Firstly, I'm so thankful for receiving an early copy of this book. I read it as an audiobook and the narrator, Jessica Clarke, was amazing. She made it even easier to embrace the setting.

This book was a solid 4 stars. Sally's writing is really good and her character development is amazing. Her extra twist in the end was what validated my rating, it suited that specific character even more.

I can't pinpoint the exact reason why it wasn't a 5 star read, but I believe is a me problem. It felt too much as a psychological mystery, without the thrilling aspect - specially in the first half, and I guess I'm in the need for that a bit more.

Sally Hepworth has delivered another 5 star - must-devour-immediately-then-talk-about-it-with-all-of-my-friends read!

Darling Girls is a dark and twisty tale of three girls who bonded over the trauma they shared during their time with Miss Fairchild while in foster care.

Jessica has always been the organizer and the one who craved the attention of a mother figure. Norah is combative and rebellious finding little reason to like, let alone love, anyone. And Alicia is able to find the good in everyone but herself.

The three girls, now women, forged a sisterhood that is stronger than blood and that strength is needed when bones are found under the porch of their former foster home. Each are contacted by police and questioned about their time with Miss Fairchild. While all three would love to leave the events of 25 years ago behind them, they know they owe it to someone from their past to find answers.

The story teeters from the past to the present and is told from the perspective of each woman. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are each wholly different yet share a love for one another that neither time nor tragedy can break.

I am so appreciative of the opportunity to both read and listen to the novel. The audio version provides that human emotion and life to stories that I absolutely love!

This was such an interesting book with a big twist at the end! This book is about 3 "sisters" who were all placed in the same foster home as children. The mother, Holly Fairchild, was a lady who treated the kids really well for a little bit, then was very abusive and mean. Each of the girls ha da different relationship with her, but none of them were good. Now they're all grown ups and they get a call that remains of a body were found under Mrs. Fairchild's home and they are asked to help with the case. Long story short, the girls have a suspicion of who it is and they're convinced Mrs. Fairchild is the killer. We get flashbacks to Mrs. Fairchild's childhood and get to know why she is the way she is and it makes the reader question what could be true. The end culminates in a nice pretty bow for some and a huge revelation for others. Definitely had my jaw on the floor. Major trigger warnings for this one so check them out.































SPOILERS AHEAD: The girls had a 4th "sister" named Amy that they swore was around and obtained illegally but when the police were tipped off, there was no trace of her so they never believed her. They think that is the body they are going to find. However, Mrs Fairchild new the cops were coming so she got rid of her and the dead baby is actually her own sibling that she was so jealous of she murdered as a young woman. She claimed that the baby was a child conceived by rape from her step father and the whole book is spent recalling her childhood of the abuse, but in the final chapter she confesses it was all a lie. CRAZY.

An interview in a psychiatrist's office is our introduction to Darling Girls. The (unnamed) interviewee is not yet ready to talk about Wild Meadows. We glean that it was a foster home, and a place of much suffering.

Human remains have been discovered on the site of Wild Meadows, and somebody is guilty.

Three women, bonded by the trauma they experienced at the hands of their demented foster mother at Wild Meadows, come back to aid in the police investigation. They're scarred by the terror they lived through, but also incredibly close, and would do anything for each other. Going back and forth in time we learn the story of how each arrived at Wild Meadows, the horrors they endured and the strength they found in each other, in their sisterhood.

An engaging mystery with some wild surprises and twists, the abuse described is intense and could be triggering. It was tolerable for the resilience shown by the foster sisters as they finally address their childhood nightmare. Darling Girls was an emotional and gripping read.

The audiobook version of this book was well done and easy to follow, with the narrator providing different voicings to the characters, coloring in their personalities. The story takes place in Australia and the accent grounded me in that setting.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were not born sisters, but as foster children who came to live with foster parent, Miss Fairchild, they quickly became close. The girls thought that living with Miss Fairchild would be a dream come true and they would finally get the loving family they deserved but as time went on, other children came and went from the home and Jessica, Norah, and Alicia started to realize that Miss Fairchild wasn't as loving and caring as she appeared to be.

All grown up with lives of their own, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are trying to move on from their pasts with Miss Fairchild. Although the girls stay in touch, they are not as close as they once were, especially Jessica who is dealing with her own secret. Out of no where, a body is discovered under Miss Fairchild's house and the girls are forced to revisit their past and deal with their traumas head on. Soon enough, secrets are uncovered and the girls discover that they might not be the only one with a dark past.

Sally Hepworth's books are always great. Each girl's personalities are developed well and the plot flows. I always praise a book when it has a twist that I did not see coming and this book had two! Well written and definitely recommend.

Rating: 4.5⭐️
Audio rating: 5⭐️ Australian narrator with lots of enthusiasm and changing voices!
Pub date: 4/23/24 (today!)
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (thank you for this advanced listener copy!!)

1 sentence review: A wild domestic thriller full of emotional and psychological manipulation!

I am not usually the biggest fan of domestic thrillers, and I wasn’t a huge fan of this author’s book “The Soulmate”, but this read was fun, thrilling, and engaging from start to finish!! It was set up in a way that left the chapters on mini cliffhangers that made me want to keep reading and reading!

I really loved the characters with their flaws. Their personalities were all a direct reflection of the traumas they had to endure as kids, and I loved that each of the sisters had their own character growth! The ending was full circle with some juicy twists- but definitely check trigger warnings on this one if you’re sensitive to certain material!!

Also, I’m sorry but I could only picture Miss Fairchild as Miss Trenchbull from Matilda😂

Read This if You Like:
🐴 Books about emotional abuse and manipulation
🧸 Bingeable domestic thrillers with twists you don’t see coming
👯‍♀️ Thrillers with main character growth

Sally Hepworth has done it again! From the beginning I was pulled into this story filled with secrets and lies. Three sisters, now grown up and trying to live their lives are drawn back to their life with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother, after bones are discovered when the house is demolished. The story moves between the past and present and the point of view of each sister. As more is revealed, more questions are raised? What really happened and can the sisters move on from it?

The author was engaging and did a good job bringing the characters to life and drawing listeners into the story.

This may be one of my favorite Sally Hepworth books! The suspense was amazing but I also loved reading about the friendship and love between the 3 sisters who were main characters. I somehow didn’t guess the ending (though by the end I felt a bit stupid and like maybe I wasn’t listening carefully enough?) but regardless I really think my favorite part was the heart warming bits and the exploration of trauma and found family. Sally Hepworth always has a way of combining suspense and drama and character development and humor and depth in a really masterful way. Loved this one!!

This was tough to listen to as the abuse detailed is difficult to hear but it brings the story together and makes for a somewhat satisfying conclusion. The story itself is well-plotted, and though I figured out one of the twists, it did not take away from my enjoyment overall. The characters were likeable where they were meant to be, but just flawed enough to make you wonder who is telling the truth. The narration by Jessica Clarke was excellent. A good, quick read that will keep you guessing.

Thank you NetGalley for an audio copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

I read an ARC of Darling girls then was sent the audio to review as well. Really liked and enjoyed the book and happy to say the audiobook makes it even better. The Narration is really done well by Jessica Clarke she brought the story to life. She did a great job Building the suspense.

Ooooweee! This was a fantastic novel. I loved watching the mystery unfold and was immediately drawn to the characters. Hepworth had a lot to say about childhood trauama and overcoming your past and did so with care. There are some very disturbing scenes in this one but the jumps between the past and present helped to break the harder parts up. The narration was fantastic and I would highly recommend listening to this one!

This was my first Sally Hepworth book, and I will definitely be reading more!  "Darling Girls" is a dark and twisty thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first chapter until the jaw-dropping ending. The story alternates between past and present from multiple viewpoints, including the perspective of an unknown patient during psychiatric sessions. I loved the alternating POVs to learn more about the girls' pasts and how they've adjusted to life outside of the foster home. In addition to this being an enthralling mystery full of twists and turns, it is also quite a poignant story about the three sisters grappling with their childhood traumas. This is one page-turner you won't be able to put down!

I listened to the audiobook read by Jessica Clarke. I really enjoyed her narration and thought she did a great job building suspense and bringing the story to life. Narrating three women's POVs is not an easy task, but she was able to give them each a unique voice. And of course you know I loved the Australian accents. Highly recommend this one on audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This book. SO GOOD. So cleverly written with multiple perspectives. I absolutely could not put it down and had to see where it went. I didn;t guess a single thing, and absolutely loved the way it wrapped up. I have been super picky with thrillers lately and struggling to keep my interest, but after so many good reviews, I can now see why. I can not wait to check out more from this author. I also tend to have a hard time processing accents in audio, but this one was perfect and brought the story to life. Thank you NG for the advanced copy!

Darling Girls tells the story of three adult women who return to the foster home where they were raised following a mysterious discovery. The plot takes a few diversions that don't entirely add up, but it kept my attention until the end when all came together.

Darling Girls was a great psychological mystery set in Australia. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were all foster children with Miss Fairchild. After everything they endured together, the three girls develop a found family and consider themselves sisters. I loved the audiobook narration throughout the story. I would recommend this book to others. Please be aware of the trigger warnings for depictions of child abuse.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were foster children with Miss Fairchild. The girls have stayed close. When a body is found at their old foster home, they come home to unravel what really happened there.

Enjoyable mystery with excellent narration by Jessica Clarke.

4 Stars

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martins Press for an #ARC in return for an honest review!

Hepworth has become an auto-read author for me! They are always full of mystery, unsettling characters, and a good plotline that keeps the reader entertained. I really enjoyed the multiple POVS: Jessica, Norah and Alicia who are three unbiological sisters that grew up in a foster home together. They have grown and moved from the terrors of the foster home and Ms.Fairchild. Now 25 years later, they are back together unleashing the traumas that happened to them. And to help identify the bones that were found at their old foster home. The chapters were short and easy to follow. Each character had their own personality and their own space in the story which was nice to see as it all unwrapped. There was lots of emotion as you flipped through the pages. I did not know who to trust and I was suspicious of all occurring. Suspenseful, traumatic, and a bit cozy.

My only iff? I think this got repetitive at times and I wish there were more emphasis on the ending. It felt like it wrapped up too quickly and left some unanswered questions for me.

I think this is a must read this summer! I finished it in one day.

Read if you like:
- Mystery
- Unreliable Narrators
- Multiple POV's
- Dual timelines

It took me a long time to decide what review to give this book... I initially wanted to rate it lower because **trigger warning** child abuse and I really hated the character Ms. Fairchild, but objectively this was a good book. I didn't think it fair to knock it down a star because I had difficulty with the subject matter, and obviously we are meant to hate ms. Fairchild so job well done.

The story follows grown-up foster sisters Jessica, Norah (with an H) and Aleesha as they are contacted by Inspector Patel regarding a body which was found buried underneath their childhood foster home. Through this story, which goes back and forth in time, we learn about their past and the abuses (mostly psychological) given upon them by Ms. Fairchild.

It was an entertaining story and I really felt for the sisters. Their personalities were explained well when we went back in time and saw what their childhood was like.

There were a lot of twists throughout the book, and I definitely did not expect any of them. I would highly recommend this book.!

Thank you to Netgallery for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! This audiobook kept me interested in the story being told. It's well narrated. Sally Hepworth is an amazing author and definitely doesn't disappoint with this book.

I absolutely loved the book and the narration was spot on. The ending left me speechless though, I was like no way.