This booked sucked me in from the beginning. The character development made me connect and empathize with each person. Because I was raised with two sisters, I was able to relate to the three sisters in this book and the bond that they shared. The author did a good job of putting a couple of pieces together but leaving you hanging with many more. There was a twist at the end that I did not see coming at all. I appreciated the short chapters, changing perspectives, and the twists and turns. It also made me think about the negative side of the foster care system and the impact it can have on kids for the rest of their lives. This author has always been a favorite of mine, and this is now my favorite of her works.

If you loved Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate, The Good Sister, and the Younger Wife - you’re going to want to get a copy of Darling Girls - which will be released on April 23, 2024!!

Definitely another winner for Sally Hepworth! Just when I think she couldn’t get a darker novel out, she does!

Darling Girls is a twisty thriller that delves into the lives of Alicia, Jessica, and Norah. They seem like your pretty average adults, until you learn more about their bond, a bond that was created and united decades ago in foster care living with foster mother Miss Fairchild. Going through each of their perspectives and bouncing between present day and decades ago - we learn about bones discovered under the farmhouse “Wild Meadows” where the girls lived with Miss Fairchild. As the headlines then stated: “Wild Meadows or House of Horrors?” That leads to the girls, 25 years later, returning to Port Agatha together to work with the detectives to discover who the bones belong to under the house.

I thought this was really well done - definitely a slow burn type of thriller but it kept me guessing and wanting to know how it was going to end. It was definitely more psychological mystery than thriller.

I loved the unbreakable bond the girls had and the fact that Hepworth went to great lengths to really get into issues in foster care and the realities that many children in the system face. The heart-wrenching aspects of foster care and children and teenagers going into terrible situations was handled with care and due diligence and Hepworth did a really great job intertwining each character and their differences into the narrative to make that point. She also did a great job dealing with the abuse and neglect of a foster parent or biological parent/parent’s spouse.

The entire book was really great but the last chapter really took the cake and made the book exceptional. Any book that keeps me up well beyond my bedtime I know is well worth it!

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear/read/see the phrase “darling girl” without cringing!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for an advanced copy of this book. Make sure to get on the library list or a pre-order list for this gem coming out April 23!

Yes, yes, yes! Sally Hepworth is always an excellent read, but she's outdone herself with this one, coming April 2024!

Three sisters, one mysterious character visiting a psychiatrist, and two timelines. Alicia, Norah, and Jessica are sisters - foster sisters. Their bond was forged when they were all foster children at a farmhouse under the care of a just-careful-enough foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They're adults now, closer than ever, but with their own dysfunctions, difficulties, and secrets. They receive a phone call one day to report to the police station in the town they lived with Miss Fairchild, as long-buried bones were found beneath the farmhouse. What happened there all those years ago?

This was a quick read, mostly because I couldn't stop reading! It's easy to read, the sisters are lovable and sympathetic, and the dual timeline is easy to follow. This is a domestic thriller meets character study of four women - with a twist in the last page or two that I definitely didn't see coming! Pre-order this one now so you don't miss it when it releases! Also consider checking out some of my other Sally Hepworth favorites: The Good Sister and The Mother-in-Law.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

Snarky humor was needed & appreciated for balance as the dark psychology of foster care children was a large prescence.

However, there was also some sweet heartfelt moments, satisfying twists and a satisfying ending.

Thank you to St. Martins, Sally Hepworth, and NetGalley for my Advance Reader’s Copy!

*Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for an ARC of this book. Publication date: April 23, 2024*

This is my first novel of Sally Hepworth that I have read and can easily say that I was impressed! This story follows the lives of three foster “sisters” during their time under Miss Fairchild’s care in the 1990’s; then jumps back and forth from past to present time using multiple POV’s. Because of this and the short chapters, it was impossible to put down as it was suspenseful and I just could not figure out how it was going to end! Hepworth kept me on my toes with so many surprises throughout the book. She wrote about sisterhood and trauma in such a beautiful and careful manner. I highly recommend this novel to others.
TW: book does have content related to sexual assault and child abuse.

Darling Girls is another terrific psychological thriller by Sally Hepworth.

A wicked foster mother, three young girls damaged by her, and dead bones under the house......the race is on to finding answers and unraveling secrets.

There are a lot of twists and turns and unexpected healing in this thriller. The characters are fully realized. The three foster girls, now women, are the narrators. Told in the past and the present the book maintains a continuity that never lags.

I recommend this book.

This book has less page-turning thrill to it than other Sally Hepworth books I’ve read. I didn’t really feel connected to the story or the characters. I didn’t like this one as much as some of her other books. I love books with short chapters! But in this book it felt like there wasn’t much happening, so it was disjointed. As soon as something started happening, it cut to a new chapter and the anticipation just kind of fell off. I wanted to see some action! Phil was just kind of… there. He really didn’t add anything to the story for me and I can’t even remember a single thing about his character. That twist at the end was great! I wish I liked the book more because that was a classic Sally Hepworth ending.

I loved this book but I’m not surprised because I have enjoyed all of this author’s books. The story is about three women who are not blood relatives but call themselves sisters. They all three were raised in the same foster home. They are all grown now and have different lives and careers when they get a phone call from the local police informing then that there were bones discovered buried under their old foster home. Now they have to travel back to answer questions about the past, which they would like to forget. This was so well written and I like the switching back and forth from the past to the present. This book kept me guessing till the twist at the end. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my ARC.

Sally Hepworth has done it again in creating a masterpiece for us to devour.
This is one heck of a psychological, suspense novel; with sadness, abuse and PTSD within the pages!
Three young women, sisters in every way, yet not from the same parents, came together as children in a foster home living with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother.
These girls now adults, never forgot the horrors that occurred nor the neglect, which is still to this very day causing trauma for each.
One day they receive a call that at the house they once resided in as children, bones have been found that were buried under the house. How long have they been there?
Whose body is it? Who is the murderer?
The drama begins to unfold once more for these women as they return to this town to assist in the investigation. The memories are not pleasant!
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Thank you to @NetGalley and to @St Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review. Wow!

I love reading books by Sally Hepworth and Darling Girls did not disappoint. Through the individual stories of how each girl came to be foster children with Holly Fairchild, the book continuously kept my interest. There were many twists and turns in the development of the mystery that ran through the book. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read the unedited edition. It was much appreciated!!

3.5 stars!

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is a fun and suspenseful ride of a book! Three former foster kids, Jessica, Norah and Alicia, are still close as adults (even though their lives have taken different paths). When bones are discovered underneath their old foster home, they are called by the police to give a statement on what they know.

Weaving together a dual POV and timeline, plus a therapists notes, this book had me piecing together the puzzle and flying through the chapters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book is expected to publish April 23, 2024.

Another fine book of mystery and intrigue by Sally Hepworth. This was a quick and suspenseful psychological thriller focusing on three main females characters and their traumatic childhoods and subsequent bonding as forever sisters. I liked all three characters (Norah with an h, Alicia, and Jessica). I thought the depiction of the characters made them real and Hepworth did a great job of giving us a glimpse to how their childhoods affected their adulthoods negatively. The villian, or foster mother, Holly Fairchild's hot and cold moods was expertly depicted. She really made you feel for the girls' turmoil. The three women are drawn back to the home, Miss Fairchild and a web of mystery at something uncovered in the house. Overall, a good solid read that was interesting without being too graphic and disturbing and was a quick read.

From the very first book that I read from Sally Hepworth, I have not stopped reading any and everything she has written. Her stories pull you in and keep you engaged the entire book. This is no different.

Four little girls, four grown women. Will they ever find justice? Or are they the killers?

Alicia, Jessica and Norah call them sisters. With everything they went through as children, they truly are sisters. Sisters who survived so much.

They did not come out of that unscathed wither. Jess is OCD. Norah is angry, all the time. Alicia has such low self-esteem that it leads her to make some poor decisions.

As children they were all sent to foster care on a farm with a lovely lady named Miss Fairchild.

But Miss Fairchild is only pretty on the outside. She has rules. She is obviously unstable and hiding some deep, dark secrets.

Decades later and the house is gone and bones have been found on the property. Bones of a child.

Called back by Detectives, they all return. Including their tormentor. But will the police believe them now? Because they sure didn’t when they were children.

So many questions here. Can you outrun the past? Will a reckoning always come? All the good scares here!!

NetGalley/ St. Martin’s Press, April 24, 2024

Sally Hepworth’s latest thriller 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 moves away from the topic of marriage and tells the story of three women who reluctantly revisit their past when a police investigation brings them back to the site of their former foster home. Be warned—if depictions of child abuse is a trigger for you, do not pick up this book.

On the surface, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are as different as can be. Petite, dark-haired Jessica runs a successful home organization business and privately struggles with anxiety and substance abuse. Tall, gorgeous Norah is intelligent to the point of arrogance, dubiously employed, and has an anger management problem that often lands her in trouble with the law. Redhead social worker Alicia is kind and even-tempered yet possesses some deep-rooted self-esteem issues. But the three grew up as foster sisters at Wild Meadows farmhouse under the cruel care of Miss Fairchild. Now in their mid-thirties and living their own dysfunctional lives in the city, they go back to Wild Meadows when bones are found underneath the house—the police have some questions for them.

𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 is a multi-POV mystery/thriller that I tore through in a day. Hepworth is masterful at building up suspense and throwing out plot twists. It is a very readable and engrossing story, though it does get dark and disturbing; I do think it sometimes got too heavy-handed with the abuse depictions for the sake of shock value. The characters also have great promise to be interesting and complex ones but unfortunately don’t quite live up to that potential because the horrors of their childhoods dominate the narrative. Nonetheless, I would recommend the book to those who want to read a gripping suspense novel and can handle the afore-mentioned trigger. 4.25 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was posted on September 6, 2023 to https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5621430085.

A true masterclass that keeps you guessing the entire way through. Incredibly well written. Kept you guessing the entire time as everything began to unravel and the truth inevitably comes out.

Nothing is as it seems as a body is discovered at Wild Meadows buried in the ground. The discovery shocks everybody — including the foster kids who had stayed there. Mrs. Fairchild, the foster parent, is also caught off guard at the beginning. But, absolutely nothing is as it seems. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah all decide to open healed wounds and come back to the place they never wanted to revisit. Let alone see the woman who treated them so poorly.

The case is a ticking time bomb ready to blow.

The twists and turns were a constant shocker where I didn’t expect it to go that way in particular. The poor resilient girls — the trauma they experienced was incredible and it wasn’t long before I was invested in the story and the characters within the pages of this book. Even Mrs. Fairchild as her own past is unveiled.

The ending was truly mind blowing.

This novel is a must read — a masterpiece.

4 ⭐️. This is going to be a short and to the point review. First off as far as characters go, I think you can figure out early on that you are going to like (and root for) the 3 sisters (Jessica, Norah and Alicia) and NOT like Miss Fairchild. I really don’t need to go into detail because they will each be thoroughly described in the book. Next, the writing…I really enjoyed the storyline and thought it was well written and kept my interest from beginning to end. I always enjoy a book that alternates chapters from past to present. If I’m being completely honest though, it dropped to a 3 star for me about halfway through because I started to feel like it was going to be super predictable. BUT….then came the very last chapter and boom back up to 4 stars! Well done Sally Hepworth, WELL DONE!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To see other reviews I’ve left, check out my Instagram and Goodreads:
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808
*Goodreads - Cherihy808

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I was super excited to receive an ARC by Sally Hempworth. Naturally I had to read it right away.

This book is about three girls that grew up in in foster care. The book goes back and forth between past and present as a dead body is found beneath the old foster care home.

At first I did not like the back and forth but then I thought about it and put myself in their shoes.

I really enjoyed this book and liked how the author explains the details betwen the foster care life and the bonds between the girls.



The twists were nice, not over the top or unbelievable. I really really enjoyed this one!

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity!
I really enjoyed this title: Sally Hepworth is a thriller/twisty writer I typically gravitate towards, and this was no exception.
Told in multiple POVS and Dual Timeline, this tells the story of three sisters forced to re-live childhood abuse at the hands of their foster mother when bones are unearthed from their childhood home. I thought each of these characters was SO well fleshed out: the damaged perfectionist Jessica, violent and troubled Norah, and loyal Alicia. I really loved how the story focused on each of them, on the abuse they endured, and what their upbringing, plus their birth stories, contributed to their trauma in the past and in the present. Hepworth did such a great job making the foster mother unbelievably creepy, almost hauntingly so, and the dropped-in POV's of her therapy sessions were so intriguing.
I thought the twists in this, particularly dealing with both 'versions' of the character Amy, were really well done. I kept trying to guess what was going to happen next but really couldn't figure things out. The epilogues really brought just a little bit of questioning into the end of the story: nothing was QUITE wrapped up, and I loved that.
Overall, a really good twisty story!

I thought this book was a fine read, but I wasn't in love with it (maybe a 3.5?) The premise is interesting and I really enjoyed the sisters and their relationship, but I thought in some ways that the book seemed to pull its punches.

I think the problem is I read a lot of thrillers, so I have pretty high expectations of a good one. I guess, ultimately the problem for me was this book wasn't really a thriller, but more of a domestic drama.

Miss Fairchild is awful and clearly messed up, but (to me) not really scary. I never felt like any of these children were truly in danger. So that took some of the steam out of the question of "who's the dead body?" This was somewhat compounded by the fact that she's still bouncing around town chatting with the girls in the present.

This also meant that when things took a twisty turn, I wasn't necessarily buying it. The present tense conversations with the therapist seemed a little contrived. I thought the final reveal was interesting, but given what I'd felt thus far about that character, didn't really land like I wanted it to.

I guess, while this was a good book, I think the marketing confused me. I would have happily read about a book about these sisters, their challenging past, and how they're learning to recover. As a thriller though, it fell a little flat for me personally.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tons of twist and turns that I've always loved about her books while still making me think about our foster system that sometimes doesn't work for our youth. I found myself counting down the hours until I could get home to finish and see what really happened while the girls were with Miss Fairchild, who was telling the truth about the bones found under the house, and how they could work through their past horrible childhood experiences. The format where she moved between the girls childhood, the present and also the conversation with the therapist kept it interesting and was easy to follow.