Norah, Jessica and Alicia first met in the care of Miss Fairchild, a foster mother in a bucolic farmland setting after their families fell apart. Now still close as adults they know that the fairy tale had a dark underbelly. Miss Fairchild was not to be crossed...underneath the facade lurked a ruthless manipulative woman prone to sudden mood swings and malicious acts. When the home is sold and demolition uncovers the skeleton of a young girl the three return to answer the police's questions concerning their childhood. Are they helping with inquiries or are they suspects. Dreading facing the memories and the woman they detest they struggle to cope. Told from three points of view across two timelines this novel is compelling and evocative. The character development is spot on ...Norah, Jessica and Alicia are very different personalities with their individual quirks and fears but bound together by their shared past. The tension builds page by page and the culminating revelation is an unforseen twist. A poignant thought provoking read. Sally Hepworth has earned her place as a big name in the pysological thriller genre. An excellent read.

I have enjoyed Sally Hepworth's books throughout the years. However, Darling Girls was not the book for me.

First of all, look for the TW. The book covers subjects that are challenging to read, and I was quite uncomfortable reading a few parts of it.
The narrative structure of Darling Girls was good. It unfolds through the perspectives of three women, weaving past and present, with a twist involving a therapist, Dr. Warren, and his mysterious patient, whose identity is revealed at the end.

Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. I could not invest in any of the characters. However, I appreciated how Sally created these adult women's personalities based on their childhood experiences in the foster care system.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #St.Martin'sPress #DarlingGirls #SallyHepworth

Sally Hepworth has a way of drawing the reader into her novels. Fascinating characters, easy- flowing prose, and a simple- appearing plot that turns to be more than more complex than a first glance. So it is with “Darling Girls”.
Alicia, Norah and Jessica have one great thing in common: all were unwanted children put into foster care . Their care taker was a Miss Fairchild whose attitude toward those in her care brought to mind Mr. Bumble, the gruff, stingy Bailiff of the home for boys in “ David Copperfield”.( More! How dare you ask for more! )
At the opening of the book the three women , adults, are still very close friends , mainly because of the memories suffered as children in “ Mother” Fairchild’s hands. The past is brought to the forefront with news that a dead body of a child has been found buried near the home operated by that woman. The investigation will involve them all.
The story is told in chapters devoted to each of the girls/ women as they grew up and in the present. Although timelines shift, the author clearly indicates at the beginning of a chapter the time settings. As one reads, the events effect on the characters of the three orphans of the state( or provinces, however Australia calls their political sudivisions) become clearer.But the story of the identity of the bones buried in the field does not , not until the final, revealing chapters. I was surprised. I was thinking- well, never mind, I was fooled. My thanks to author Hepworth for leading me into another satisfyingly good novel.
And thanks to Net Galley for a this free digital edition of “ Darling Girls”.
Cautions : nothing objectionable. The story has strongly affecting moments of mistreatment of children. Note that I read an advance reader copy that did have a few flaws in typesetting and editing, probably not present in the finished product. Sure did not affect my appreciation of the book, though.

I had to give this Book 4 1/2 stars and the reason why it’s 4 1/2 and not five is I found abuse and food to be very triggering for me so much so that I had to stop after each chapter to read something else to help with my anxiety, but other than those few chapters I really enjoyed the book. I thought the plot was very well done I loved the character development and I did not guess the ending.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is the story of three women, Alicia, Jessica, and Norah who were all raised (at least for a period of time) by the same foster mother, Miss Fairchild. When bones are discovered under the home they shared with Miss Fairchild, the “sisters” are now either key witnesses or prime suspects to what happened. This book is my favorite Sally Hepworth book to date. I loved the back and forth of the story. I enjoyed reading about all three of the very messy “sisters.” But, I especially loved the final chapter of this book- the ending genuinely surprised me (which is not easy to do as I literally spend most of my time reading a book trying to figure out what the twist is) and solidified Hepworth as a must read author for me!

Sally Hepworth is an instant must read for me, I would read this woman's grocery lists. Anything she's published I immediately need to get my hands on. Obsessed.

Another great book by SH. It was a great storyline that kept me interested and surprised with the different twists! Highly recommend all of her books

Thank you Libro.fom / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of Darling Girls in exchange for my honest review.

It’s no secret I’m a HUGE fan of this author, having read almost all her books & enjoyed them immensely. I think this latest one not only is her darkest one yet, but is also my new favorite. It’s a complicated, complex story about sisters, a broken foster care system & a mystery that gets under your skin. There are characters you meet in this novel that you will either love or hate & those are some of best kinds, all so richly developed that you won’t be forgetting them any time soon. ⁣

This story will have you questioning everything and everyone and I could not have loved it more. There is a lot going on here than just the main plot – who the bones belong to. Each of the girls have their own thing going on and I loved getting that deep dive into their lives, yet at the same time, the focus is still on the central story. It’s nothing short of brilliance how the author is able to weave this multilayered, engaging story that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

This would be the perfect book to add to your summer reading list – it’s one heck of an addicting read that you are not going to want to put down once you start reading it!

This was SO good!!! Super super dark and unsettling, trigger warnings galore but what a great thriller…. I truly couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend.

Darling Girls jumps from present to past which each chapter giving us a bit more information about what happened in a foster home years ago. I enjoyed getting to know the characters both in present and past. While it started slow, I sped through the end of this one because I needed to know what happened.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for ARCs of the audiobook and book. I did not like putting this one down. I enjoyed how the story went back and forth between the past and present. I liked all the characters and how the ‘sisters’ were close. The end was unexpected, but good! I also enjoyed the narrator. I will be recommending another one by Sally Hepworth! Thank you again for the ARC!

👶🏼🍼 Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth Review 🍼👶🏼

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

💭 Thoughts:
This was an extremely dark slow burn thriller/mystery. Check TWs before you read it! With that said, the story primarily follows 3 foster children and their psychotic foster mother going back in time to tell their history after remains were found under their old foster home. Despite how dark the story was, I loved how Jessica, Alicia, and Norah persevered and stayed close throughout the years, as well as the found family that they found within each other. The ending was WILD, and I had a lot of guesses!! But I was taken aback for SURE! I recommend this one if you can stomach the TWs (primarily a lot of details of child abuse).

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Normally I can’t stomach books where cruelty to children occurs. But this one is so cleverly done I got caught up in the story and I forgot to be horrified. The twists and turns are amazing and by the end I was so surprised that I was surprised. Kudos to the author for a truly original story. Thank goodness it was a fiction book and not true crime.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

This was a 3-3.5 read for me and unfortunately my least favorite from Hepworth so far.

I don’t think this is a thriller. This was much more of a dark drama. I am literally the worst at guess any twists in thrillers but I had this fully figured out from the start. To me, there were no surprises in this. Even the end, which Hepworth is famous for, felt like “well duh.”

The writing was great, characters were good, per her usual. I’m just left disappointed.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is one I won't forget for a while. It was really good, centered around foster care and trauma with some mental health/sociopath pizzazz. I thoroughly enjoyed the psychological aspects of the cause and effect of trauma on kids and I think Hepworth was trying to make a point with one of the characters, that not all foster care situations are horrible, but lots are. Overall, it was a good mystery that kept me turning the pages, but the payoff was sort of cringy. Overall, I enjoyed it and I think a lot of others will too!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75


Jessica, Nora, and Alicia were brought up by Miss Fairchild, a loving foster mom. They were given a second chance after being rescued from their family tragedies.

But their childhood wasn't the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?


This started off really good. I was so intrigued by who the body was. I didn’t realize until towards the end, that one of the POVs, the office of Dr. Warren, Psychiatrist, we didn’t actually know who was talking to Dr. Warren. I thought it followed the same chapter that had just finished. I think because of the way it was set up in my eARC had me thinking that way. Well that changes everything…

At times it did drag on a bit. But holyyy, if reading about child abuse is a trigger for you I highly suggest approaching this with extreme caution. That ending…😐

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an eARC. Darling Girls is available now.

I enjoyed this fast-paced suspense novel! There were times in the beginning where I felt the story dragged a bit, but towards the middle to the end I was nose deep into the story and enjoyed the plot twists! While I can’t say I was over the moon after reading, I did like it and would recommend for a quick thriller read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Three foster sisters, one cruel foster mother and the quest to find the truth of bones unearthed beneath the foster home where they lived.

Sally did it again! I was so hooked by this story. Each of these women, the 3 foster sisters - Jessica, Norah and Alicia and their foster mother - Miss Fairchild, were fascinating characters. I loved that the story unfolded in both past and present timelines and via multiple point of views.

The book takes us through the dark effects of trauma and abuse but also shines a light on found family and sisterhood. It was haunting, engrossing and absolutely gripping. I felt so much for the girls and everything they went through.

Highly recommend this one! It is up there with The Good Sister for me which is my fave by Sally.

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ALC/ARC!

🔹 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🔹
This was my first read of Sally Hepworth, and it did not disappoint! I didn’t expect this psychological thriller to be so character driven, where I’d get invested into the well being of the three main children.

This story is set in Australia, where three children - Jessica, Norah, and Alicia - go to live at Wild Meadows home with their foster mother Miss Fairchild. The children aren’t sisters by birth, they each come from a different background that brings a unique backstory to each of their personalities.

Each girl learns that there is more to Miss Fairchild than meets the eye. They have to learn to navigate her wild temper, her manipulative personality, and her spontaneous whims.

You root for the girls as you hear their story past and present. They each thought they’d never go back to where they grew up, but a gruesome discovery of a body buried beneath their childhood home draws them back to the area, where they have to face their past and demons.

The ending of this book left me like 🤯. It’s such a sinister plot, and it isn’t a far fetched one at that. It’s rooted in truth and could easily be anyone’s story. There are twists and turns, and slow revelations as the story unfolds, and Hepworth reveals things in such a manner as to leave you hanging on for more at each turn. The past and present timelines were interwoven perfectly, revealing past stories that had to do with the present at the right time.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🔹 Psychological Thriller
🔹 Dual Timelines
🔹 Foster Children/Mother Dynamics
🔹 Character Driven Story

Dark, twisty, moving, this is a well told psychological thriller. Sally Hepworth created characters and a story that was completely plausible. The trauma the main characters went through, the foster care system, those parts were sad and hard to read. She has great storytelling ability that kept me reading even when the subject got difficult. Check the trigger warnings before picking this one up! Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.