I was riveted by the intricate story that Sally Hepworth created in "Darling Girls". This story of three foster sisters who delve back into their past is both riveting and disturbing at the same time. Without giving away any secrets, all I can say is that when you start a novel by Sally Hepworth you had better be ready for a wild ride!!!!

Alicia, Jessica, and Norah grew up together at Miss Fairchild's foster home. To the outside world, everything seemed perfect but there were some dark secrets within those walls. Years later, the three are called back to the place of their darkest moments because a body has been discovered in the home. The secrets they have kept all these years are about to come to light. Can they keep their present lives in tact while their past unravels?

This book is so well written. The twists and turns are perfection and the power of sisterhood and chosen family is everything I wanted out of this book. The character development is just the right amount. And that ending is a jaw dropper!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Darling Girls.

This was another 5 star read from Sally Hepworth you won't want to miss! I was engaged throughout the entire 350+ page book and wasn't bored once, which is a feat. There are some triggers of child abuse and assault of a minor that the reader should be aware of, but none of them are graphic and overly upsetting. Alternating different POV and past and present time periods, the reader is given bits and pieces of the puzzle until it all fits together into one picture perfect ending.

Jessica, Alicia, and Norah were all fostered by Miss Fairchild and still carry the emotional scars from it. 25 years later, they are all brought back to Wild Meadows, their foster home, because bones have been discovered below the abandoned house. As a result, the women must face the trauma from their past to uncover what really happened in that seemingly perfect foster home.

Invigorating and Memorable, this is a Perfectly-plotted story.

Sally Hepworth does it again! If you are a fan of her books, you will not be disappointed in this new one. It will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time and you will find it hard to put this one down once you start it. Do yourself a favor and get this book!!

This book HOOKED me from the start - I was so intrigued by the characters and their story lines throughout the novel. The big twist at the end was so unexpected but I wish that would have been explored more!

Another stellar book from this author! This one was suspenseful from beginning to end. This is a psychological thriller that employs the use of two timelines which is a writing technique I enjoy. The three main characters were once foster children under the care of Miss Fairchild. When bones are found where they all previously lived it is a mystery as to their identity. As all the women return to help the police investigation more secrets and twists are revealed. The plot moves along at a good pace and it definitely kept me engaged. Pick this one up for a great summer read.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

I’ve only recently started reading Sally Hepworth’s books and I’m very glad I have. Also good picks, keeping me wanting to turn the page to know what is going to happen next, and then the twist. In Darling Girls, Miss Fairchild is the foster mother and you learn more about what it’s like living with her from the perspective of three former foster children, Alicia, Norah, and Jessica. But then a body turns up when Wild Meadows, the foster home, is torn down. There are so many unanswered questions and “stories” that may or may not be truths. And just when you think you know who is evil and whose side everyone is on, you may be surprised…and let’s not forget, maybe there were more foster kids than what everyone knew about. Such a good book!!

Wow! This one really had me turning pages! Loved the multiple POV. I can’t believe the things these poor girls had to endure during their time in foster care. But what really had me wanting more was the mystery of Amy! I highly recommend this book!

As someone who cannot read books with triggers of abuse happening to children/babies, I still was able to read this. Sally writes in a way where her thrillers are more than just thrillers. There’s always a deeper message in them, even while you’re entertained/terrified for where things are leading up to. I hope this book was hard for her to write at times, because it was heartbreaking to read, but the girls coming together through their trauma was my favorite part of it! I loved the sisterhood theme, and the last chapter had me choking on my popcorn, quite literally. Sally snuck a little terror in this one, and I couldn’t put it down. 👀

Hepworth has become an auto-buy author for me, regardless of the synopsis of her novel. I know I'm going to enjoy it, and this isn't any different.

Darling Girls is about three foster sisters who are called back to the town where they lived with their abusive foster mother because bones were discovered after the house was torn down. Alicia, Jessica, and Norah have POVs that shift between the present and the past, and there are additional pieces of the story that are someone's interview with a psychologist. As the story develops, the reader gets the answer to the mystery of the bones, but we also get a look into the experiences of the three girls and how those have formed them into the women they are now.

This book has some very heavy themes. Fostering, abuse, addiction, violence, and a child murder. Parts of it were hard to read because of that, but Hepworth handles these things in a way that didn't make me feel completely depressed. I cared about these three characters and what had happened to them, and I wanted the future to work out for them. This book is very character-driven and not a surface level thriller, which is something I love about Hepworth's books.

If you're already a fan of this author or a thriller fan, I recommend this one!

A great slow burn mystery!
This did not feel like a thriller to me-until probably the last chapter. Slow burn, getting to know the characters and the history of what happened.
I liked!

Thank you net galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Darling Girls was a wonderful read, very intriguing and a book I couldn't put down. Sally Hepworth just does not miss, and you won't miss either if you read it. Perfect to read during the summer.

Wow! Darling Girls was such a good read and probably my favourite novel from Sally Hepworth. I think readers should be aware that this isn't exactly a thriller, but more of a dramatic mystery. It was quite dark and had themes of abuse and neglect throughout. I was immediately intrigued with the story and kept on the edge of my seat the whole time while reading! Five big stars!

It followed three young girls who were each rescued from very different family tragedies and raised by a foster mother, Miss Fairchild. What they thought would be a chance at a happy life, in fact turned out to be anything but. And years later, when a body was found beneath the home they grew up in, the foster sisters found themselves back on the scene. But were they witnesses or suspects?

I loved the mystery here and the way the story came together. There were some great twists throughout, right up until the last few pages! I loved the way the story went back and forth between past and present and was also told from each girls point of view. This is a very binge worthy read that was quite chilling and creepy. Loved everything about it and highly recommend adding it to your shelf!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house, and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for review, based upon my honest opinion.

This was a great read, I saw lots of people enjoying this read and couldn’t wait to get an opportunity to read it and it did not disappoint.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah are sisters; not sisters by birth But sisters by choice due to a shared traumatic history. The three girls grew up in a foster home that was not exactly kind to them. These three women, as adults, have different struggles in their lives, but have remained sisters at heart. When they each get a visit from a police officer who advises that a body was found under the home that they had been fostered in, they are all shocked and head back to that town for the investigation. Who was the body under the house, who put the person there, and were one or all of these girls guilty of a crime or was their evil step foster mother guilty?

This is a great read with lots of twists, and I loved the ending. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

3.5

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Although I anticipated many of the reveals, the multiple points of view shifting between past and present was an engaging way to tell the story. I was most invested in learning about the three sisters—a found family—and their relationships. The ending felt somewhat contrived; I think the ending can be the hardest part to write convincingly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters-foster sisters to be exact- who would do anything for each other. The three women share a bond from the trauma they experienced at the farm estate they stayed at with Miss Fairchild. From the outside, Miss Fairchild seemed like the perfect foster parent, but only the girls she stayed with knew what happened when you would make her upset.

As adults, the women try hard to keep their hard upbringing out of their minds- something that becomes impossible when a detective reaches out to them to tell them that their old foster home has been demolished, and that bones of a young child have been discovered beneath the house. The three are called back to their old town for the investigation, but they have just as many questions as the investigators do, and not many answers. To top things off, suspicion is being thrown at one of the sisters, prompting fear that they will be blamed for something terrible.

This book instantly grabbed my attention and I couldn’t stop reading it. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to the girls, and was so curious about Miss Fairchild and her life. Although this is more of a slow burn mystery/thriller, I recommend this to anyone who enjoys those genres. This book definitely kept me guessing!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for letting me read DARLING GIRLS. This one is out now!

I gobbled this book up in less than two days and if my pesky life didn't get in the way I would have loved to have devoured it in one sitting. I loved the relationships and characters in this book. The atmosphere was so well explained and I really felt like I was there. I highly recommend this one as well as all of Sally Hepworth's books. She's definitely on my auto read list.

Darling Girls is the story of three sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia and their upbringing at Wild Meadows. Bones are unearthed at the house they grew up in but whose are they? Did the girls have anything to do with it? What about Miss Fairchild? The short, fast paced chapters kept me interested and I read it quickly. When I thought I had things figured out, there was another twist. Another great read by Sally Hepworth.

Title: Darling Girls
By: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Red Flags:
Physical and Sexual Abuse of Children, Domestic violence, Foster care, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Childhood trauma

Memorable Quotes:
“Is there anything you are good at? " a little voice said. Not cleaning. Not sport. Not studies. You're not the most attractive, the most talented or the most helpful. What, exactly, is the point of you?”

“If you were lucky, it implied that your good fortune hadn't been earned. You couldn't question it, or take it for granted. You had to be grateful. Because what had been given to you could just as easily be taken away.”

Summary:
Holly Fairchild has a desire to foster children. Jessica, age 5, is the first of the foster girls. She is seeking love and attention, and relishes in the possibility of having a real mother who loves her…until Holly fosters Norah. Norah, age 11, has been in the foster program for years. She is smart, determined, and knows how the system works, unlike Jessica. Then Alicia, age 12, enters the picture, the third foster sister, who only needs temporary living. She is sheltered, quiet and shy. She has a strong desire to return home. How will Jessica deal with sharing Mrs. Fairchild? Is Norah willing to share her past experiences for the benefit of her sisters? Will Alicia break down her walls and unify with her sisters? A Psychological thriller at its finest with so many unpredictable twists.

Review:
The novel is a dark read, told through four different characters point of views. Personally, some of the content at times is too much, and feels very real to the reader. I am slightly more sensitive due to working with children who have been through the foster care system. A system which is negatively portrayed in this novel, as it is for some children in it. The storyline is very well written. The main characters go down a very dark path, filled with constant twists and turns, an unpredictable thriller at its finest, literally until the last chapter. I felt like the alternative voice added an extra element of suspense, as the reader tried to figure out who the person with the therapist might be. I didn’t feel like this book was Sally Hepworth's best novel, but it was still unpredictable, and worth the read for someone who is prepared for this type of novel! I recommend this novel!

Thank you to Sally Hepworth, St. Martin’s Press,, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#DarlingGirls
#SallyHepworth
#Stmartinspress
#netgalley
#advancedreadereditions

Every Hepworth book I have read makes me feel like I am right in the middle of a twisty tv series. Her characters are layered and complex and her writing has you compulsively turning pages until you can peel apart the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple point of views, the look into life in a foster home and her knack for a great psychological thriller conclusion. Can't wait to read more from her!