𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆...𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕.

Alicia, Jessica, and Norah grew up as foster children on Wild Meadows Farm with the mercurial Miss Fairchild. They learned early on to anticipate her wildly fluctuating moods and how to take care of each other.

As adults these women still bear the inner scars of that tumultuous childhood. each grappling with her own personal demons--obsessive organization, explosive anger, and low self-esteem. The women are contacted by the police when bones are discovered buried underneath the house where they grew up. For these women it's not just a physical journey back to the place that holds so many memories, but it's also a mental journey back to a time where they had no one but each other when they realized Miss Fairchild was never going to be their savior.

Told through alternating points of view, dual timelines, and a few well-placed anonymous therapy sessions, DARLING GIRLS was deftly plotted with beautifully crafted characters that will make you ache for the children they were and cheer for the women they become.

Be sure to read the author's notes as this book was SO much more than just the mystery of whose bones lay under the house.This book hit me in unexpected ways as I did not have the best start in life and spent some time in foster care myself. I thank her for allowing these children to be seen and spending the time talking with those who are entrusted with their care. After reading this book, you will think twice about ever using the word "lucky" to describe these children again.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this stunning early copy. DARLING GIRLS will publish April 23, 2024.

Sally Hepworth’s latest novel “Darling Girls” deals with three women who were in foster care together as children at Wild Meadows, a farm two hours from Melbourne, Australia, where their foster mother, Holly Fairchild, subjected them to mental cruelty for several years. As adults, the “sisters”, as they refer to themselves, live near one another in Melbourne. They each have residual mental health issues resulting from their treatment at Wild Meadows. Jessica is addicted to valium and has an obsessive need for order, which she channels into her home organization business. Norah has anger management issues which manifests as uncontrollable violence, for which she has been arrested for assault on numerous occasions. Alicia, while seemingly adapting well as a child welfare social worker has difficulty forming close adult relationships.

When they each receive a call from a police officer near the town where Wild Meadows was located, informing them that a body was found at Wild Meadows when the farm was torn down as part of construction there, they go together to answer the police’s questions, and hopefully find answers of their own.

The narration has four POVs: Jessica, Norah and Alicia (past and present), as well as an unknown individual who is relating their childhood issues to Dr. Warren, a psychologist. The author does an excellent job conveying the fears, neuroses and personalities of each of the protagonists. The narrations focusing on the past were somewhat difficult to take as it dealt with the “sisters” emotional abuse at the hands of their foster mother; however, the reader’s discomfort at these sections demonstrates the author’s gift at portraying the characters’ emotions. The novel holds the reader’s attention as the identity of the body found, the cause of death and the possible perpetrator are slowly revealed, with an interesting unexpected twist at the very end.

(Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review).

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and she did not disappoint.

Three sisters are called back to the home they were fostered in together where a dead body is found. As the we hear more of their stories going from past to present we learn more of what the sisters endured and the strong bond they share.

The story kept me wanting to pick my book back up each time I stepped away. I enjoyed the twists and turns we were taken on.

Thank you Net Galley for letting me read and review this book.

I absolutely love this book! Sally Hepworth can do no wrong and I think this is her best book yet! Recommending it to all my friends!

This is exactly what you should expect from a Sally Hepworth novel, which is to say: Expect the unexpected, the perverse, and always, always one more twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC!

Wow, what a great read! I was instantly hooked. We follow three women who grew up as foster sisters. After some bones were discovered under the foster home they shared together, they decide to go back to the town to help figure out the mystery behind them. The novel shifts back and forth between different POVs, both present day and the past, and so many secrets and twists are uncovered!

This one had some characters that were very unlikeable and some that you couldn’t help but root for! The book definitely had some dark plot lines, but I thought it was an excellent story. I thought everything worked well and made sense in the end. I also loved how everything was wrapped up and explained. So many twists throughout the novel and we even get one more twist at the end! So good!

Wow. Darling Girls is easily Sally Hepworth’s best yet!

I loved the narrative style and the way the plot progressed through alternating POVs and a mystery therapy session. This book had twists upon twists that kept me guessing and engaged. I loved the bond between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Their personalities were so well written and their coping mechanisms as adults perfectly matched the way they’d grown up, correlating with the amount of actual love they’d received as children. The ending left me shocked with my mouth hanging open.

I am impressed with Hepworth’s ability to present an intense psychological thriller, while also shining an important light on the foster care system. Highly recommend!

Note: This book contains multiple triggers including sexual assault, child abuse, child death, sexual extortion, substance abuse, and more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed following the girls individual stories. It was detailed but I was immediately hooked from the first few chapters. The build up was steady and jarring, slowly drawing your attention to all the small red flags that amounted to the discovery of what really happened.

I really loved all the characters and their flaws but I am over the pill popping characters. It’s a very slippery slope people fall into but it seems that all professional, traumatized, women in books lately have a drug abuse issue.

I really appreciate the author thanking the people she spoke to while doing research. This shows she really wanted to tell a story that would help others see what children in foster care struggle with.

When Jessica, Alicia, and Norah get called by police to return to their former foster home because bones were found under the house, their seemingly well ordered lives begin to fall apart. For Jessica, the business she runs seems ripe for disaster because of thefts. For Norah, she can’t control her anger issues. For Alicia, her unwillingness to see herself as lovable could cost her the most important loves of her life. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

As always, I enjoyed this thriller by Sally Hepworth. Each of the three girls has a distinct character as does the foster mother. There were these random sections where a therapist was talking to a woman and I wasn't sure how this fit into the book for quite some time. Other than that, the story is extremely interesting and easy to dive into. I was quickly hooked.

Sally Hepworth has done it again ! I loved this book. I read it in a day. It was really hard to put down this psychological thriller. I thought the storyline with the bond of the foster care sisters and their relationship with their foster mom was unique and different compared to other thrillers I have read this summer. I highly recommend picking this book up.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review

Can Sally Hepworth do anything wrong? She is an auto-by author for me, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

This was my first Sally Hepworth novel and I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the bond the sisters had. I guessed the twist pretty early but was thrown for a loop at the very end. Very twisted but very good. Thanks for the opportunity to read this.

Sally Hepsworth does it again! This is a psychological thriller that will have you skimming ahead because your anxiety needs to know what’s coming 🫣 t

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The plot shifts from present to past between the three female protagonists. While it is sometimes difficult to alternate storylines, I found it easy to follow.

I’m still recovering from this ending. These three girls endured so much and my heart hurt for their childhood upbringing.

TW: child abuse, narcissistic parent, negative foster care experience

Thank you to St Martin Press for the ARC!

Lots of details…A very slow read…a bit wordy for my taste.

The plot is good with plenty of drama and suspense…but a very slow build up.

I received this book via NetGalley in response for an honest review. Sally Hepworth has done it again. She manages to write well written and fleshed out characters with a story to match. So many newer thriller writers toss together a problem and a twist and readers eat it up, but Hepworth actually delivers substance. The story was harrowing and sad but also a celebration of the bond of families and created families. Of course, a few delicious twists add to the devour-ability of this latest. Brava!!

Much thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Sally Hepworth is and will forever be one of my favorites authors. Such a way to her writing that just connects. This one was no different. Recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. From the very beginning, it had my attention. The plot kept me interested the whole way through, which is sometimes difficult to do. I would have devoured this book in one sitting if I had the time to. Really interesting storyline, with a good twist at the end!

Fantastic! This book will tether you to your chair. Be sure a pot is not on the stove waiting to boil, or a cake in the oven ready to be removed and cooled, or your family is awaiting dinner! Sally Hepworth is a gifted story teller and she writes with clarity, humanity and warmth. The way she wove the storyline was exceptional. Brava! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was fortunate enough to receive this book by Sally Hepworth, an ARC through Net galley and the story did not disappoint, The story weaves together the story of 3 girls in the foster care system and their story of hope, strength and survival. Jessica is the one that seems to have her life totally together despite her upbringing. Norah is a fighter right from the beginning and still trying to stay out of jail and get on the right path. And Alicia, the one that knows what love is and wants the world around her to experience it too. Its a story of having to face the reality of their past and what happened to them all and finally receive justice. This is a great read that I am sure has some very strong truths in it that we can relate too. Thank you again for letting me read and review this book.