I am a huge fan of Sally Hepworth, and am so excited when she has a new book for me to read! I am having a hard time reviewing this one because it was a good, compelling story, with interesting characters and relationships, and some unexpected twists, but I cannot say I enjoyed it due to the vivid descriptions of child abuse. I considered putting it down several times, but did want to find out what happened to Ms. Fairchild. I’d recommend the book to those not sensitive to this topic.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth A suspenseful journey following Norah, Alicia and Jessica through the foster care system with an abusive foster mother. The story is frightening and heartbreaking at the same time, terrifying in its depravity and cruelty. The transcripts of an unnamed individual talking to a therapist provides a good portion of background information. The reveal as to their identity was quite a surprise. There are numerous secrets and red herrings throughout the book and an insanely twisted ending. Engrossing read.

Thank you to the author, Sally Hepworth, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

The first book I read by Sally Hepworth was The Soulmate, which was really good. Some authors just have a good flow and tell a good story, she definitely had that. I preceded to read several more of her books, all of which unique and very interesting. Do when I saw the new release on Netgalley I dropped the book I was reading and it went right to the top of my TBR pile. (So worth it)

I love the dual timelines and the different POV from each sister. This book was great, truly. Sally is a great author and I look forward to all her future releases

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another Sally Hepworth book that I couldn't put down!! Alicia, Jessica, and Norah met through foster care and consider themselves sisters. They each have their personality issues but they have a decades old bond. Miss Fairchild was their foster mother who mistreated them for years until they finally came of age and were on their own. Now, years later, a body has been found buried under the foster home they lived in. The police investigation brings them back to a past they hoped to forget. Can the past ever be truly buried? This book will keep you guessing. This awesome story is full of twists and it kept my attention from the start. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book.

*Thank you, NetGalley/St Martin’s Press, for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

4⭐ Another winner from Sally Hepworth! Can the past ever remain buried?
This book is fast; it's dark, and there are twists within the twists. The short chapters alternate between the past and present timelines of three women and how their trauma in foster care shaped their current lives. One stand-out aspect of this book is the excellent character development; each woman is uniquely different, and their emotional baggage is laid open.
While I did notice a few flaws in the story, such as issues with DNA testing and umbilical cord attachment, overall, I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. And speaking of the ending, I was blown away! Don't miss out on this fantastic read when it comes out April 2024!

Couldn’t put this book down. Loved the main characters. Fast paced with great twists and great ending. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't see the ending coming at all. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a thriller with twists.

WOW, I seem to use this word after every book that Sally Hepworth writes and I am saying it again! This book kept me reading for nonstop and is a bit darker than the other books from this author. “Darling Girls” is about three girls who meet in the Foster Care system.as teens. These women become forever sisters and find out as adults that bones of a child are buried beneath their foster home. The twists and turns in the story kept me on the edge of my seat while dealing with the very difficult issues of child abuse, addiction and the broken foster care system. This is a must read for fans of thrillers where you can’t possibly guess the ending and for all of us who love the books of Sally Hepworth!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press and the author for the ARC and the opportunity to read this book.

Another great read by Sally Hepworth! As usual, she has written great characters and a story that kept me glued to the page.

I could not put this book down! I read it in two afternoons.
Jessica, Norah (with and H), and Alicia were all put into the foster care system when they were young. They all came together at Wild Meadows under the care of Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild is strict and the girls set off her many triggers without even realizing it. Their foster mother punishes them by preying on their fears. They are finally removed from the home after reporting the abuse to their school principal.
As adults, they girls are sisters. They are as close as they have always been and would do anything to protect each other. They are forced to return to Wild Meadows when a child's body is found on the property. But how far would they actually go to protect each other?

WOW! Sally Hepworth is the Queen of domestic thrillers, and she's knocked it out of the park with her latest release. The multiple POVs, dual timelines and short chapters keep you on your toes. I loved the slow-building mystery, and the last twist was brilliant, chef's kiss ! Highly recommend this one, it's one of her best ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Always have been a big fan of Sally Hepworth books and Darling Girls soundly adds to the list.

Is simultaneously scary and sad, shocking with depravity and cruelty, frustrating with various injustices and then surprisingly hilarious especially in one scene with the sisters. And all of that is before the crazy ending.

Wow!! A great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this awesome ARC.

Sally Hepworth is Australia’s gem! The Darling Girls is a suspenseful, psychological mystery that is hard to put down. The story of three survivors of foster care, where the care wasn’t always the best, is told in their perspectives from when they were young and current day.
This is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Friends and intrigue. This talented author has written a page turner. Secrets and red herrings. The realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. I like this author. Trying to discern the ending of this novel is not easy. Thanks to Netgalley.

Wow! This one is so much darker than Sally’s previous novels. But also, I think it’s her best!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia aren’t biological sisters, but they are as close as sisters due to their shared traumatic foster home experience.

As adults, they are called back to their childhood foster home by detectives because bones are found. Told through “then” and “now” timelines, the pieces slowly come together.

This book was difficult to read at times. Miss Fairchild was truly awful! I loved how the girls looked out for each other and persevered. I also loved the transcripts of an unnamed person talking to a therapist. I did NOT see the twist at the end coming! Brilliant writing!

Sally Hepworth is undoubtedly one of my favorite writers. So when I received this ARC I was so excited and dove right in! This novel is about three women; Alicia, Jessica and Norah. The three grew up together in a foster home and are so close they consider themselves sisters. They all suffer from their time under the care of a woman named Miss Fairchild. Jessica has OCD, Norah has a violent temper and Alicia suffers from very low self esteem. They have escaped the past and are living mostly normal lives, although still haunted by what they experienced at the hand of Miss Fairchild. Then one day they each receive a phone call from a detective who is investigating some bones that have been found under their former foster home. Now the three must go back to aid in the investigation and answer questions regarding their time at Wild Meadows. This was such a great read! Hepworth is a master storyteller who kept me intrigued and invested from the very start to the finish of this novel!!!

What a dark and disturbing book. This one was hard to read for long periods of time due to the child abuse in it so do be careful if that's a trigger for you. With a compelling plot, likable characters and a final twist that made me gasp out loud, Darling Girls is a must read. I loved the character growth of the three sisters. I'm glad they were able to start dealing with the abuse they suffered as children and their final chapters brought a tear to my eye. The twist in the last chapter is truly shocking. I never saw it coming.

I highly recommend picking this one up when it comes out on April 23, 2024!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! Sally Hepworth is the queen of thrillers! I was not expecting the ending at all! If you love thrillers about orphanages then this one is for you!

This book was a great psychological thriller filled with twists. Having worked in the child protection/foster care system, this book really hit me on a few levels. It pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. I did figure out some of what was going on early on in the story, but there were definitely some twists I didn’t see coming! Definitely recommend if you like a good psychological twisty book! Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC.

Darling Girls is a twisty and suspenseful journey through the dark side of the foster care system. I found it tremendously enjoyable despite its flaws (more on those in a bit) and finished it in well under a day.

First and foremost, I loved the characters. Well, maybe not Miss Fairchild quite so much, but the three sisters were delightful. I especially liked Norah and her unconventional attitude, although it kept throwing me off when the author would mention her looks because I could only imagine her as a Melissa McCarthy look-alike (Melissa McCarthy is gorgeous, but she's definitely not six-foot tall with olive skin and bright blue eyes). The chapter on her date with Kevin was hilarious.

The plot was fast-paced and suspenseful, and it kept me guessing right up until the very end. And that last chapter? I certainly did not see that coming! The twist at the end is fantastic, and to say that one of the characters is unreliable would be an understatement.

Also, there's a greyhound (and a greyhound mix) in this book! Yay! My hound is happy for the representation, although she would like for me to point out that it's a very rare greyhound who can work up enough energy to destroy a couch.

As previously mentioned, I did feel that this book had some flaws, although they're mostly minor nitpicks that didn't really detract much from the story for me. But here they are anyway, in order of plothole-y-ness. 1. This is the main one. DNA testing exists. It's really easy to find out who bones belong to (or don't belong to) if you have suspected relatives around to take samples from. You can even figure out the relationship between two individuals based on DNA percentages shared. Why does this book pretend like DNA technology doesn't exist? 2. Babies don't “remain attached” to you for hours and hours after birth if you don't cut the cord. To the placenta, sure, but not the mother. 3. Why would you extradite someone to Russia for a crime committed in Australia? (I realize that this was mostly a joke between characters, but still.) There's also a Raiders of the Lost Ark thing going on in this novel where the main characters really don't make much of a difference to the final outcome.

But, still, this was overall an exciting and well-written book and I really enjoyed my second foray into Sally Hepworth's writing (the first was The Mother-in-Law, which I also liked a lot). Final rating: 3.75 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.