Sally Hepworth does it again with Darling Girls. This is an engaging story of foster care and how appearances can be deceiving. The narrator was great.

4.5/5 stars - Great mystery, really tough read.

This was easily one of Sally Hepworth's best books in terms of thrillers, twists and turns. It was well paced, contained multiple POV's and jumped between past and present. It was executed flawlessly. However, it was also one of the hardest to read as it contains child abuse and a good bit of it. The ending was quite satisfying, but it was a hard pill to swallow reading how these children were abused by their foster mother who was supposed to protect them. It also touches on how the trauma affects them in adulthood and how their current relationships struggle because of the childhood trauma. Knowing that this does and has happened in the past in real life is also a hard pill to swallow so while I was super engaged and interested in the mystery, I was also repulsed by the number of people who could have intervened and didn't and how this is still a real issue in today's society. Personally, I would appreciate if Sally Hepworth put a resource guide at the end of this book for those who may be experiencing abuse.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the e-ARC of Darling Girls, I can’t recommend this one enough!

4.5 rounded up. I love Sally's books and this one was no exception! I did feel the ending was a bid abrupt but that didn't take away from the story. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillin audio for the ARC

Read this if you like:
•Domestic thrillers
•Complicated family relationships
•A dark & twisty book

This book was so good! A lot to unpack when 3 foster sisters head back to their foster home to help solve the mystery of whose bones were buried under the house. I was truly intrigued the entire time!

Thank you Macmillan audio for the ALC!

Sally Hepworth novels are usually at least a 4 star experience for me, but this one sadly was not. The plot dragged a bit until the end, which was admittedly solid. The disturbing subject matter (including child abuse, sexual abuse, child neglect, death of a child) made this an extremely difficult listen. I also think that, as a multiple POV story, this audiobook would have been better served with different narrators for each perspective.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an audio ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sally Hepworth for an advance copy of Darling Girls in exchange for an honest review. I feel like Sally Hepworth is truly the queen of domestic suspense and Darling Girls was another great example of this. Darling Girls is told through three different perspectives (Jessica, Norah, and Alicia) who were all in foster care and taken care of by Mrs. Fairchild. As the book progresses, we see that their lives under Mrs. Fairchilds care may not have been as picture perfect as it seems. We then discover that there was a body found under their childhood home and the questions start flying. Per usual, Hepworth delivers an absolute killer twist at the ending that had me audibly gasping! The narrator did a fantastic job pulling me in and not letting me go because I had to know what the heck was going to happen. I think this may be in my top two books by Hepworth!! Grab this fast paced, exciting read on April 23rd, 2024!

I was given advanced access to Darling Girls in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sally Hepworth and NetGalley!
The book is about three young girls in the Australian foster care system, under the supervision of their foster mom, Miss. Farichild. This psychological/domestic thriller flips between past and present and has multiple point of views.
This book had me hooked from the beginning. This was the first book I've read by Sally Hepworth and definitely won't be the last. I've already added some of her books to my TBR list.
A few trigger warnings to mention, child abuse, child sexual abuse, child neglect.

The newest Sally Hepworth thriller is a must read that comes out April, 23 2024. I was honored to receive an arc. Sally never disappoints with her books. I flew through this book in one day.

This story follows Jessica, Alicia, and Norah. 3 women who grew up in foster care under the care of Miss Fairchild. Life with Miss Fairchild wasn’t the happy second chance these girls hoped for. They bonded over the secrets and lies that came with foster care.

Now, years later the police are asking to speak to the women about a body that was found under the house they once called home. Who is the body that was found, and did they have anything to do with it? The story goes back and forth easily from past to present while you try to figure out the twists.

Sally has a way of building the plot from the start and making you not want to put the book down, because you have to know what's happening. Just when I thought I figured it out Sally drops the biggest twist I did NOT see coming. A must read in 2024. 5 stars

I received this arc in audio form. I love Sally Hepworth books as audiobooks. The narrator really brings the characters to life, and helps you connect with them. Having this book jump from past and now can sometimes slow the flow of a book down. Having this in audio actually made the book come to life and I flew through this in a day.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

Song: everything I wanted by Billie Eilish

TW: Death of a child, child abuse, sexual abuse, murder, child neglect, rape

Thanks so much to the author and publishers for my copy of Darling Girls, I was invested from start to finish and that ending 😱.

This book was way better than I ever expected, but 𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚁 𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂.

It had complex characters and found family. There were lots of family dynamics bubbling up throughout the book so buckle up, you’re in for a wild ride. There were a lot of characters but they were so well defined that it was easy to feel like you know all of them.

There was a twist that I didn’t see coming, like I knew something was coming, but I wasn’t expecting the exact twist.

More of a slow burn domestic drama than a thriller but I loved these characters and hearing their story. The wrap up at the end was near perfection.

I also applaud SH for how well and accurately she writes parental abuse.

⭐️4.5 stars⭐️

I know that foster care can be rough for kids but WOW, this was haunting. It is hard to believe that people can have such twisted minds and treat kids so terribly.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia formed an inseparable bond through it all. They knew their sisters would be there for them when no one else would. I was really touched by their love for one another.

This story was hard to get through at times (check your trigger warnings) but it was entertaining and had me hooked. And I didn’t see the ending coming, which is always a win!

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to and review this audiobook.

Sally Hepworth always writes the most gripping psychological mysteries and I love all of them! Darling Girls is no exception…I was instantly hooked, and that ending?! So good! Every character was so well developed and fascinating and I loved the flow of the plot. It’s always heartbreaking reading about the bad homes in the foster system or child abuse that occurs, and I feel like Hepworth brought attention to that important issue, while also handling it really respectfully. And I loved this audiobook!

Sally Hepworth never disappoints! I love her writing and this book didn't disappoint!!!

Everytime Sally writes another book I want to read it right away. When I first started rhe book I thought it was similar to herothet books but the foster care aspect was very different which makes this unlike her other books!

The books is fast paced and makes it easy to read and keeps you engaged to keep reading.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

This is a suspenseful tale of three foster sisters (Jessica, Norah, and Alicia) and their complicated relationship with their foster mother. The girls remain “sisters” into adulthood but none of them have a relationship (or happy memories) with their foster mother, Ms. Fairchild. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia return to their foster home as adults when summoned by detectives after human remains were found buried under the house.

This story was told in a dual timeline with multiple points of view. The dual timeline was tastefully done and came together well at the end. In addition, the story slowly unfolded in a suspenseful/keep you hooked type of way. With every chapter we learned more and more. There were a few twists along the way, but the best/biggest was at the end. I think the final twist is what really bumped this book up to 5 stars for me. I actually want to go back and reread the story now that I know the ending to look for any hints/clues because I was SHOCKED. I thought I had it all figured out but NOPE.

Sally Hepworth is so talented and I wish I could live in her head for a day!

Super compelling and readable. This was my first Sally Hepworth and it gave me major Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty vibes in the way it explored family dynamics within the context of a dark past. The subtle insidiousness of the abuse was hard to stomach at times, but it was balanced with the tenderness of the bound the three sisters shared. I think the pacing would have been stronger if we spent more time in the present, as the flashbacks got a bit repetitive and I wanted to go deeper into the characters' struggles/relationships as adults. Maybe wrapped up a little too cleanly, but a great little epilogue twist I didn't see coming even though it made perfect sense in hindsight. I'll definitely be adding Hepworth into my psychological thriller rotation.

I received an eARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Overall Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Audiobook Narrator

Ugh, I just love Sally Hepworth. She’s one of the few thriller authors I always want to read right when they release a new book. Darling Girls felt similar in terms of formatting to her previous books, but the foster care story was something very different than her usual domestic storylines. Sally is so good at making a fast-paced thriller that’s easy to read and keeps you entertained the whole way through.

Publication date: April 23rd, 2024
Page count: 368
Audio length: 9 hours 6 minutes
Genre: psychological thriller
Setting: Port Agatha, Australia

Jessica, Norah and Alicia all ended up in Holly Fairchild’s Wild Meadows foster home. 25 years the home was demolished and bones were found under the home. Law enforcement reaches out to Jessica, Norah and Alicia and we learn about the childhood of the girls- the secrets from 25 years ago are revealed.

This intricately woven mystery kept me engaged, with layered character development as the twists and turns of the mystery unfold.

I will definitely continue to read books by this author!

Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

The audio was well done. I was pulled into the story and the mystery of the “Darling Girls”! I’m a fan of Sally’s books but I can’t say this is my favorite. She is a great storyteller and her plots are always compelling!

The only thing that didn’t work for me was just I feel like I was missing a bit of a shock value that I went in expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ALC!

Sally has done it again 😮 I really enjoyed this book! It might be one of my favorites by Sally. It was so clever and that last chapter? Amazing.

I enjoyed the dual POV and timeline, Sally made it easy to follow and the story flowed so well. I really enjoyed the narrator too!

A dual timeline mystery that explores the dark side of foster care told from the POVs of three foster sisters. While this wasn't my favorite by Sally Hepworth, it was still well written (lots of reviewers have given it 5 stars). It was more of a 3.5 star read for me personally, with the extra point going for the jaw-dropping final ending!! Sally is the Queen of great endings. There is a lot of child abuse in this book so it may not be for everyone, as well as a suicide attempt and drug addiction (read with care if these are triggering topics for you). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!