Throughly enjoyed this one! It was fast paced and I didn't see the ending coming. This may be the best book Sally Hepworth has in my opinion. The way the characters are built up and the pacing of the story really makes it an incredible page-turning thriller. Highly recommend for anyone who wants a fast paced mystery.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Darling Girls follows three former foster children who are called back to the town they became sisters in after bones are found underneath their former house. The plot unfolds using some of my favorite writing styles: multiple POVs and timelines. Hepworth's writing was compelling, and I found myself flipping through the pages, wanting to know what happened to the girls as they grew up in an abusive home and what happened to the person whose bones were found. Short chapters coupled with POV changes and interrupted by mysterious therapy sessions made this a quick and enthralling read.
And then it was over.
And I had to think to myself: is that it?
While I enjoyed reading this book, it felt like not much actually happened, and then the book concluded with a shocking twist (that wasn't all that shocking). It seemed like Hepworth wanted to throw in a last-second reveal to make this more thrilling (it is a thriller, after all), but it missed the mark for me.
I enjoyed Darling Girls but wish there had been a little more to it.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I'm going to be honest with you, this book took me forever to read. One, because I've been busy. But also because it's so slow. Just enough happened to keep you engaged. But around the 60% mark things go wild and I am so happy I didn't give up on this one!
It's been sitting in my ARCs for a while thanks to Netgalley! And when it was a BOTM pick I ordered it and began reading. Cause I'm backward in my ways lmao.

The biggest trigger in this book is vulnerable children and the death of a young child - not played out on the page.
The book is ultimately a dark and gripping tale of how 3 girls came to be inseparable in life. When the three foster children were placed with a manipulative Miss Fairchild, the children's lives became unbearable. The rest is for you to find out. 🐍

The ending was full of fantastic twists. And I was all yo happy I stuck with it despite being slow to start. It was all informative, and I'd need it later on. No, I didn't skim. I felt the literature would be important 👌

If you're a fan of physiological thrillers, I would get a start on this one... now! No seriously... go on, GiT! 😉

Another hit from Sally Hepworth! I love her short gripping chapters, twisty plots and interesting characters and their multi-faceted relationships. This one involves girls placed at a foster home that is not as idyllic as first thought. They bond together - as sisters and stay close - 25 years later, bones of a child are discovered under the house and they return to help with the investigation and hopefully get some answers and closure to the questions that haunt them to this day. I did not expect the twist at the end!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This book is available 4/23/24 - highly recommend! It is a page turner.

I should start out by saying that I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's books but this one has shot up to the number one spot. This story is dual time line as it follows 3 "sisters" throughout their time together in one particular foster home and then as adults when a body is found below the said foster home. It is gritty and dark but also sweet and tender as you see the love, loyalty, and fierce protection the sisters have over one another. There is tension as you read and while I started to piece together the mystery component, I never felt that I really knew how it was going to turn out. This is definitely more of a thriller than her past books and due to the content of abuse, you may need to proceed with slight more caution if you are more sensitive to that material.

Sally Hepworth always manages to write complete page turners. The anticipation of what's happening was very real in this one. This book follows three foster sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, who are pretty much forced to return to the town of their foster home when skeletal remains was found buried on the property of their former foster home. Not only was this book told in the 3 POV's of the sisters, but it was also dual timeline which I loved because we as readers get to experience the horrible times these sisters had under the care of their foster mother Miss Fairchild.

I'm a sucker for found family and it was so strong in this book. Although the sisters aren't biologically related, they have a strong bond, but it's to be expected after everything they've been through together. Even in the present timeline you get to witness how even as adults, they were still affected and had childhood trauma, from the time spent with Miss Fairchild. I thought this was such an interesting story and I didn't want to put the book down. I thought I knew the direction this book was going, but boy did Sally Hepworth had me fooled. That twist at the end was one I never expected.

Hepworth is an auto read author for me and her latest, Darling Girls, solidifies everything I love about her writing!! She writes the absolute best messed up mother/daughter thrillers! Alicia, Jessica, and Norah are sisters through the foster system and after being raised together by an abusive foster mother, they have maintained a tight bond. They are called back to the scene of their childhood when a body is found.

Domestic emotions + suspenseful vibes told in alternating timelines with multiple POV and short chapters made for a very quick binge that kept me guessing until the bitter end!
4.5⭐️

This was an engaging, dark thriller filled with lies, secrets and disturbing memories. As always, I love stories told in multiple POVs because it adds depth and complexity. Darling Girls alternates between three foster “sisters,” giving the reader a closer look into their twisted life at Wild Meadows and their transition to adulthood. The beginning had a bit of a slow start but it quickly picks up and draws you in. The past and present timelines worked perfectly to build anticipation and I also liked the chapters with Dr. Warren, the therapist- which added another layer. There were a few twists that I anticipated and a few that surprised me but the ending left me shocked! Overall, another great read by Hepworth!

Holy amazeballs amazing-ness! A masterful tale of domestic suspense, Darling Girls showed Sally Hepworth at her best yet again but somehow also a completely different way. With emotive characters and a finely layered plot, the story pulled me in from the mysterious start and didn’t let go until the infuriatingly perfect conclusion. I do have to say, though, that this novel was far more women’s fiction than mystery/thriller as compared to Hepworth’s prior books. Skillfully navigating the ramifications of emotional child abuse and a broken foster care system, the feeling of helplessness simply oozed from the pages.

That’s not to say, of course, that there weren’t plenty of shocking twists and uneasy suspense that kept me agog. There most definitely was. However, the dynamite characters were easily the biggest stars of the show. With distinct identities that were well-developed and relatable, they demonstrated Hepworth’s characteristic skill for creating somewhat unbalanced individuals. For this reason, Miss Fairchild was probably the biggest slam dunk of the bunch. The monster in the shadows, she was the much loved character you love to hate. Between them all, though, the deftly drawn character studies were simply divine.

With a dynamic round robin of dual timelines and multiple POVs, a setting that came alive and an ever escalating pace, this dark portrait of child abuse still managed to be delivered with care. And I don’t know what it is about Hepworth’s plots, but they always seem to keep me on the back foot throughout. This one was no different and even managed to deal out one heck of a twist in the finale. By the end, the addictive narrative cocktail expertly crafted a dark history that won me over hook, line and sinker. I’m ready whenever you are, Ms. Hepworth, for the next book in your arsenal! Rating of 5 stars.

Sally Hepworth tells a touching story of sisters that shows what family is and what happens to the most vulnerable people in our world. But these three sisters, brought together through their horrible experience in Foster care, prove to be the most important people in the world. Darling Girls describes every women in the story remembering their childhood. It’s sad and touching and ultimately hopeful.

As adults, Jessica, Norah and Alicia are as close as sisters. Jessica is a successful professional organizer. Norah, who is the smartest of the group, is paid to take other people's employment competency tests and deals with anger issues. Alicia is a gentle and kind social worker. The women refer to one another as sisters as they spent part of their childhoods living at Wild Meadows Farm with Miss Fairfield, their cruel foster mother. Years later, after Wild Meadows was sold, human remains were discovered under the house. The three friends had to return to Port Agatha, Australia to be questioned by the police and face their childhood trauma. With the timeline shifting from the present to their awful time under the abusive Miss Fairfield, their sad stories are revealed as the mystery of who is buried under Wild Meadows comes to light. Was it murder and if so, who is to blame?

Sally Hepworth is the type of writer whose mystery thrillers hook me right from the start. In Darling Girls, my heart broke as the horrible Miss Fairchild inflicted such pain on the three girls who were left in her charge. We learn from the onset that the three "sisters" broke free and survived even as internal scars remained but there is a lot we don't know. As the story progressed, it kept me guessing. I enjoyed the creative twists as I sat on the edge of my seat. What a ride!

4.25 stars.

Darling Girls was a good, quick read told from multiple viewpoints and timelines. I thought I had the situation figured out about 3/4 of the way through and the book kept me thinking that until the end when I realized I was wrong. Happens to the best of us, right?! The twist was good, but it wasn’t jaw dropping so this one gets a 4 stars from me. There are some trigger warnings so check those out ahead of time if need be because there are a few unsettling parts.

Sally Hepworth did it with this one! The alternating POVs, timeline, and shorter chapters made this book a quick read. The topics at hand were difficult but intriguing. This book is a good one if you like to read about found family, family drama, psychological issues, and mental health.

Sally Hepworth has done it again with another unputdownable psychological thriller. I was fully engrossed in this story from start to finish. The more I read, the more I wanted to uncover…even though I knew deep down it would become even more disturbing 😳. The dual POVs, alternate timelines, and meetings with the psychologist thrown in made the story that much more interesting. The twists were utter perfection throughout and in true Sally Hepworth fashion, the shocks occurred through the very last page. In addition, the ending was delivered in a perfectly wrapped bow 🎀.
Thriller lovers - run for this!

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for a #gifted eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth's thrillers are always heavy on the drama, so if you are looking for a book that will have you invested emotionally - you have found the one! It does everything a bingeable thriller should do: the prose is simple and easily digestible, characters are built well enough to make reader actually care about them, the plot is moving at decent pace and there is a somewhat satisfying twist at the end.

If you are a sensitive person, I suggest you check out trigger warnings prior to reading (the main one would be child abuse). Otherwise, dive right in and lose a couple of hours in this story without regret.

I wanted to read this book because I love stories about foster siblings and revenge, but I stayed because I fell in love with the characters.

I won’t claim to know anything about the foster system, being a foster child, or being a foster parent. I’ve only known one foster kid (that I can remember( in all my life, and I met her right after she’d aged out of the system. I live in America, so I don’t even know how similar the systems between here and Australia are, but I don’t imagine being a foster child in any country is something I could come close to understanding. That didn’t stop me from absolutely falling in love with Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, the three foster sisters at the center of this novel. It also didn’t stop me from loving to loathe their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, who for some reason reminds me of a slightly younger (and non-magical) Professor Umbridge in many ways. Miss Fairchild is a memorable and loathsome antagonist in this complex book.

The most prevalent themes in this book surround the trials of the foster system and how it can affect different children, depending on how they came to be in the foster system, the environment they lived in before the state had to take them in, how long they’ve been in the system, how many different homes they’ve been in, and what abuse they might have suffered during their time in the system. It gives what could’ve been another formulaic domestic thriller a really emotional base that caused me to really become invested in the outcome. I was really pulled in and willingly went along for the whole ride.

Well-paced with a great plot and cohesive storyline, I found I couldn’t put this one down.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Domestic Thriller/Murder Thriller/Psychological Fiction

I don't know what Sally Hepworth does when she writes her books, but after reading Darling Girls, I can confidently say that she's got a magic touch!
In Darling Girls, Sally Hepworth takes heavy topics like abuse, grief, and drug abuse, and finds a way to mold them into a story of found family, sisterly love, and overcoming past trauma in search of a fulfilling present and future.
This story focuses on the past and present of three female characters, all of which are written with unique personalities that find ways to endear them to the reader. These characters are flawed, frustrating, and can break the heart of the reader, allowing for depth and emotional connection to the story.
There is a mystery discussed throughout this story, but Hepworth has created such compelling characters, that the mystery doesn't need to take center stage. Don't get me wrong, the mystery is interesting and I desperately wanted to figure it out, but her characters really and truly shine, which I think says so much about Hepworth's talent.
I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy mystery/thriller, but also to those to a looking for well done characterization and character development.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors, so of course I wanted to read this latest one. I have to admit it was a little slow and at times a little confusing.
We see three children growing up in a foster home. A foster home that isn’t so great but the three girls become sisters trying to survive. .This bond is still with them as they get older and are confronted with the mystery of a child’s bones found on the very site they have lived.on. In lies the question of who is it and what happened back then.
Needless to say I did get drawn in and thought I knew what was to come. The author did develop the characters and clues to help but only if you realize what they mean. I was not ready for the ending to be what it was.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing with an advanced readers copy. I loved it !

I received a copy of this in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I don't read a lot of thriller / suspense books these days, but for some reason, this book caught my attention a lot the last few weeks.

I really did like the idea of the plot line here. 3 sisters who shared a rough foster home with a horrid, abusive foster mother. This and other things have obviously caused them to have extensive trauma.
They eventually find out that bones were found under that foster home. The rest of the story is based around that.

I liked that the story bounced between the past and present. For me, that really helps break up the story and help me stay engaged with longer books.

Overall, the book about a 3.5-ish for me. But I rated up to a four.

🌸Darling Girls🌸

Sally Hepworth has been an auto-read author for me for a few years now so I was absolutely ecstatic to get the chance to read an advanced copy of her latest, Darling Girls. I went into this one fairly blind which really works for me, but please note, this story handles some very difficult subject matter such as child abuse so please do look up the content warnings if you have any concerns. This one is a tough read.

With all that said, Darling Girls absolutely gripped me. My heart absolutely broke for Jessica, Norah and Alicia and what they went through in their foster home. Miss Fairchild would give a certain professor from a series about wizards that I don’t mention on here a run for her money. Damn. Through all that though, their sisterhood they developed was really such a beautiful part of the story in the midst of the horrors they were going through.

I loved that the story was told from each girl’s point of view in both the present and the past. It really was a great way to tell the story and had me trying to guess what would happen as the story twisted and turned.

I don’t often give thrillers 5 stars but damn did this one ever earn it. I am still thinking about it a week later. Definitely a difficult one but so impactful.

A huge thank you to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Darling Girls is out on April 23rd!

⭐5/5 stars⭐