Sally Hepworth can do no wrong in my eyes! I have loved all of the books I have read by her and Darling Girls was no exception. One of the best books I have read all year!
*I would definitely check trigger warning before reading as it does have some heavy topics.*

Darling Girls is the recent release from Sally Hepworth that focuses on three foster girls that live at the same foster care home run by Miss Fairchild. At face value everything seems perfect for the foster care home but the experiences of the foster kids is completely different. The three girls Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are abused and manipulated by their foster mother in a narcissistic environment that the girls bond over.

Each one of the girls come out scarred emotionally and mentally from their experiences in the house. As they get older they all realize that each of them have ended up suffering in their own ways. Jessica ends up with an addiction to drugs that she has stolen from the homes she works at. Norah uses her body to use men to get tasks completed at her home, and Alicia self sabotages any potential for love.

The three girls forge an unbreakable bond that is put to the test when they are forced to return to their foster home. The police notify the three that the body of a child has been discovered buried on the property. While Jessica isn't thrilled at the idea of returning, the other two are determined to find closure.

What the girls don't anticipate is running back into their foster mother as the crime scene is investigated. The return of Miss Fairchild in their lives stirs up all sorts of emotions and memories as the girls recall the past and deal with the present. During their return to the town they grew up in , truths are discovered to be lies and the girls reconnect with other foster girls that were raised at the foster home.

Through Darling Girls the narration is split between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia's past and present along with a doctor report of a patient discussing their past. As the reader delves more into Darling Girls the patient is revealed and the body of the child is revealed to be an unexpected child.

All together Darling Girls is a book that did not disappoint. In Hepworth's fashion there were some great twists and turns. All together a great suspense thriller that comes highly recommended. Until next time, Happy Reading!

This was a twisty one! I really like Sally Hepworth and was very excited to receive this ARC. I wanted to know how it would end from the first page. Already looking forward to her next book!

Darling Girls is the newest book from Sally Hepworth set in Australia. This is an interesting thriller told from the point of view of three young women, who were foster sisters living at Wild Meadows in Port Agatha. Their foster mother, Holly Fairchild, had two personas; the one the public saw as a loving women who took in young orphaned girls, and the other that was mean, emotionally abusive and more to her foster daughters. Jessica is the first foster child, 5 years old and will do anything to get Miss Fairchild's love and approval, Nora an 11 year old who has lived in several foster homes and learned how to protect herself, and Alicia who is 12 and moved in temporarily while her granny was in the hospital. When granny dies, she becomes a permanent foster child and struggles to adapt after her loving home. It is 25 years later and the girls are now adults, and don't think much about their time at Wildwood Meadows, but they all get calls from the police. Bones have been found on the property, can they come meet with the police.

Darling Girls is told in a dual timeline. We meet the girls when they are living with Miss Fairchild and what their lives were like. We also see them in the present, twenty-five years later, what they are doing, how their lives have turned out and what effect their lives as foster children had on them. They are close, calling themselves sisters and will do whatever they need to in order to help, support and protect one another. There is another POV that pops up throughout the story, that of a young woman speaking with a therapist. She didn't have a very good life and I was intrigued, yet saddened by her story. This isn't what I would call a thriller, but a suspenseful story with some surprising reveals/twists. The effects of trauma on a child, coupled with abuse (verbal, emotional, lack of food etc.) and how that affects a child plays out in various ways. The book has a slow plot, with the build up of the girls' story, then the mystery of who the bones belong to. I didn't know if I liked Norah, Jessica or Alicia very much, but based on what they went through and how it affected their lives, I sure felt for them. I was pulled into the story right from the first page and when that reveal came at the end, it all made sense to me. Besides the slow pace, and some repetition of their early life, I enjoyed this story. It wasn't a difficult read, but it does paint the foster child program in a negative light. Please read the author's notes about her research . I know not all foster parents and homes are like this one, but there are some and even one is too many.

Fast-paced mystery by Sally Hepworth! Great start to summer reading. Unputdownable! Sometimes revenge is the sweetest feeling there could ever be.

#revengeissweet #bookish #mystery #bookstagram

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

I really enjoyed this one! Such a good audiobook narration. I loved the story, and it should be no surprise that Sally Hepworth wrote such a captivating one.

4.5⭐️
Love Sally Hepworth and loved this book!!

It is a story about child abuse in a foster home, so if you’re into dark thrillers... this definitely qualifies

Liked:
-Multiple POV
-Back and forth timeline
-relationship between the 3 sisters
-multiple jaw dropping moments and surprises
-each main character is dealing with things in their personal life + the main plot of the story. You feel like you really get to know each character!
-the mystery of whose bones under the house/ what happened

I guessed some of the twists, but the final moment left me shocked!!

One of my favorite authors! Her books do not disappoint, and this book is no exception! It kept me intrigued from the very first page! Such wonderful characters! This is a must read!

Darling Girls feels like a departure from Sally Hepworth’s regular books, but in the best way possible. This story weaves a web of twisted relationships, the need for love and connection and the lies we tell ourself. The three girls “thought” they had escaped from their evil foster mother until a child’s body is found under their old foster home as it is demolished. This brings them back home to help with the investigation and share what happened to them in their home as well as the missing 2 year old Amy who vanished one day while they were at school.

I'm a big fan of Sally Hepworth's! I had read many of her books. This one has been called gritty and dark - more than her other books. If you enjoy reading her books, I suggest you pick this one up.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I love Sally Hepworth’s books, and this one is no exception! All I can say is, wow - that ending!

Check for trigger warnings before starting this story.

This story is told from the perspectives of Norah, Alicia, and Jessica. They were foster children who ended up together in the same placement. The story begins when they are contacted by the police because a body has been found buried under the location of the foster home they grew up in. The police have questions. This brings the girls back to a time and place that they never wished to return to, and back into contact with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother. Let’s just say, they don’t have fond memories or a wonderful relationship with Miss Fairchild.

The story bounces back and forth between the past and the present. The reader really gets to know Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, and all of their secrets and traumas. I really liked getting to know them and their stories. This book was hard to read at times, but handled very well by the author.

I really thought that I knew where this was headed. There were a lot of twists and turns - but the ending will take your breath away!

Thank you to NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press, and MacMillan audio for the opportunity to read and listen to this fantastic book! The audiobook and narration is incredible. This one is already out, so pick it up. I highly recommend this one!

The beginning is slow but the last 100 pages kept me so intrigued. I wanted to know how it ended but the pacing was a little difficult.

This book was intense.

I love the author’s writing, I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in a book by Sally Hepworth. However, I wish I had more insight into the books topic prior to reading. As a new mother, some of the book was extremely hard to absorb. I understand this is the reality of many children, foster care and otherwise, but it is a still a very difficult topic to see play out.

Overall, I loved the book and can’t wait to see what great work comes next?!

Sometimes, family is what you make it!!

I really enjoyed reading this book, trying to link the pieces, and sort the past along with the "sisters"! It was intriguing and kept me guessing!

This has become one of my favorite Hepworth novels! The premise is unique in that we get a story about 3 foster sisters who experienced a great deal of trauma at their foster home. The story goes back and forth, from past to present, as Hepworth unravels the details of a body found at their old foster home.
I really enjoyed getting to know each sister and figure out the mystery. While it is a quick read, it definitely touches on some heavier topics. Highly recommend this one!

I could not put this one down, read it in 2 sittings! My favorite type of thriller with lots of twists & a surprising ending! A story about 3 girls in foster care that end up in the same home with a nightmare of a foster mother. 25 years later they receive a call that the home was sold, demolished & bones were found under the house. This book was dark but I loved the “sisters” POV & their bond in this book. Thanks NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book!

One of the best mysteries I have read in a while. This is the first book I have read by Sally Hepworth and I plan to read all of them now. It was engaging and I was interested in what happened to the characters. It is worth reading and reading now!

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I love Sally’s books! This one has some secrets along the way and some family drama. Sisters Jessica, Norah, Alicia have been informed that some remains were found at the location of their childhood foster home. We get to hear each of their childhood stories in an alternating pattern. What they endured in that foster home was unforgettable.