By far my favorite Sally Hepworth book, but also her “darkest” with disturbing parts and topics.
I didn’t want to stop reading & needed to know what happened next!
I loved the dynamic between the sisters & their bond to one another.
I did predict some of the twists, but it was still unputdownable for me.
And the last chapter!!!!!

4 out of 5 stars!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been tied together for life. They may not be biological sisters, but they consider themselves no less than family. All of them had been rescued from family tragedies and raised by the same foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They had been told how lucky they were, living with a loving mother and living on a farming estate. But, they were something other than lucky. Miss Fairchild wasn’t the loving, caring foster mom everyone thought she was. She had rules and was often unpredictable.

One day, the girls broke free from Miss Fairchild and never looked back. Even though the girls haven’t seen her since that day, they always feel like she’s in their shadows. But when a body is discovered underneath the house they once grew up in, they put their lives on hold and go to the town they never wanted to be in again to help with the investigation. Who does the body belong to? And why is everyone looking at them as prime suspects?

Wow! Sally Hepworth does it again with her newest novel, “Darling Girls”. This book was an easy and fast read that had me intrigued throughout the entire novel. The novel goes back and forth between all 3 characters; Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. And it goes back and forth from the present to the past. Which made the novel have a lot of layers and complexity to it.

I LOVED the main characters and the feminist energy they bring to the story. They all had intriguing stories about why they were brought to Miss Fairchild and their experiences with her. I loved their family dynamic and how they protected each other until the very end. The rest of the characters were also intriguing and had a lot of backstories I enjoyed. They all played their part very well and made the novel even better, in my opinion.

Ok, so I did figure out some of the twists coming. Because of that, I rated it down to a 4 out of 5. I feel like there were a lot of hints leading up to the ending, so it made it easier to figure it out. Maybe this was on purpose, or maybe I just picked up on that stuff. I don’t know, but I did still enjoy the mystery and figuring out other details.

The ending was also very positive, which I love in any mystery I read. It tied together very nicely and made the overall story even better. Also, when you pick up this book please read the author’s note. It made me love Sally Hepworth even more, even though I didn’t even think it was possible!

Pick up a copy of "Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth on April 23rd, 2024!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sally Hepworth, and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth’s latest standalone, Darling Girls, explores what it means to be a foster child put in a very bad situation. Three foster sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in an idyllic looking farmhouse in rural Australia, with the kindly seeming Miss Fairchild. However, Miss Fairchild is manipulative and overbearing, causing her “daughters” to never want to see her again when they finally escape her questionable care. All three have gone have become adults with issues stemming from their often confusing, unpleasant upbringing. But all three have also come out as very close sisters. Family.

The trio had planned to never return to their childhood home. However, when a body is found beneath the farmhouse when it’s torn down, they are politely invited back by the police. Each sister is very aware that foster kids get blamed in situations like these, but they are most worried that the finger will be pointed at Norah. She was always the most volatile, having spent time in the most terrible foster homes. Both Alicia and Jessica know Norah was also the most fiercely protective of them, too.

Alicia and Jessica are not without their issues themselves, of course. Alicia has become a social worker, helping kids like herself and struggling to form meaningful attachments. Meanwhile, Jessica is married but terribly distant from her husband and most everyone in her life. Constantly anxious, Jessica’s ordered life is slowly spiraling out of control, and she seems increasingly prepared to let it. Though returning to where they grew up is difficult, it might just help all of them get some closure.

Darling Girls has the kind of twists that keep you reading but still stays believable. This is a nearly all female, well developed cast that was overall a joy to spend time with. Miss Fairchild will also definitely keep readers engaged, because it’s truly hard to know what she will do next. I raced through this one, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller.

When a Sally Hepworth novel comes out its a auto read! I've been lucky enough to get arcs to read her asap!


Holly Fairchild
The foster mother to the outside she's fantastic. To her foster children shes....


Jessica, Norah, Alicia
Jessica was the 1st and things seem alright in the beginning and then you realize miss Fairchild is using the fact Jessica wants to be loved against her. Then when money gets tight she brings in another child a few years later enter Norah who's had a lot of bad run ins at other foster families. Then Alicia is supposed to be a short term foster why she waits for her grandmother to get out of the hospital. The 3 girls become a trio and look out for each other.

They stay together long after they got out of Miss Fairchild's care and are true sisters. They try to put the past behind them until they get called from the police about bones found under the house and they are pulled back into there past lives and have to relive there childhood.

Now they have to stick together to understand the past and what all went wrong.


I received an E-ARC/Audio Arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Darling Girls tells the story of 3 women who grew up in the same foster home. Each brings their unique trauma experience to the home. They are contacted by a detective investigating a disturbing discovery at the old foster home. The women travel back to be interviewed and have to face their past and secrets they'd rather keep buried.

The book is told through dual timelines. Hepworth is an expert at leaving breadcrumbs as we uncover the mystery. She's one of the best current day thriller writers.

Darling Girls (out this Tuesday, 4/23/24!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Sally Hepworth is an auto-read for me since “The Mother-in-Law” and “The Good Sister” a few years back, and so I always look forward to her newest releases.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters in all but blood, growing up together in the foster care system under the care of Miss Fairchild. While all seemed perfect on the surface, Miss Fairchild was unpredictable (to say the least), and each girl had their own issues to overcome. When a body is found underneath their foster home decades later, the sisters are thrust back into the past. Are they the key witnesses or are they the suspects?

In true Hepworth style, readers get short multiple POV chapters that keep you wanting to turn the page, several unexpected twists, and a wild-til-the-last-page-ending. These are the reasons I’ll keep picking up her books each year!

The one piece of this book that I couldn’t quite get over though was how laissez-faire the ancillary adults in past chapters were; no spoilers here, but I found it hard to believe some of the behavior in the house was left unchecked for so long. I found this continued into present day with the police (why are all the suspects hanging out in a bar during the middle of an intense investigation?). These things left me scratching my head the entiiiire time I was reading.

Gripes aside, I really liked the stylistic element of a first-person unknown narrator talking to their therapist in between POVs. Trying to guess who this person was kept me on my toes, and per usual, I sped through this book. It is probably #4 on my list of her books after MIL, GS, & “The Soulmate”, but I do recommend this if you’ve been a fan of her in the past!! Thank you to @netgalley for the early copy to review 🩵

Sally coming in clutch with another banger thriller. I was so enthralled with the book the whole way through. I enjoyed the past and present timelines as well as the storylines for each of the three main characters. There are definitely tough topics/visuals taking place that ultimately added to the story. This was an all around great thriller and so interesting reading from a social workers perspective (myself). There are really stories or manipulation and abuse like this everyday is I’m glad this book brought light to that in a round about way.

OMG this is a crazy, addictive, insanely amazing book!!!!!!! Wow I started reading this book & 3 hrs later am in shock by what I read. This book pulls you in from the first page and next thing you know you've spent hrs reading this book and you loved every second of it!!!

Sally Hepworth presents another extremely well crafted mystery, with intricately plotted reveals and an engaging story. There was nothing gasp-enducing, no shocking twist that catches readers offguard, but there is certainly enough to keep up a desire to turn pages.

The multiple POVs work very well to carry the story forward and, more importantly, are necessary to illustrate the difference between the three sisters, particularly in how they process trauma. The fourth POV, Holly Fairchild, their abusive foster mother, supplies her own narrative of childhood abuse. The POVs are tied together across the past and present, culminating in a reveal that is satisfying, if not explosive.

Readers who are sensitive to depictions of child abuse (including CSA) should exercise caution.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

From the first page to the last, this book had me shook! And may I just take a moment of appreciation for that last chapter?! 👀

Since getting back into reading, I’ve learned a lot about my tastes and preferences when it comes to subgenres. I tend to have a tougher time staying invested in domestic or suburban thrillers because frankly, I often don’t find them all that… well… thrilling 😬 I’ve finally read a few this year that I have loved, and this one makes another phenomenal addition to the list!

Hepworth’s writing style sucked me right in. Between the multiple timelines and points of view, there was always something new tugging at me for attention and keeping me on the edge of my seat. I was equally invested in all the POVs.

The three foster care sisters are bonded by their traumatic and abusive pasts with their foster monster Miss Fairchild 😤 As adults, those lingering trauma responses have manifested in different ways. Jessica is a people-pleaser with a pill popping problem, Norah has rage and anger management issues, and Alicia has a really hard time accepting love and expressing emotions. I felt for them all in different ways, especially as more details from their pasts are revealed.

The themes of found family and sisterhood amidst everything they endured were a highlight for me beyond the shocking twists in this thriller. And while there are a fair amount of big surprises, it takes awhile to get there. The pacing worked well for me right up until the last 10% where it felt a little thrown together in anticipation of a larger finale. But wow. What a finale it was 🤯 I saw it coming and it still took me by surprise!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, I received this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review, but I am absolutely going to have to pick up a physical copy for my library! If you’re looking for a summer thriller to add to your TBR, highly recommend giving this one a read. 4.5 Stars

Sally Hepworth is a must read author for me. I found this story so compelling and couldn’t want to keep reading to see what happened. I loved the bond between the sisters and felt so anxious when I was reading what happened to them as children. Great ending and twist.

What a great read. I figured out the twists pretty early which usually makes me enjoy a book less, but I still loved this one. The characters are all so different and even though there are a lot of characters, they were easy to keep track of even with the flash backs. This book broke my heart in ways and there are several trigger warnings to be aware of. Overall, one of my fav reads so far this year. 4.5 stars

I've read many books by this author, and while I enjoyed the others, this one left me disappointed. Despite being enthralled by the story and main characters, I couldn't love it as much as others have.

The alternating "now and then" chapters and multiple points of view were a highlight, particularly delving into the characters' younger years. Their bond through adversity carries into adulthood.

While I understand fostering can be unpredictable, the portrayal of evil felt overdone. The ending, seemingly added for shock value, felt contrived and detracted from the story's emotional depth.

Hepworth crafts a compelling plot, but the final twist fell flat for me. Despite redeeming qualities, such as the characters' emotional journey, the over-the-top elements and gratuitous shock factor left me underwhelmed.

Darling Girls follows 3 girls who grew up together in a foster home. Years later, after their foster home was sold and torn down bones were found under the house. They are brought back to their old town so the police can question them. The book is told in the girls perspectives in the past and present as well as a mysterious fourth POV which you will need to read to find out who.
The book is fast pace twisty and keeps you guessing throughout. It will have you hooked from the first chapter. There are a lot of triggers in the book so if you are sensitive definitely worth check the warnings out before reading.
Can't wait to read more from Sally Hepworth.
Thank you to St-Martin's Press, NetGalley and Sally Hepworth for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This one comes out April 23rd and you won't want to miss it!

“Darling Girls” is very readable and does a good, important job of exploring the deeply flawed foster care system in Australia and how children from the system remain impacted throughout their adult lives. For these reasons, I ultimately recommend the book.

However, the book includes disturbing topics: child abuse, SA, kidnapping, etc. While the plot was interesting enough to motivate me to keep reading, the distressing scenes just kept coming and coming. It was a little over the top and I felt somewhat desensitized by the end.

This was also an eARC that was full of typos. More than I’d ever seen in an ARC. I understand that comes with the territory of receiving uncorrected proofs, but it was distracting.

Thank you to the author and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Another masterful creation by author Sally Hepworth. She is so talented in creating atmospheric thrillers that suck you in and keep you guessing until the end. This newest novel was no different, though I will say it should come with trigger warnings of child abuse, so read at your own risk.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Jessica, Norah and Alicia in both their past and present lives. We are let in on their journey as they travel back to their childhood home, where a body has been discovered under the house. Through glimpses back into their past, we learn they endured both psychological and physical abuse from their foster parent. We also get chapters of a mystery character- glimpses into the life of a girl, but it is not clear who the girl is.

This novel is heart-wrenching and chilling. It shows just how deep the love between sisters can go, even when the sisters aren't blood related. It also tells of how a person's past can cut deep and shape the future no matter how hard they try to forget and run from it.

"Darling Girls" is set to be released here in the U.S. on April 23, 2024 so pre-order now because this is a 4 star must-read!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced ecopy to read and give my honest review.

Happy Reading!

4.5 stars
It's official - Darling Girls is my new favourite Sally.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my eARC for review!
Darling Girls is told from the perspectives of sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. They met as foster children at the idyllic Wild Meadows acreage under the care of Miss Fairchild.
A recent discovery of human remains at the property takes the women back to their childhoods and the secrets they carried with them into adulthood.
This is a domestic suspense, but at many points reads as a thriller. These are damaged, often unlikeable characters, and their stories are heartbreaking and enthralling.
I whipped through this in two days, and the twists and reveals go right to the end.
Many trigger warnings here, but absolutely recommended.
For release on April 23.

Wow. This book was amazing. Sally does such a great job at creating characters that you feel strongly about and want to learn more about them. As I learned more about each character as the story went on, I could sympathize with them even more. I couldn't put this book down because I was eager to find out what was actually going on. The end of this book left me rattled because just when I thought I had it all figured out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you @stmartinspress for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

THOUGHTS:

Another classic & great Sally Hepworth novel!

This one kept me on my toes the entire time and was super bingeable. With the short chapters, I flew through this book.

The dual timeline was great, the foster sisters and their lives/stories kept me wanting to read more. And there was this mystery pov in a psychiatrist office that had me intrigued.

This was just what I needed in a twisty and suspenseful novel. I think if you liked Sally’s works in the past, you’ll also like this one!

Check the trigger warnings on this one. I really liked it, but it was dark and having to do with children. I love the setting in Australia and the adult characters in this. Seeing what they went through as children and how it affected them as adults was haunting. Definitely will read the author’s next book!