Darling Girls focuses on three girls who ended up in the same foster family. Jessica arrived first and stayed the longest. She viewed her foster mother, Miss Fairchild, as her mother. Miss Fairchild doted over her, until she didn’t. Norah arrived next, an angry bitter girl. She had a mean temper and despised Miss Fairchild from the beginning. Alicia arrived last, as a temporary respite while her Granny recovers from an illness. The three girls bond like sisters. Miss Fairchild is viciously mean, manipulative and conniving to all three girls. They clean the house constantly, often have little food to eat, have no outside contact except at school and their social worker. To earn more money, Miss Fairchild eventually fosters infants and toddlers. When they turn to dislike her, she pushes them onto the three girls to take care of. Eventually, the three girls are able to break free from Miss Fairchild, in the hopes of never seeing her again.
Twenty-five years later, Jessica, Norah and Alicia are notified by the police from the town they grew up in, that human bones were found under the house as it was being destroyed. This all brings back horrible memories of their life with Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows. Whose body is it? How did it get there? Who buried it? The three women decide to go to the police station to find out more regarding the human body. As they are being questioned, they wonder, are they considered to be witnesses or are they suspects?
This novel is told in dual time lines, before and current. There are three narrators, as well as a psychiatrist, Dr. Warren. Who is he listening to? Who is talking? This is not revealed until the end.
This book was a page turner for me. It was easy to follow the past/present chapters and listen to the voice of the main characters. The chapters with the psychiatrist was disturbing and upsetting to read, especially not knowing who was involved. The ending of this psychological thriller is quite shocking.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on April 23, 2024.

Trigger warnings- child abuse

I have really enjoyed Sally Hepworth’s previous books. She writes a great domestic thriller. I was excited to get an advanced copy of her newest release about three foster sister who return to the farm where they grew up after a body is found buried there. It’s told from multiple point of views, and in multiple timelines. Sadly, it was completely predictable and not nearly as good as her other work. It’s out now, but I’d give this one a pass.

Sally Hepworth never disappoints when it comes to a bingeable book. This was very much a 'who is it' and a 'who did it' book. Lots of twists and second guessing.

TW: This one does have child abuse.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
P.S. I read this book before it was published, and I completely forgot to do the review. Soooo... Sorry.

Darling Girls takes you down a windy, dark hallway filled with intriguing twists and turns. Just when you get to the end, with everything all wrapped up all nice and neat, you find that there’s one last door – one final chapter – and when opened it blows everything you thought you knew right out of existence.

But let me take a step back.

Jessica, Norah (“without a t”), and Alicia come to live under the foster care of Miss Fairchild. As lovely as Miss Fairchild appears to be, dressing herself in youthful pink and ruffly costumes, she has a twisted & dark side that she can barely contain. Delivering psychologically damaging back-handed compliments, emotional abuse, and passive-aggressive remarks, Miss Fairchild deviously manipulates her dependents. Lovely Miss Fairchild uses the young girls’ fears and insecurities against them. She keeps them secluded – keeps them out of school to care for other younger foster babies that come to stay with them. What are these defenseless young girls to do?

Fast forward 25 years, and quite expectedly, all of the mental torture has led to major coping mechanisms. Acts of violence, stealing (and taking!) pain killers, and self-loathing – these adult women have difficult with trusting in relationships, and with believing they deserve love. The sisters are brought together again when a gruesome discovery is made under the home where they were raised. What really went on all those years ago??

What is it that makes someone your sister? Is it blood, simply shared genetics, or is it shared experience? Darling Girls is the story about sisterhood and the bond that forms between young women growing up together. Although it was a bit of a slow burn, in the end, I have to admit I enjoyed the story and there couldn’t be a better title for this book. Intermittently sprinkled through the book are chapters where “someone” is receiving psychiatric assistance. Color me intrigued.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the free ARC, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily. (Also thanks to author Sally Hepworth for schooling me on a few common Australian words that I didn’t know previously.)

Sally Hepworth has done it again with yet another pageturner! I was hooked on this story from page one. It's about three girls who were raised in foster care with a foster mom who was abusive. As adults, they are all called back to their foster home when a body is discovered, and they are forced to face the secrets of their past.

Any story about children being abused is difficult to read, so be aware that the subject matter in this one is not easy. While it is an entertaining book, it also focuses a lot on the trauma that these girls experienced and how that carried into their adult lives.

The narrative jumps around between characters and between the past and present. This makes for a super fast paced story and a quick read. I found it to be compellling, and I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen.

The way I couldn’t put this book down, and ended up binge reading through the night (which I rarely do), switching between the book and audiobook. Sally Hepworth is one of the best when it comes to domestic suspense, and I just love her storytelling writing so much.

I buddy read this with my husband and had a hard time not giving anything away because I ended up finishing before him.

The story features 4 POVs, about three foster siblings with a past/present storyline. When bones are discovered at the home they were raised, everyone comes into question what happened.

With fast chapters and an intriguing storyline, it was the perfect thrill ride that kept me guessing, and would make the best beach or poolside read this Summer.

🎧I loved the audiobook narration by Jessica Clarke, and it was easy to switch between the print and audio formats, keeping me completely immersed into the story.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧
🏠domestic suspense
❤️found family
🔍a story that will keep you guessing
📖multiple POVs

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

Wow! I loved this book and it takes you on quite the ride! I never saw how it was going to end. And then, I got to the end, and thought maybe it was kind of a let down, but Sally Hepworth pulled out a twist at the very end!

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I was so engrossed with it that I finished it in one day.

Short chapters meant that I constantly wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. This book does touch on some dark subject matter so it’s not for everyone. But I didn’t find it too disturbing where it stopped me from wanting to read on.

Lots of twists and turns, some of which were predictable but others I didn’t see coming. This is the perfect book to get out of a reading slump.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was DYNAMITE! What an amazing story with superb plot points and dynamic characterizations. I mean.... it blew me away. Not just the story, which was amazing but the writing.... the writing! Very, very clever! This is why Sally Hepworth is an auto-buy author for me!

Sally Hempworth is always an author who always holds my attention with her gripping story writing. Told from past and present timelines set in Australia it's a story about a bond between Jessica, Alicia, and Norah where they were raised in the foster care system all 3 girls find themselves together under the care of Miss. Fairchild.
A gripping suspenseful read that is sure to keep you guessing. I'd rate this one a solid 3.5 stars so I rounded up to a 4 star rating.

3.5 Solid thriller that kept me guessing. Great character development and written so well that I could easily differentiate between the girls. I have a tendency to get Sally Hepworth, Liane Moriarty and Rachel Hawkins books mixed up, so it’s great for fans of those books.
The story laid out very well, going between past and present as three precious foster girls who grew up in the same foster home find out a body was found under the house they grew up in. Compelling thriller.

This was a wonderful psychological thriller. I really did not know how the story would end, there were so many twists. The characters were written very well, their stories heart wrenching, and I was rooting for justice for all of them. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Darling Girls focuses on three foster “sisters”, who grew up together for a couple of years at Wild Meadows foster home in Port Agatha. They are all grown and living their not so best lives, when they each receive a phone call 25 years later from a detective about the discovery of human bones on the site of Meadows Hill. Ms. Fairchild's scenes seemed monotonous and drug things out.

The book starts with the demolition of a foster home and we meet the 3 sisters who once lived there. Going back and forth present and past we learn about the traumas endured by Jessica, Alicia and Norah from their own points of view. Each character is strong in her own way. The mental abuse they were subjected to make it difficult to understand how they were able to cope and rise above. The mysteries of what happened, what has been discovered and who is telling their stories to the psychologists keeps you on the edge. I enjoyed the book and loved each chapter following up with the girls at the end. But that last chapter, I didn’t see coming at all. Talk about jaw dropping.
4/5 stars easily!

Another hit for Sally Hepworth! I thouroughly enjoyed Darling Girls and kept turning the pages one right after the other to find out what really happened at Wild Meadows. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah grew up together under the care of Miss Fairchild. As adults, they have struggles but they have each other too. One day, they are contacted because human bones were found under the home they grew up in and us readers are left wondering whose bones they really are. I never felt like I truly had it all figured out and even up to the end, I was thrown off. Great thriller! Perfect for summer reading.

I’ve only read two other books by Sally Hepworth but Darling Girl is my favorite of hers so far.

The previous books I read were domestic thrillers so I thought this would be similar but Darling Girl dealt me with some very heavy and dark issues in foster homes.

I like the friendship/sisterhood of the girls in foster care, and really enjoyed the pace of the book and how the story progressed and unfolded.

Probably one of my fav thrillers I read this year!

4.3 ⭐️

I love a Sally Hepworth book. She's a masterful writer! Though I'll say this one wasn't my favorite of hers, I did find it to be her typical style: propulsive, intriguing, and surprisingly insightful. Sally knows how to weave humanity and depth into domestic suspense.

3.5 stars rounded up! This was an interesting story, but definitely check the trigger warnings before you read it. It keeps you reading, but I got so confused between all of the main characters!

Sally Hepworth has done it again! It is hard to write a review on this without giving away the book but it was twist after twist, and the ending.. whew.

There were times it did get a bit predictable and outrageous, but overall it was an amazing thriller. I enjoyed this one more than The Soulmate, and that was a good book.

This book does speak on child abuse and sexual assault, so if you're a sensitive reader this may not be the book for you.

Phew, child, what a book! Very dark but yet not dark? Definitely an issue that needs more attention on in reality. Let's jump in on the book:

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are end up in the same foster home under the care of Miss Fairchild. What could go wrong living on a beautiful farm estate? Once they’ve grown up and have been living their own lives, they are informed that a body has been found underneath their foster home. This is when the story is told from past and present timelines; their not so happy childhood and the present investigation.

Hepworth did an amazing job with the character development from a youth and adult perspectives. I can't begin to understand the traumatic experiences children face in foster care. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia all had different issues and different paths. Hepworth even did this with Miss Fairchild.

Although the subject matter is dark, I don't think it took away from me enjoying it. This is a highly driven character thriller. It will definitely hold your interest and leave a mark.

Well done, Sally!