three if you want to include the patient and psychiatrist's sessions). Despite this, it was not confusing at all. The short chapters help to propel the book forward and I never felt a lull in the storyline.

In keeping this review spoiler free, I will just say what a HECK of an ending. Just when you think the book is done and all is resolved, BAM. One more chapter. I was able to guess who the mystery patient was, but not able to guess the circumstances of what brought about the sessions. I definitely did not guess the ending, which came at a big surprise.

I think overall this is a really good thriller and I would probably recommend it to others, I would just heavily caution about looking into the trigger warnings first before reading Darling Girls.

Stories about haunted childhoods always appeal to me, especially when they involve locations like the one in this book. It’s a foster home that was torn down revealing a gruesome discovery of bones buried beneath it. But unfortunately, the story wasn’t nearly as dark and macabre as I was expecting. Sure, the young girls were treated terribly when they lived there, but really, it could have been so much worse. Especially given the backstory of the owner, Miss Fairchild. The girls (Alicia, Jessica, and Norah) are now grown and have been contacted by the local police department where the foster home was located. None of the three want to return to that place, but they also can’t ignore the pull they feel to go back and finally put the past to rest.

The women are typically scarred by their early traumas – Alicia constantly puts herself down to prevent getting close enough to anyone else. Jessica is obsessed with organization and the need to please. Norah annoyed me the most, although I believe we’re supposed to empathize with her violent tendencies and use of sex as a bargaining tool. But she just comes across as a conceited jerk. The story is told in the present timeframe and in the past as the girls move to Miss Fairchild’s home one by one. When they escape, it’s abrupt and that’s it, that’s the end of the narrative in the past.

I think the very end is supposed to be surprising, but I would have been more surprised if that final twist hadn’t been revealed. But then it’s a bit illogical when comparing the girls’ pretty tame lives in foster care to how it could have been and should have been, with the ending taken into consideration. That sounds so confusing but should make sense if you’ve read the story.

So anyway, it’s a good book that could have been great if it was as horrific and lurid as you expect it to be. More mystery and thrills, less mildly unpleasant memories.

If psychological thrillers are your genre, then RUN, don’t walk to get this newest book from Sally Hepworth. Underscoring how damage done to children remains the baggage they carry into adulthood, while exposing the problems with the foster system, Darling Girls will haunt you long after you have turned the last page.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters, not bound by DNA but rather the rigors of their upbringing by their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. Years after leaving her care and aging out of the foster system, they are once again jolted back to their childhood when human bones are discovered under the farmhouse where they lived. The investigation leads into a surprise you won’t see coming.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an uncorrected digital copy.