This was just Sally’s best yet. It was super dark and twisted. Loved the sisters so much and all of their flaws. The twist was perfection!

Surprise, surprise - I enjoyed another book by Sally Hepworth! She’s such a consistent author for me that I’m convinced she can do no wrong. This is probably my favorite of the books I’ve read by this author yet. But please, make sure you check the trigger warnings before diving into this one because it is darker than her usual (child abuse, sexual abuse).

SISTERS, SECRETS, and MURDER - I was hooked from the start and captivated by this mystery the entire time I was reading it. The ending shocked me and overall I really enjoyed how everything wrapped up and came to light. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley.

4 stars!! One of my favorite authors & an auto-buy for me. Sally Hepworth is back with a twisty, but well paced thriller. Multiple POVs with time jumps tells the story of three foster girls (now adults) who are reunited after a body is found at the estate where they were raised. Memories are twisted, truths are told & emotions run high in “Darling Girls” - highly recommend for all the thriller lovers out there!

Thank you St.Martin Press & NetGalley for providing and ARC for me to read/review. All thoughts are my own.

I have enjoyed previous reads from this author and this book was no exception, despite the VERY dark content. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are several trigger warnings, including child abuse and trauma. I thought the character development was well done and I really liked the sisterly bond between the three main characters. I liked the Dr. Warren chapters and guessed who his patient was pretty early on, which was a win for me because I am not normally a good guesser. I did, however, find the good doctor to be creepy and more than a little bit unprofessional.

Many people didn’t seem to like the twist in the final few pages, but I was fine with it (and I really did not see that one coming at all).

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press. and the author for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest feedback.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia found each other in foster care as children. They were raised in the same home by the absolute worst person to ever become a foster parent, Miss Fairchild. Their shared traumas inflicted by this woman bonded them for life.

Decades have passed and the girls are living their adult lives trying to forget about their childhood. One day, the police show up and start questioning them about a body found on the property of their foster home. The three sisters travel back to where they grew up and start looking into the murder that took place in their house of horrors.

I really enjoyed this book, but it was just so predictable to me. I saw a lot of the plot twists coming and was a little underwhelmed overall. Also, the flashback scenes with their abusive mother were a bit much for me. I would still recommend it to a friend to read, but I don’t think I would ever pick it up again.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This book had the perfect amount of suspense and mystery. Loved how the story was crafted together, with the different POVs and timelines. My first book by this author and it did not disappoint. I will definitely be checking out her other books.

Sally Hepworth is the ✨QUEEN✨ of slow burn mysteries!
Darling Girls is told from the perspective of the three main characters- Norah, Jessica, and Alicia. It also has therapy segments in between that you’ll later find out the identity to. The characters are all well defined and relatable- they all three have trauma and demons they are dealing with. Darling Girls has enough twist to keep you interested, and I promise you won’t see that ending coming!

Thank you @stmartinspress, @sallyhepworth, and @netgalley for my digital review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I found my first Sally Hepworth book in a London Used Bookstore and fell in love immediately. I have read all her books since then and love to see a new one come out!!

What I loved:
1. Good mystery
2. Loved the rotating point of views - which I normally don't like but she does it well.
3. Love that family is not always who you are born to.
3. Always a twist with Sally and this one was one I didn't expect!

What I wished was different:
1. Felt the characters were a little one dimensional - which doesn't seem possible, but they were just flat.
2. Some repetition when the girls are living at the home - a little editing could have made it sharper!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Sally Hepworth for this digital ARC to honestly review

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the mystery. The time jumping could be a little disorienting, but generally speaking the author made it pretty easy to follow. The characters are some that you can feel something for to varying degrees. I was a bit put off with the way the young girls often spoke like they were in their mid-teens when they were more like 10-12 years old. The first half felt somewhat predictable, but then the twists started about halfway through and it got more interesting. Overall, I liked the story, but I fear it is one of those that I will soon forget. It's worth a read for anyone particularly fond of mysteries, although it could be potentially triggering for some.

Darling Girls begins with the discovery of a body buried beneath their childhood foster home brings three foster sisters back to the place they swore they'd never return. What unfolds will keep you guessing until the very last page.

I am a huge Sally Hepworth fan and couldn't wait to read her latest book. It's fantastic. While more character-driven than the previous novels I've read of her catalog, this was a very propulsive store that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to unravel the twisty story of Darling Girls. This story is dark (please check content warnings!) but had some hilarious bits thrown in as well. The sisterhood bond displayed was also great. This would be a great book to toss in your beach bag, take on an upcoming, or sink into by the pool.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

I really love Sally Hepworth's style of writing. It's so easy to jump in and get caught up in the storyline. This book was no exception!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are three foster children who spent time at Wild Meadows with Miss Fairchild. During their time there, they endure hardships and trauma bond into "sisters" for life. Now many years later, they are grown and horrified to learn that a body has been discovered on the property. As they come together, secrets begin to unfold about their past there and what really happened. This was a fun mystery that had me guessing! I will say that the ending wasn't my favorite. There is a final reveal at the end that I felt needed further explanation to completely understand, but ultimately this is a fun twisty mystery! I highly recommend if you enjoy Sally Hepworth (and you should!).

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! I really liked Hepworth’s “The Soulmate” so I was excited for this hot new thriller. It did not disappoint!! So many twists and turns.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are incredibly close sisters. They grew up in a foster home together that everyone thought was picture perfect- but it was far from it. Their foster mother Miss Fairchild was secretly cruel, but the three girls at least had each other. Although not biologically relayed, they forged a lifelong bond to cope with the trauma. They’ve tried to block out their past but when a body is found under their old foster home, they know they have to get to the bottom of it.

Told in varying viewpoints and timelines, the pacing of this thriller keeps you turning the page. I really didn’t see where this was going! What a solid thriller, I look forward to reading Hepworth’s backlist.

✨Content Warnings: Child Abuse, Child Death, Murder, Emotional Abuse, Drug Abuse, Physical Abuse, Confinement, Domestic Abuse, Addiction, Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Rape, Panic Attacks

wow, wow, wow. This blew me away. I felt so attached to all of the main characters and was blown away by the final twist. Loved it

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin’s Press for an E-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Sally Hepworth’s book, Darling Girls is like the movie Annie with a dead body under the house. We meet Jessica, Norah and Alicia who are under the foster care of Holly Fairchild.
Hepworth does a great job of character development and creating distinctive personalities for all 3 women. The timeline transitions are seamless. I enjoyed jumping back into the past where readers are exposed to the unstable personality of Ms. Fairchild. We sense the tension that she could fly off the handle and impose fear generating punishments on the girls. I felt empathy during the tense moments and felt camaraderie when the girls begin to push back more against their perpetrator.

The female friendships and solidarity of Jessica, Norah and Alicia is really the highlight of this book. The plot was mildly suspenseful. I would label this more of a female friendship novel vs a thriller. In the future I’d love to see Sally Hepworth put her characters more in peril. I’d love something a little more nightmarish and in “full thriller mode”. Her novels are always fast paced and well written but just need the book to be season a bit more with stronger murder vibes. 3.75 stars

I could not put this book down, even though parts of the books were very dark. I had an uneasy sense of dread while reading some of the backstory of the sister's and their experiences at their foster home, but the story was very gripping. It kept me on my toes the whole time and I needed to figure who the mystery body was and who was responsible. Sally did a fantastic job with this book and I give it 4/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this one! Sally Hepworth is usually an auto read author for me so I was excited for this one. I love the found family with the sisters and their bond. I also love the flashbacks and present timelines. I was able to guess one of the twists but definitely not all of them.

💙DARLING GIRLS REVIEW💙
rating: 4.5⭐️
genre: suspense
read if you liked: Only if You’re Lucky

Jessica, Alicia and Norah became bonded together forever during their time as foster children at Wild Meadows. Under the care of Ms. Fairchild, the three young girls underwent many traumatic experiences together, some of which they’d like to forget forever. 25 years later they receive a call that forces each of them to deal with the childhood trauma and pain it brought all over again. While Wild Meadows was being torn down remains were found on the property. Some secrets can’t be buried after all…

Sally Hepworth always does such a fantastic job of writing about deep, heavy topics. She knows the way to weave family, relationships, drama and suspense into the story in a way that’s compelling. I really loved the different points of view of the three women and each of their stories of their time in foster care were heartbreaking! The past and present chapters really help give the reader perspective of the situation and create that ultimate suspense that Sally does so well that will leave you on the edge of your seat! This one is a bit of a slow burn suspense, but still had a lot of action packed moments. The ending was PHENOMENAL and DARK! I did a mix of reading and listening and thought both were done so well! I highly recommend checking trigger/content warnings before starting this one though as it is really dark!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this eArc of Darling Girls. I didn’t realize this was my first Sally Hepworth book until I tried to think back on it while writing this review. There were several things I enjoyed about this book, but a handful that weren’t for me.

What I enjoyed:
•multiple POV
•dual timelines
•suspenseful
•equal amount of fast paced + slow burn
•darker theme
•psychological
•female bonds/found family
•the twist

Overall, I definitely want to check out more of Sally Hepworth’s books. If her other books are anything like this one I will most likely enjoy them. Be aware that there are some darker issues that are written about in this book

This book was so good! It had me on the edge of my seat and kept me hooked until the end. It was a bit slow to start but I absolutely loved the twist and turns. My heart felt for the characters and what they went thru, their experiences and struggles really make you sit and think. I’d never read a Sally Hepworth book before but I was really pleased with this one.