I was so excited when this one came through my email. Sally Hepworth is an auto buy author for me and so far can do no wrong in my opinion. Her latest, Darling Girls is no exception. This domestic thriller follows 3 foster sisters who endured a horrific foster care placement. It’s fast paced, told in various POVs and 2 timelines. It’s signature Sally but with a darker plot than I’ve previously read from her. I loved it and it kept me guessing til the very end with a great plot twist! Highly recommend! Trigger warning for child abuse and neglect.

4.5 STARS!

Um…OMFG! That ending! 😳

"When cruelty becomes familiar in your tender, adolescent years, of course you start to become comfortable with it. You believe you deserve it. But you don't."


First of all, a huge THANK YOU to @macmillan.audio, @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and @sallyhepworth for the complimentary ALC and ARC.

This was my first read by this author and it will not be my last.

This book is insanely bingeable and addicting. And the characters were all complex. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are foster sisters who formed a lifelong bond when they had to endure the hell of living with their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. It is years later when they are all contacted because human remains have been found under the foster home they lived in bringing them back to Port Agatha for the first time since they all managed to get out.

When I tell you that this story gets freaking crazy, I mean it.

This story is told in multiple POVs and in both past and present timelines. It helped bring each character to life showing their history and how they each ended up in Ms. Fairchild's care. And how those experiences shaped them in adulthood.

Norah was by far my favorite character. I loved her snark and bite. And some of her lines made me laugh out loud.

There were so many aspects of the children's stories that were raw and messed up. For those who have concerns about the child abuse, it is MOSTLY neglect and emotional abuse based. It was difficult to read at times and pushed me way out of my comfort zone.

The narration was done by Jessica Clarke. This audiobook was so good! I definitely recommend listening.

And that ending left me staring out into nothing for like 10 minutes after I finished this book just...

Darling Girls releases 4/23/24

Darling Girls tells the story of 3 young girls in an Australian foster home run, Wild Meadows, run by Ms. Fairchild. It is told in alternating then and now timelines, giving each main character a voice before and after the event that pulls them all back together.

25 years after leaving Ms. Fairchild’s care, the Darling Girls are living relatively productive lives, or so it seems. Mostly. Ok, Norah is a problem. The characters are flawed and their flaws are shown almost immediately. The author highlights those flaws and motivations and shows how each was a product of their origins.

This was an engaging and enjoyable read. The story unfolds slowly, using the alternating timelines. I enjoyed the opening and ending chapters and how they balanced the story. I love it when a novel's title is revealed in the story.

The characters felt a little flat and a couple of the interactions required a rather large suspension of belief but overall, this was a good story.

I enjoyed the narrator; crisp, clean narration. I always appreciate when a book set in a county like Australia is voiced by someone with an appropriate accent.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Once I started reading Darling Girls, I had a really difficult time putting it down. I felt sucked into the world of these characters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, and I loved how Hepworth did a back and forth time period storytelling thing here - it really amped up the tension and kept me turning the pages. The three woman are not super well developed as characters, but that's not really the point - this is a tense thriller where, as the reader, you truly just want to get to the bottom of what's going on here. Whose bones were found at their childhood home and what happened to that person? And did any of the three of them (or all of them) have anything to do with it? I enjoyed this a lot and read it in a single afternoon.

GAHHHHHH! This book had me guessing! I thought I had it all figured out BUT nope! This book was a crazy ride. It was so eye opening to see the relationships form in hard situations. It was also very real with the trauma that happens and how these young children suffer as adults.

Bones are discovered under a home that housed several foster girls. Three of the older girls who are now adults are brought in for questioning. Once back into the two they were fostered in things start to unfold. People and facts come out of the work works and the story moves fast.

Found myself carving out time to read just one or two pages. This was a great thriller. Thank you #netgalley for my ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy of Darling Girls. I have always enjoyed reading Sally Hepworth books and it was the same with Darling Girls.

As the book progressed, I kept changing my mind about what I thought happened and enjoyed watching the story unfold. I enjoyed each of the sisters’ stories and like how they each wrapped up at the end of the book.

Sally Hepworth novels are always a must read for me!

This book was published by St. Martin's Press, which is unfortunately being boycotted. If the boycott reaches a resolution, I hope to come back and review this book.

My first Sally Hepworth suspense book and really enjoyed it!

Darling Girls is a suspense novel about the childhood trauma of foster care for three preteen girls. Soon needing to rely on each other for shared survival, the girls ban together to face their unfortunate everyday evils. How much can you endure before you finally snap?

The author does a great job of keeping the audience engaged with delivering pieces of the unfolding puzzle throughout the book. Flashbacks and realtime moments of what these girl endure tell us how much childhood development really does affect us well into our adult years.

Be aware of some trigger warnings for child and neglect ‼️

If there is one thing that is super frustrating for me in a suspense/mystery novel is when all the information just gets drops on your the last 40 pages, but Hepworth paces this book like a pro! 🙌🏽
With a more even paced read, I was super engaged with the story and didn’t have to wait till the end of the book to keep my attention.

✨𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

4.5⭐


Darling Girls is a book about 3 foster girls that were placed at Wild Meadows. After 25 years, they are thrust.back to where they hoped never to return. Wild Meadows has been sold and a body has been found. The police want to know what the girls know.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah all came to Wild Meadows under different circumstances and at different times, but they grew a bond that made them sisters. They learned to protect their selves from Mrs. Fairchild, their foster mother.

Hepworth looked at the Australian Foster System with this book, actually it could have been any countries foster system. At times it was a hard book to read bc of the abuse the girls suffered. At other times, I was racing through the book wanting to know what was going to happen next. Hepworth always writes a good psychological thriller and this time was no different.

Tentative Publishing Date April 23, 2024! Go get this book when it hits the stands.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for the E-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

#netgalley #stmartinspress #sallyhepworth #darlinggirls

Sally Hepworth’s “Darling Girls” blends psychological mystery with women’s fiction. The bond between the sisters is unbreakable, forged in the shadow of their traumatic past. The twists keep you guessing, and the characters linger long after the final page. If you crave suspense with emotional depth, this novel delivers.

Wow! This was a great read that hooked me from the start. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are foster children in the same home. The women survive their traumatic childhoods only to find themselves thrust back into things many years later due to bones being found under the home where they met. I enjoyed how the story alternated points of view as well as alternating between past and present. I always enjoy Sally Hepworth’s writing!

Sally Hepworth knows how to write a psychological thriller. Every time I pick up one of her books I finish it in a day or two. I want to get to the end, but don’t actually want it to end!

There were many things I liked about this book. The sisters bond…I love how they all had each other in their difficult upbringing. The evil villain…Ms. Fairchild. You can’t help but truly hate this woman. And just the story itself. Unfortunately for many foster children, they experience similar things to the 3 children in this book. I like how the author kept the story believable. And the best part, in my opinion, was the ending. It solidified my opinion on one of the main characters and really shocked, I definitely didn’t see that ending and it was perfect for this book.

***Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

This was my second book by this author, and I loved it almost as much as the first! This was a definite winner for me, and I was truly shocked by the twist at the very end.

The pacing was great, and it kept me engaged throughout the entire book. I enjoyed the differences in the 3 main girls/women, and I really enjoyed watching them handle their own traumas throughout the book and into adulthood.

I will definitely continue reading this author!

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth, in “Darling Girls” weaves a suspenseful tail that will keep you turning the pages. I recommend setting aside a huge chunk of time before starting this book, because once you start, you won’t be getting much else done until you reach the end.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are all troubled adults, trying to overcome the difficulties they had had when they were fostered by Miss Fairchild on a charming rural farm near a quaint Australian town. Because of their difficult circumstances, they became closer than if they had been blood-related sisters. Instead of being able to put all that behind them, however, a phone call from the police saying a child’s body had been found on the grounds of Miss Fairchild’s land, forces them to face the past. But the police didn’t believe them then, so why should they now?

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this great book. My opinion is my own.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
OMG what a ride. I flew through this one as I could not put it down!! As usual, another amazing book by Sally Hepworth. I have loved every single one of her books and this one for sure is right up there along with all the others. Excellent story and you can tell that the author conducted research about the foster system!
The characters are well described and built up with the back and forth in the 2 different times. I felt like I was there in the story with them and could picture everything in front of me. Great character selection for all of them. I especially loved the ending as no stone was left unturned and the reader didn't have to wonder about what happened to any of them. And of course those twists and turns. Fascinating and totally unexpected! Excellent book, 5 🌟

WOW I had no idea where this one was headed but I was so glad to be along for the ride!!!

I loved the sisters and their devotion to one another. I thought that was a very nice touch from Sally, because there are so many foster kids without allies.

I thought I had the ending figured out and then there were a few twists that gave me total whiplash!!!! I enjoyed this one, but it isn't my fave from Hepworth.

I did like this book throughout and was interested in the storyline but I was really let down by the ending. I have loved this author's other books, but this just seemed to lack the suspense and the depth of characters the other books had.

TW: Language, sexual assault, anxiety, depression, abuse, gaslighting, drug addiction, child sexual abuse, violence, death of child, rape, unwanted pregnancy, sexual blackmail, domestic abuse

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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?
Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 368
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Liked the characters are sisterlike and their bond
2. Hooked on the story
3. Author does a great job describing the pain and sadness of being a foster child

What I Didn't Like:
1. I hate Norah
2. Narrator licking their lips on the audiobook
3. Ending rambled on too long
4. Some parts feel repetitive

Overall Thoughts:
The countless interruptions while the police were trying to tell Norah what they found.

This book touches on a lot of sexual assault for Norah, but author does a great job at skirting the subject without going into too much detail.

When they were older I loved how they made fun of one another. Absolutely sisterlike.

Holy crap my mouth dropped when Mrs. Fairchild said she threw the baby against the wall. I didn't expect that. She made that whole story up.

Final Thoughts:
This book was insane. Just when I thought I had it figured it out it pulled the rug from under me and then pulled another rug from under me.

Mrs. Fairchild was absolutely horrible. The whole time you keep thinking how could such a bad person exists for the sake of it, but here she is. The way she treated the kids though - gross.

I didn't care too much for the ending because it felt like this huge build up to something but the ending felt rushed. You knew Mrs. Fairchild was behind it too. Then Mrs. Fairchild says it was she child she was forced to have with her stepfather when she was a minor, but is that as far as the investigation would go when a baby is found? Wouldn't they give her an exam to see if she even gave birth, so they know if she's telling the truth? Plus if she killed her sibling why was she so sweet with the other babies for a little bit even none of that happened? I don't like when authors hinge a whole character development on one detail and at the ending we find out that wasn't even apart of their personality.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press for the ebook, and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

This is an excellent addition to Sally Hepworth's canon. I really enjoyed the story and pacing of this one. The characters were interesting and complex. The structure of the story really kept it moving and the twists and turns were great! Highly recommend this one if you like mysterty.

Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are sisters bound not by blood but by their harrowing experiences at the Wild Meadows foster home. The matriarch of this home, Miss Fairchild, is a character you will love to despise. Portrayed a caregiver, her true motives are driven by greed, leading her to subject her charges to bizarre punishments, starvation, and relentless chores, painting a stark picture of neglect and abuse.The story takes a gripping turn 25 years later when the discovery of bones at Wild Meadows forces the sisters, along with other former foster children, to confront their traumatic past. The narrative masterfully intertwines with another, more mysterious thread - that of an individual recounting a harrowing childhood marked by sexual assault and the resultant pregnancy during sessions with a psychiatrist. This parallel story adds suspense. Who is the individual talking? The revelation at the end is a shocking twist! So well done 👏 👏 👏