If you love creepy stories, Sally Hepworth is your writer. All her novels keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what creepy turn of events will happen next. Darling Girls does not disappoint. And when you learn the protagonists are foster children with a "LOVING" foster mother, you move up the creep scale. Miss Fairchild (oxymoron of a name) and the ending...once again, you, my reader friend, will be blown away.

It took me awhile to sort this one out. I found it a little confusing on audio with the multiple POVs & alternating timelines. Different narrators would’ve really elevated this one for me. However, the second half is captivating as secrets start to emerge. There are several twists and turns but I did find a few easy to guess.
Overall, I enjoyed the characters & the story as a whole. I was interested to see how it would all play out. Miss Fairchild was creepy and clever. The found family storyline was thoughtfully done. I would say I liked it but didn’t love it. The topics are heavy so here are some TW: child abuse, childhood trauma, death of a child, overdose

Darling Girls was such an entertaining thriller. Right from the start, you're introduced to some interesting characters right away and thats what really brings the reader in. I loved how the past and present timeline was done in this one. I thought there were a lot of characters and was a little worried that they would get confusing, but Hepworth does a great job at distinguishing them all. While it wasn't super twisty, the twist at the end really threw me for a loop! This will be a great beach read or pool side book for the summer!

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth, narrated by Jessica Clarke, is another excellent twisty psychological thrilled by Sally Hepworth. The story is told through the POV of three foster sisters and their foster mom, as the story moves from past to present. Alicia, Jessica and Norah are not blood sisters, but they became sisters while they were all foster children at Wild Meadows, with their foster mom, Mrs. Fairchild. On the outside, they looked like a happy, successful foster family. Behind closed doors, though, Mrs. Fairchild was not the doting, loving foster mom that the world saw. She had strict rules, strict punishments and could run from hot to cold. Usually cold. Now adults, the fosters sisters remain thick as thieves. They left Wild Meadows and moved on with their lives. Until bones are found underneath Wild Meadows, when they are excavating for new construction, after the house was sold. They are asked to come to talk to police in the town where they lived together as girls, and questions abound as to who might be responsible for the body found underneath the home. Might they even be the prime suspects?

This book was a good listen. Despite the changes of POV, Jessica Clarke did a good job with voices, to make it clear who was speaking. She has a lovely voice to listen to, which is always a bonus in an audiobook. The story was easy to get into and easy to stay with. I felt for the characters in this book (except for the ones you are not supposed to feel anything good about) and wanted to know more of their story. I liked how different information was exposed at different times throughout the book, so the reader was always left guessing. You think you have it locked down, but I bet you won't be right. Not until the big reveal at the end of the book.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for the opportunity to listen to this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I will not be giving feedback on this title until after St. Martin's Press issues a public statement regarding the commentary by one of the staff made. As an mother of black children and a Muslim, I am deeply affected by the comments that were stated.

Wowowowow. This book was an insanely wild ride!! This was my first Sally Hepworth and now I am a biiiig fan. Weeeew I can’t even describe the twists in this book - it was so so good.

I absolutely LOVE when thrillers bounce back and forth from past to present and I found myself intrigued by both timelines.

The quick rundown is that three girls in the foster system end up at the same home and discover that outside appearances can be deceiving. What they went through both at the time and in the future kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book!

The ending shook me to my damn core too!! Like WHAT ?!?! Many members of my book club also received advanced access to this book and my text to them when I finished the last chapter was just… “bruh….”

So if you are in the market for an amazing, wild thriller - add this to your TBR and give it a pre-order!

I wasn't sure how to rate this book. I went back and forth between 3 stars and 4 stars. It intrigued me and I was curious throughout the whole book what the end would be. What was going on? What was the true story? That kept me listening and wanting more. Overall though the whole story seemed a little flat. I felt like it could have been better but not sure how to explain it. It was a good story and kept me listening and wanting to know more but at the same time there wasn't anything that made me go WOW! In the end I did like it and maybe because it wasn't the usual who dun it type book that has me questioning things but I think many out there will absolutely love it.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are not related by blood but consider themselves sisters in every way. They were each placed under the care of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, as young children, and they formed a bond that could not be broken - no matter how hard Miss Fairchild tried. As adults, they’ve seemingly moved on from their tumultuous childhood, until they receive a call from local police. The estate they grew up on is being demolished for development purposes and they’ve discovered bones under the house. The sisters head back to the small town where they grew up for questioning and to see if they can help figure out what happened all those years ago. They presume to know who the bones belong to, but they’re wrong - and only one person knows who was buried under that house.

WHOA. Sally Hepworth is a master at psychological suspense novels, so I don’t even know why I’m surprised that this book was so great! There was a dual timeline and alternating points of view, which I always love. There was a smidge of unreliable narration because the women were children for much of what happened and essentially gaslit for a long, long time. This is definitely a dark story (DM me if you want CWs), but so well told. I absolutely loved the ending - I thought the author had wrapped everything up and then she dropped another bomb - it was great. Many thanks to MacMillan Audio for the ALC - the narration was wonderful. I highly recommend this as an audiobook, or adding it onto your BOTM subscription box like my mom did 😉

I love a Sally Hepworth novel! I just feel that the are sometimes marketed wrong - if you go into her books expecting a fast paced thriller, you could be disappointed. Overall, if I had to say the word thriller to describe her books - I would say DOMESTIC thrillers - light on the thrills.

I really enjoyed this one - not my favorite of hers especially after reading and loving The Soulmate last year, but I always get what I expect from a Sally Hepworth book:

Family or Relationship Dynamics
Some sort of mystery or murder or truth that is being uncovered
Well-written characters that are flawed but interesting
A plot that intrigues me and keeps me turning the pages
Some sort of twist or reveal that I don't (or sometimes do but still enjoy) see coming

I especially loved the "sister" dynamics of the three main characters that were raised together in the same foster house. Hepworth does such a great job differentiating the characters and giving them distinct traits that I had such an easy time going from one narrator to the next. This was an interesting story and, as always with Hepworth, definitely worth the read!

Thank you to Netgalley & St Martin's Press for this advanced copy (I tandem read with the audiobook as well so thank you also to Macmillan Audio) in exchange for my honest opinion!

Unfortunately I just don't think Hepworth's books are for me. I have read a few of her books previously and for the most part just felt meh about them. With this one I struggled to connect in any way to the story and was just never hooked.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4

Darling Girls was such a quick, creative mystery/thriller. I am very familiar with Sally Hepworth's books and she is the queen of this genre. She has such an easy to digest writing style. I loved how this book had multiple points of view and multiple time frames. If you are looking for a good twisty thriller, I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed the audiobook/narrator of this book. It kept me engaged, and it was easy to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me an early copy of this audiobook. I actually have never read or listened to a book by this author before. After this one, I definitely want to read more.
The audiobook, I actually really enjoyed. I would give this book a 4⭐️’s. There’s multiple POV’s between then and now. Be advised to check trigger warnings on this book. There are references of child abuse and trauma in this story. This book is emotional, dark, and I really enjoyed the twists that I didn’t see coming. I really liked the ending,

The book is a solid thriller. I enjoy this author and this book delivers. The pace was perfection and the book keeps you interested. I enjoyed the sisterhood with the girls and the dual timelines. The narrator did amazing even with so many multiple characters in the story.

TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE // CSA

This was typical Sally Hepworth but not nearly as good as most of her books for me... it was also hard to listen to/read because it has lots of explicit depictions of child abuse and CSA. I liked this but not as much as I expected considering the author. It did have a fairly obvious twist and a very satisfying ending.

Darling Girls comes out next week on April 23, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

Is there anything you ARE good at? a little voice said. Not cleaning. Not sport. Not studies. You're not the most attractive, the most talented or the most helpful. What, exactly, is the point of you?

Mini Thriller Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Pub Date: April 23

If you are a domestic thriller lover, then you can just stop here and go pick this book up!

Darling Girls” showcases another brilliantly executed domestic thriller by Sally Hepworth. Hepworth skillfully weaves a psychological mystery through a captivating multi-POV narrative, alternating between ‘now and then’ timelines, which adds depth to the story. The focus lies on three foster sisters, each grappling with their own distinct personalities and past traumas, bonded by a shared desire to escape the grasp of their malicious foster mother. When bones are unearthed beneath their former foster home, the sisters find themselves drawn back into a web of secrets, forced to confront their past as they assist the police in unraveling the mystery.

This book took me by surprise with its wonderfully twisted plot. I prefer thrillers that challenge my mind and feature complex characters over ones that simply terrify me, and Darling Girls delivered exactly that.

🎧 I also gave the audio version of this book a listen, and I found the main narrator to be quite enjoyable. Her accent complemented the story wonderfully, and she skillfully conveyed the emotions embedded within the book. However, I felt that the distinction between the voices of the sisters could have been enhanced to elevate the audio experience even further for me. I would recommend the audio version if you love audio books!

I alternated between listening and reading to this one. I thought the narrator did a great job with the multiple POVs and characters in this one. My only complaint, and maybe it’s not fully edited yet, is that I could hear a lot of mouth noises.

Other than that I loved the plot and all the twists that came with it. The evil foster mother Mrs. Fairchild was a great character.

This was my first book narrated by Jessica Clarke, and I hope it isn't the last. Her voice was so compelling, and completely brought the characters to life. It can sometimes be difficult when there is one narrator for multiple characters, but she gave each girl in the story their own personality that I had no issues following along.

Plot -
Three foster sisters escape a house of horrors as children, and it comes back to haunt them as adults. Jessica was the first to be adopted by Ms. Fairchild, back when things were good and she was Ms. Fairchild's "Darling Girl," but things begin to quickly deteriorate when Norah and Alicia join the family. The book was told in the present with flashbacks to what the girls had to endure as children. They are forced to relive their past when a body turns up under the home they grew up in.

Thoughts -
This story had me hooked from the very beginning. It is told both in dual timelines and three different POVs, which sounds like a lot, but it was so easy to digest. It was fun and fast paced and kept me turning pages to find out more about the girls' past. As I got close to the end, I was starting to get disappointed. I thought I was going to get a really well written story with no plot twist. It felt like one of those thrillers that just unfolds, but boy was I wrong. I did not see the twist at the end coming, and it was a good one.

I highly recommend both the physical book and audiobook to any fun, fast paced, popcorn thriller lovers.

I'm sorry - what. I actually think I feel a bit sick after this book.... so obviously it's a 5 star read for me. I cannot drop a single spoiler, but this book made me emotions run the gamet from grief to horror to shock to some sweet moments - all of these made me want to cry for both good and bad things. Sally Hepworth makes you think you are going down one story path and once you say okay I know how this is going to go -wham bam - no you don't. I was lulled into thinking this was a horrible but unremarkable story at the beginning and now I am left reeling.

Highly recommend the audiobook for that extra hair-raising emotion and also because I think I might have been afraid to pick this back up if I was reading the physical.

Lots of trigger warnings for child neglect, endangerment and abuse (you can tell by the summary). I usually stay away from those (I have 2 kids and am SOFT when it comes to anything thing happening to them), but I went for it anyway and am so glad I finished this in under 24 hours because that's all I had in me.

“When no one pays any attention to you, you can hide quite a lot.”

This book is like a roller coaster. You strap in. You’re ready. You hear that clink clink clink and you rise. And then it lets you go and you’re in a free fall.

Read this if you enjoy reading about:
🔹A villain that you LOVE to hate
🔹The bonds of sisterhood
🔹Mother daughter dynamics
🔹Long buried murder mysteries

The audiobook is absolutely fantastic as it is set in Australia so the accents are *chefs kiss*. Fantastic. Just utterly fantastic!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for the #gifted ALC and ARC.

I waited a few days after finishing this book to give my review. I'm stiff a little iffy on my rating. On the one hand, I loved the author's craft of a psychological thriller but was a little disappointed in the storyline. I am an educator and see firsthand how fostering children can be a hit or miss. I loved that the kids became as close as sisters and we were able to see the story from all of their points of view. I got lost at the end in what happened. I'm rating it a 4 stars mainly because I'm still thinking about it and processing it, which is probably a goal of most authors!