Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in foster care at Wild Meadows. Because of what they endured they became close and into adult hood remain sisters. Together they have to revisit their childhood in order to help the police.

This was a solid 3/5 stars in my opinion. The story is fast paced and engaging. It definitely kept the pages turning. I liked the main characters but got lost or confused with the side characters.

The ending was pretty good but didn’t have the shock value I was waiting for.

When a book by Sally Hepworth comes out, I will want to read it. I don’t need to know anything about it, I am going to get my hands on the novel and read it cover to cover within a day. And she never disappoints. Darling Girls was an excellent read about three girls growing up in foster care. The book goes between past and present and keeps the reader hooked until the very end.

Here is the plot:

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

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?

Don’t miss this novel, it comes out April 23

Darling Girls is the story of three "sisters" whose horrific backgrounds bind them together. Each was dumped on the steps of a monster by an unscrupulous child welfare worker. There are some very disturbing scenes in the book, but probably nothing that the reader cannot cope with.

Skip forward many years and the girls are still bonded. One is married and has a successful house-organizing business - but has some pill popping issues. Another is a social worker with a huge heart. The third sister hasn't quite found her place yet and suffers from anger issues as well as a bad habit of trading sex for help around the house. When the two converge she finds herself before a judge on assault charges. Since this happens on multiple occasions she is facing jail time for the latest assault.

When each of the girls gets a call from the police in the town where they grew up in foster care, they are asked to come in and give statements regarding their period in care. As it turns out, the house where they lived is being torn down and construction workers have uncovered the remains of a baby, buried under the house. It is unclear when the baby was buried there and since the (same) unscrupulous child welfare worker brought the Foster Mother a steady stream of babies for short stays while the sisters were in her care, the police were looking for clues of the baby’s identity and the circumstances of its death.

Although I don't need to have all my t's crossed and i's dotted, Hepworth rarely leaves any loose ends open for interpretation in her books. This is true also of Darling Girls. I'd say, in fact, that despite the cruel treatment the sisters suffered at the hands of the wicked Foster Mother, they each had their personal issues satisfactorily resolved by the end of the book - and even learned to love.

Sally Hepworth is a brilliant author and I think that this might be her best book to date (or maybe tied with The Good Sister). Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel for my honest review. Darling Girls is due to be published in five days, and I recommend reserving your copy now!

Three "found" sisters via the Australian foster care system and many buried secrets. Darling Girls is a mystery of childhood trauma, perceptions of truth, and the ties that bind even as adults. Told in 4 POVs (3 sisters and one unknown), the secrets unravel as a body is found on the grounds of their former foster home. As the secrets unravel, so do the sisters in each their remarkable ways. In some ways, I felt voyeuristic as their childhood experiences were revealed. If you are sensitive to abuse or see these types of domestic stories as trauma porn, this may not be the book for you. There was a twist at the end that made me feel a bit gullible... but being gullible makes you human I suppose.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were raised as sisters, all foster children of the seemingly loving and perfect Miss Fairchild. However, behind closed doors, Miss Fairchild was strict, unpredictable, and cruel. After escaping from her care, the girls thought they’d never see her again until years later police discovered the remains of a dead body beneath the home, and they are pulled into the investigation and back to the place they’d hope to never return.

This latest novel from Sally Hepworth is a dark, twisty ride! The three sisters were all damaged girls with flaws, and the author did an exceptional job developing each one and telling their stories and history through the dual timeline format. There were some great twists along the way, and it was an incredibly engaging read. I’d definitely consider the sensitive material in terms of child abuse and neglect, so that’s something to take into consideration prior to reading. Overall, this was an intense and suspenseful read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my gifted e-ARC!

Wow this was a great book by Sally Hepworth! It will keep you guessing.

This story follows Jessica, Norah, Alicia, and their foster mother Miss Fairchild. You get to see the trauma these girls faced in foster care. This may be a little dark for some people. I really loved seeing all the points of view and watching the characters develop. Great book and would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming a favorite thriller author for me. Each book I pick up of hers is just as good, if not better, than the last.

Darling Girls was not only a heartbreaking story, but it was also a masterfully crafted thriller. I loved how Hepworth decided to switch up narrators as well as timelines. This technique kept me fully engaged in both timelines. The reveals were breadcrumbed throughout the book. I would keep thinking I knew what happened and then she would throw another curveball. I was definitely kept on my toes which is something I enjoy about thrillers.

The subject matter is hard to read at times. I felt the anguish and shame and anger that the women relayed about their childhood. It was interesting to see how each one coped with these feelings as adults.

I can’t wait to read more of Hepworth’s backlist. She has been added to my auto-buy author list!

I have to be honest, I actually read this one last November, so I really should have reviewed it when the whole story was much fresher in my mind. However, it comes out on April 23, so naturally, I procrastinated until the end.

I’ve read several of Sally Hepworth’s novels and enjoyed them, but this one was a bit of a departure from her normal psychological thrillers. With The Good Sister, The Soulmate or The Younger Wife, you know what’s going on and it’s pretty clear who the culprit is early on in the novel while you wait for the main character to get there. Darling Girls was such an unexpected ride!

For the first half of the book, I’m not sure I even fully understood what was happening and it was a little slow-paced. Once I hit that halfway mark, however, the story started unraveling and I couldn’t put it down. Then, every time I thought I got it, I got hit with another twist! I never want to give away any spoilers, but this was a doozy and my favorite of her novels so far!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
👯‍♀️Enjoy domestic thrillers
👯‍♀️Love a found family
👯‍♀️Can handle reading about child abuse and trauma (it wasn’t intensely graphic, but reading about child abuse is never easy)

Fantastic psychological thriller!! I have become a Sally Hepworth fan over the last few years, so it was no surprise to me that this book was amazing from the first sentence.
The plot takes place in Australia, in a foster care home called Wild Meadows. Such a serene looking place and the name just brings peaceful thoughts. But is that really the case inside the walls of the old home?
The story is told in multiple person pov. I felt like the story was easy to follow, with the chapters being titled by the pov being told. The trauma, the drama, the lies, the grief.... it will bring you into a heartbreaking story but one you can't put down. We start with girls in the foster care home, then as the story unfolds it brings us into their adult life when they each receive a phone call from the police department in the town they grew up in. They're needed for questioning. A body has been found under the home they were raised in. What do they know? What are they willing to tell? I loved the feeling of 'sisterhood' that these girls had.
If you've never read a Sally Hepworth book, then it's time you picked up this awesome author. She won't make you regret your choice.


Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth and St Martin's Press for allowing me this arc eversion copy to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

I finished this book last night and honestly my stomach is still in knots. This was my first read by this author and wow. As someone who went to school for Social Work and currently works with the vulnerable population, this book was such a tough and heavy read for me. I can’t necessarily say I “enjoyed it” as that just feels weird, but I do think it was a good read that will definitely stick with me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It captivated me from the beginning and held me until the very last page. I appreciate how it shone a light on foster homes and the everyday struggles some foster children go through. While the content itself was rough to read at times, it was written tactfully. The character and plot development was clearly thought out. The only thing that kept this from being a five star read for me was that there weren’t any characters I felt emotionally attached to. Other than that it was a fantastic read!

So, so good. I loved this book. It kept the reader engaged the entire time. There are little twists and reveals along the way and I was happy with the ending. There was trope that I am not a fan of (view spoiler) by one of the characters and it started to feel a bit repetitive, but by the end I realized how well it was done to get to where the story went.

All of the characters in this story have some issues they need to deal with and it was interesting to see how their childhood affected the adults they became. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing how their relationships evolved as well.

This definitely does not have a neat bow ending if you need that and there are major abuse trigger warnings in this one, but if you want a book that keeps you reading this is great. I highly recommend this one and look forward to seeing what Hepworth puts out next.

This was a very well developed and gripping read. I was completely invested from the start wanting to know which character was having a session with their therapist. As the story progresses more and more information is dropped - while I found most of the reveals to be a bit predictable; however, the author still shocked me on the very last page. I never saw it coming. I will defiantly be checking out this author’s back list and keeping an eye out for future releases.

Darling Girls is about three former foster girls raised by an abusive foster mom. When bones are found on the premises decades later, they become suspects. (Major trigger warnings for child abuse and the foster care system.)

What worked: This was another solid mystery (not really a thriller) from Sally Hepworth. Like most of her novels, it was unlike everything I read. It was really fast-paced with short and engaging chapters designed to keep you reading, and you can fly through it. It kept suspense building (Such as whose bones are these?) and went in some unexpected directions.

What didn't totally work for me: Some of it was predictable, and I also felt the short, fast-paced nature of the book kept the reader from learning really complex things about the characters. While there was an overview of how they came to be and how they coped with their traumas, it lacked depth that could have made it a true learning experience for the reader.

Read this if: You want a fast-paced mystery and aren't triggered by child abuse or the foster care system.

This was a very much character driven story, more of a mystery than thriller. If you’re sensitive to abuse and trauma stories then you might want to skip this one. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

[4.75]

OKAY! This one was SO good I can't even write a blurb about it. This was my first Sally Hepworth novel and it won't be my last. Going into it, I thought it'd be your typical domestic thriller - family drama (and trauma), the wife/mother is the main person behind it all, etc. However, I have a serious case of whiplash. Every time I thought I had the twist figured out, I was way off. And then the twists kept coming. AND THEN THE ENDING ITSELF WAS A TWIST. I'll be thinking about this one for a while. I loved the dynamic between the three sisters and how their experiences in their foster home shaped their futures. I really connected with each sister and felt how this awful experience made an impact on their lives - both positive and negative. The only reason why this did not get a full 5 stars is because I hated Miss Fairchild so much (which was the point, I know lol).

If you're looking for something that is going to ruin your life in the best way, please give this one a read! It may end up being one of my favorite books of the year.

WOAH. This was intense. It was a difficult read for me, I had to take a few breaks but I’m so glad I finished it. Darling Girls was a true testament to found families while also shedding light on the corruption of the foster system. Sally Hepworth knows what she’s doing!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Three foster women return to their childhood home when a body is found.

Sally Hepworth delivers another great read that you won't want to put down. Jessica craves the affection of a loving mother when she is placed under the care of Miss Fairchild. Things go well as Jessica and her foster mother, Miss Fairchild, create a loving bond. Their relationship begins to change for the worst as two additional girls, Alicia and Norah, join the household. Many years later as adults, all three women return to Wild Meadows. Their return brings back childhood memories which lead to answers regarding a dead body on the property.

Sally weaves three women collective experience growing up in foster care flawlessly. Their childhood experience shape their unique personalities which develops in each chapter. I highly recommend this book for those wanting a read with an ending you won't see coming.

The latest from the queen of domestic suspense. This is a story based around three girls who met in the same foster home. Now some 2 decades later they have been contacted by the police because some human bones are found buried in the grounds of the foster home. This brings to light the entire back story and a whole lot of memories. Narrated from multiple Points of View of the characters and fluctuating between Now and Before, this is an easy entertaining read. Not just a suspense novel but also a story of sisterhood and female friendships and what it means to be a family. Perfect for the upcoming summer.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for the ARC

Wow! I was so drawn into Jessica, Alicia, and Norah’s story. And when we got to the end I was like yeah it all turned out the way I wanted. It was twisty and fun but not unexpected. And then i read the final chapter and the plot twist I didn’t see coming flipped the world upside down! A whole book to foreshadow a single chapter! It was amazing!
* I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*