This is a story of found family and sisterhood. It follows three foster children who created a family for themselves based on what they had to endure as children and what happens when secrets from their past come to light.

I really enjoyed this book from one of my favorite authors. It was fast paced, entertaining and had great twists.

This was my first novel by Sally Hepworth. Darling Girls follows three main characters; Alicia, Norah and Jessica. All these girls were in the foster care system and lived in a
foster home, which only strengthened the girls bond, and they’re like sisters. I loved getting to know the sisters, their backstory and their bond.

Darling Girls is told in past and present timeline and the girls are forced to return to their past when an investigation happens.

If you like books about found family, and secrets, check this out, as Darling Girls is full of witty banter and suspense.

I love Sally Hepworth but this one didn't quite hit for me. There are some triggers such as child abuse and child sex abuse. Three young girls are in foster care with the same abusive care giver, Miss Fairchild. They end up bonding and become sisters for life. They had such closeness and tight bonds with the three girls. They were severely damaged deeply. And Miss Fairchild's cruelty was depicted vividly, with unfair punishments and abuse. Some hard to follow. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Darling Girls follows three foster sisters in their adult lives and their past lives, living together in what many considered an idyliic farmhouse with a doting foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. Each girl has been told they are just so lucky to be there, to be with her, to be together. Behind closed doors, things are not what they seem, as money is supposedly so tight and cleaning chores take nearly the entire day. The girls find camraderie, both in the house and at home, despite their differences, and band together as new babies enter the home as well. As adults, while all are fairly well adjusted, there are obvious signs of their former time in the foster system at play. Jessica is very controlled, Alicia helps foster kids but sees herself unable to have a relationship or to be maternal, and Norah is violently protecting herself from, well, everything. As human remains are found at the former foster home, the three sisters are taken back to the place where their sisterhood began.

Told through four perspectives, the three sisters and an unknown fourth, Darling Girls is a twisted tale of the past and the future it has greatly shaped. The three main characters are deeply flawed from their time as foster children with Mrs. Fairchild, but their sisterly connection is truly beautiful to read. While they each hold secrets, it's interesting to watch as they revisit their past together, lean on one another, and slowly reveal, or have revealed, their secrets to one another. They join together as one, holding one another up always, and revisit the painful memories. I could not have guessed this one initially, though I figured it out by the end, as it is just so twisty. Sally Hepworth really brought this one to life and takes readers are a tangled journey.

I didn’t see the end coming with this one. I couldn’t put it down. A dark and twisted story, I enjoyed the multiple POVs and alternating timelines. This is probably one of my fave Sally Hepworth novels to date!

didn't love the last book I read by Hepworth, so I was slightly hesitant about starting Darling Girls. Luckily, this novel turned out to be my favorite of her books. Everything worked in the book: the characters, the pacing, the tension, and the resolution. Character development was well done, I enjoyed reading the two different timelines that delved into the lives of the three main characters as girls in foster care and as adults. Some of the abuse parts were hard to read, so take the trigger warnings to heart. The last third was unputdownable and I loved how the story wrapped up.

I loved The Mother in Law from this author so I was very excited for this one and I loved this one too! It feels more like life with a mystery than thriller, but based on her other book, that wasn't too surprising. I don't know if refreshing is the right word for it since it's about a horrible foster mom, but it was refreshing as far as thriller/mystery story lines go.

Thank you @stmartinspress press and @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was my first Sally Hepworth book and it didn’t disappoint. A farmhouse in the country and a nice woman who wants to foster children, what could go wrong? This story was creepy and disturbing. I liked the 3 different storylines of the 3 sisters and how the story switched back and forth between the past and present day. I had suspicions about all of the characters throughout the book and was constantly guessing new theories. The ending! Oh dang! Didn’t see that coming! I was sold on another narrative.

This book was so interesting and suspenseful. I enjoy psychological thrillers and I can't wait to read more from Sally; this book hooked me!

This one was ok for me, I typically enjoy books from this author and will continue to look forward to more books from her in the future.

Darling Girls is a unique story that unfolds in both flash backs and present time weaving together the lives of three foster children sent to live with Miss Fairchild on her farm estate.

The three girls couldn’t be more different but build an inseparable bond through the unfortunate circumstances and terrible treatment they endure at Miss Fairchilds hand.

When human bones are found buried under the old farmhouse the girls travel back to Port Agatha to the land where Wild Meadows once stood to be interviewed and participate in the investigation.

This book took me a while to get into, which is not normal for Sally Hepworth books but I’m glad I stuck to it. The twists revealed were thrilling and I definitely didn’t see them coming.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sally Hepworth has been a favorite writer (and Instagram follow) of mine for several years now — she does a really great job of exploring deep issues (in this case, child abuse and mental health) through a psychological thriller plot. This book was quite dark and definitely has some trigger warnings, but I didn’t see the twists coming which is always a good sign!! It isn’t my favorite SH book (I think that would be The Mother in Law), but it was a good, quick listen!

The lies and twists in this one will have me thinking for a while! This would be a great beach read!

What a great dark story that proves that family is more than blood. It the experiences that tie you together.

Read this awhile ago and seems like my review didn’t save for some reason. Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

A psychological thriller about found family/sisters who are each as intriguing as the unreliable narrators. Recommend!

★★★★☆

sally hepworth has a way of wrapping her fingers around your heart and squeezing—slowly, methodically, until you don’t realize how deep you’ve sunk into her story until it’s too late. darling girls is unsettling in all the right ways, a psychological thriller laced with raw emotion, complicated sisterhood, and the echoes of childhood wounds that refuse to fade.

this book thrives on its characters. jess, norah, and alicia are the kind of women you want to reach through the pages for—to protect, to warn, to shake by the shoulders. their bond is fierce and fragile all at once, shaped by a past that still grips them in ways they can’t quite escape. and then there’s miss fairchild—a villain so carefully drawn, so eerily composed, that she lingers in your mind long after the book is closed.

the pacing is sharp, the tension relentless. hepworth balances past and present masterfully, feeding you just enough to keep your pulse quickened but never giving away too much too soon. if anything, i wished for a little more in the final stretch—more emotional gut punches, more space to sit in the aftermath of the unraveling. but even so, darling girls is a darkly gripping, compulsive read that lingers beneath the skin.

Sally Hepworth has done it again with Darling Girls, a gripping and emotional thriller that had me hooked from page one! This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions—heartbreaking and tragic at times, yet sprinkled with moments that had me laughing out loud. The balance between darkness and humor made for an unforgettable reading experience.

One of the things I loved most was how the story portrayed each girl’s experience in foster care. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia may have grown up in the same home, but their trauma shaped them in different ways, making each of their perspectives unique and compelling. Hepworth masterfully explores the lasting effects of their past while keeping the suspense high as the sisters find themselves entangled in a murder investigation.

Despite everything they endured, the bond between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia was unbreakable, and I absolutely loved that aspect of the story. Their loyalty and love for one another added so much depth to the novel, making it about more than just mystery—it was also about survival, resilience, and sisterhood.

If you love psychological thrillers with heart, Darling Girls is a must-read. It’s emotional, suspenseful, and utterly captivating. I couldn’t put it down!

This was a gripping, emotionally charged thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters are complex, the pacing is tight, and the suspense builds masterfully. Hepworth’s writing is sharp and immersive, balancing psychological depth with jaw-dropping twists. A must-read for thriller lovers who enjoy dark family secrets and unpredictable endings!

A++ thriller! It was exciting, different and kept me guessing the entire time. I love books where I can't figure out the ending and this was definitely one. Highly recommend!