Review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Swipe for synopsis ➡️

I loved this book. I feel like the story was told very well. I loved how seamlessly the alternating timelines went together and the different POVs. Miss Fairchild is absolutely despicable and I could not stand her. I loved Jessica, Norah and Alicia. This story makes you feel all the feelings. I was heart broken with them, I was happy with them, I was mad with them. I feel like this is a very sensitive topic with how the foster system in this country works and I feel like Sally Hepworth did an amazing job with this story. This is definitely going to be one of my favorites of 2024!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC of this book.

This book comes out on April 23rd, 2024.

Woooooowww!!!! Now THAT’S how you write a thriller! This story had me on the edge of my seat, consumed my every thought, and had me completely engrossed from beginning to end.

I will be recommending this to my bookclub and to everyone I know.

Even though it’s difficult to read about the abuse that happens in foster care, this story gives us an up close and personal perspective from the experiences of 3 girls who show that you do not have to remain a victim. You can thrive and grow from your past experiences.

The twists and turns in this story were beautifully written, the characters felt real, and the investment I had in this outcome was heavy. I’m trying so hard to not include spoilers in this review, so I think I’m going to stop here, but you’ve never read a thriller quite like this one, I promise!

Thank you NetGalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martin’s Press for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This one was quite the ride! This book was captivating and kept me engaged from the very beginning. Each twist and cliffhanger left me wanting more. Each character was written well with their own individual traumas and how it affected their lives....being raised in foster care and into adulthood. As Norah, Alicia, and Jessica are forced to face their pasts, they are also forced to face their problems head-on. And I have to say...that Miss Fairchild is the perfect wicked stepmother.

Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I gave this a 4.5⭐️.
Darling Girls was a well written emotional mystery-suspense that made me care. The situation these darling girls were in just broke my heart. I was anxious and nervous through most of the story. I did listen to some of the novel on an audiobook that was narrated by Jessica Clarke. She was a perfect voice for the book and she did an excellent job.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

Another winner from Sally Hepworth!! I was hooked on this one from the beginning. It’s a slow burn suspense but has enough going on that makes you stay hooked. It’s full of twists and turns! I think I can say this one is my favorite of hers.

The characters each have their own trauma and differing personalities that affect the storyline. You can really see their childhood traumas taking effect on their adult actions and thoughts. I loved the three women’s dynamic though and I rooted for them the whole time. Their sisterhood was so strong and it kept the story interesting. They were protective of each other and that even meant lying to keep the others safe.

The story was a bit predictable in some aspects, seeing as I was able to predict one twist. But overall I was still thrown by the drama. Especially that ending!! Shew, I’m still processing it!

This twisted tale follows three women who lived together in the same foster home as children. Now adults, they are soul sisters bonded by the horrors they witnessed or experienced at the hands of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. Each of them carries their trauma in a different way, and as a result, are independently quite complicated. When they receive a call that bones of a child have been found buried beneath that foster home, it brings back the past that they have each worked so hard to move on from (mentally and physically). Asked to help the police, they travel back to their old town to confront the past and unearth who the bones belong to.

I had no idea what this book was about before beginning. Sally requires no synopsis and never disappoints. Happy to report that she continues to reign as a domestic thriller queen. Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress @sallyhepworth for an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. No fibs here, this one was great.

Darling Girls
By: Sally Hepworth

5 Stars

This is an amazing story of what the bond of sisterhood can look like. Alicia, Jessica, and Norah grew up at the beautiful Wild Meadows, a foster home, with Mrs. Fairchild. Bit by bit as foster kids, their lives are changed in the worst of ways. They faced hard chores, rejection, and harsh punishments. Once they grew up, they knew they were lucky to have made it out. Years later, a body turns up on the property, and the girls return home, to the place they never wanted to return to again, all to get answers to their past and the truth is shocking. Who is the body?

Wow. This book was amazing. It was heartwrenching and grabbing from page one. It was written well, descriptive, and well paced. The storyline for this book has a subject that it is hard to read about at times, but Sally Hepworth did it with poise and fragility, which also painted the "true" darker and hidden story in a captivating, soul grabbing way.

If you grab this book, you will not be disappointed. This story gave me some major "Mommy Dearest" vibes, and it captivated me. Like that great old movie, this book is moving and sad. It has danger, friendship, pain, and healing. It really is an amazing story that I am so glad to have come across. It was definitely a dark book, but it told a story that needed to be told.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

All I can say is Wow! Darling Girls was my first book by Sally Hepworth and she did not disappoint! It had a great captivating story. I was engrossed the whole time, there are no “slow” parts.

Darling Girls is told from the girls point of views and goes back and forth between past and present. All while there is another point of view talking to a therapist(really they all should be talking to a therapist)
I really enjoyed the therapist chapters.

A huge 5 star read from me! I read the whole book in a day because I couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for an advance copy of Darling Girls in exchange for my honest review.

Darling Girls is a story of childhood trauma, secrets, and murder. It leaves you reading into the night, not knowing where the story could lead. I loved the unpredictability. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I am a little mixed on my review. I felt the first half of the book was a little slow moving for me, but the 2nd half I couldn’t put down. Parts were a little predictable, but then there were other twists that really surprised me, so it was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. I wish I rooted for the characters more, with the exception of Norah, I felt engaged with her for the whole story. All in all, not one of my favorite Sally Hepworth books, but definitely worth the read.

3-3.5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The pros:
- I loved our mains. Norah, Jessica, and Alicia are fantastic characters with real flaws but also endearing qualities, and their trauma is properly delved into. I appreciate that despite the shared experience; their trauma looks different from each other and they understand and respect that.
- The plot was pretty solid for the most part.
- I was really invested in one of the romances, small of a role as it was.

Neutral:
- I guessed every plot point in this book well before getting to it. I’m all for predictability in thrillers as long as the ride is still satisfying and I did enjoy the book overall? But this is one of the few times where I guessed EVERY twist and there wasn’t even one surprise, so it did throw me for a loop. I can’t say that it’s good or bad, it just is.

Cons:
- I think the book did feel a bit repetitive. At certain points it felt like chapters were added to kind of pad out the book.
- On the opposite end of that, I wish certain relationships or characters could have had more book-time than some of the scenes we got. The lack of one of the characters in the epilogue chapters (save for a brief mention) felt like a missed opportunity.
- Personally, I hated the first person POV chapters that were interspersed through the book. I feel like sometimes the writing in this book felt very simplistic and to the point and other times nuanced and engrossing. The first person POVs were definitely the former for me, unfortunately.
- I did also think the ending was rushed. It felt like after stretching out those chapters the conclusion was swiftly wrapped up.

Overall, I do think this book was still mostly enjoyable, and again, loved the mains. But there’s aspects of this book that I really, really love and aspects that I really, really don’t which makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly where I fall on it.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters by choice. When the three meet in what should have been an idyllic foster home on a farm called Wildwood Meadows, the three build very strong bonds as they suffered through the manipulative psychological games played by their foster mother, Holly Fairchild. The story gives us an insight into their pasts as well as present day. Twenty five years later, the women are still battling the scars that they have carried with them, but their commitment to each other remains steadfast. When bones are discovered under the farmhouse at Wildwood Meadows, the three head back to a place they never wanted to see again. Whose bones are under the house? Are the deep dark secrets hidden at Wildwood Meadows about to be uncovered? Could one of them be guilty of an unspeakable crime? Hepworth doesn’t disappoint with this twisty good read! This was a dual read/listen for me and the narration was perfection! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is a suspenseful novel with many twists and turns. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters. They weren't biological sisters, but sisters through fire - they spent time in the same foster home. It was a foster home that seemed to be perfect with a loving foster mother. Looks can be deceiving and many abuses were going on behind closed doors. Years later the girls are now grown and leading their own lives - they are contacted by a police officer because a body has been found under their old foster home. Darling Girls was "couldn't put it down" good. Lots of suspense and surprises. I appreciate NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this. This was my first Sally Hepworth book. I felt like it gripped me from the beginning and I kept reading to find out the ending! It wasn't scary but it definitely was a sort of psychological thriller. Highly recommend.

This book was phenomenal! Hepworth is so good at creating unique and flawed characters that deeply hold readers’ attention. In her newest thriller, the three main characters are all foster care ‘sisters’ who survived and emotionally and physically abusive foster mother while growing up. They left the system more than 15 years ago, but when their former foster care home is razed, human remains are discovered forcing the sisters to travel back to their hometown for a series of interviews by local detectives. They are hoping to shed light on the true nature of their foster care mother while avoiding becoming suspects in this newly discovered crime.

The plot juggles multiple POVs and includes present-day and flashback timelines, yet I was never confused or unsure of the narrator’s identity. I am sensitive to books that contain child harm and was weary to read this one, but feel Hepworth did a great job accurately depicting the downfalls of the foster care system and child abuse with care and without graphic on-page violence. However, if you are sensitive to those themes, please check a detailed list of trigger warnings.

Each sister’s unique perspective, ‘role’ within the girls’ relationship dynamic, and present day personality/behavior reflect growth and reveal the lingering legacy of a traumatic childhood. There are quite a few shock-worthy gasps, and I was 100% on the edge of my seat to solve the identity and circumstances of the human remains. Readers who enjoy dark and twisty domestics thrillers with a fast pace, short chapters, multiple POVs, and a shocking conclusion will want to add this one to their TBR today.

Hepworth weaved another twisty and layered story, yet again!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were all foster children in varying states of tragic situations, and are sent to an idyllic farmhouse estate to live with Miss. Fairchild. On the surface, everything seems perfect, but the girls can tell you that living there was anything but perfect. We get to see the past and present weave together in intricate layers, with sisterly bonds, secrets, and murder.

While I completely binged this book and was utterly enthralled with finding out the outcome, it was a very hard read and listen as a mother. There are some pretty severe trigger warnings, first and foremost being child abuse, but themes of addiction as well.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and MacMillan Audio for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and best-selling Author Sally Hepworth for advance copy for honest review.

One of my auto-buy authors has done it again with another 5 star read!

When Jessica shows up to Wild Meadows everything is great! A great bonding time for Miss Fairchild's first foster kid under her care. But everything flips completely around when the second girl Norah arrives. Then another horrible turn months later with Alicia the third girl to arrive. But they pulled through as "sisters" sticking together and giving each other support from their horrific upbringing in foster care. Leading their own lives in the same town, one gets a phone call that has them heading back to Wild Meadows. Apparently there has been the discovery of several unmarked graves. Unburying, unearthing, and unraveling the secrets that hides at Wild Meadows. 5 star review, highly recommend!

Wow, talk about intense!

I was enthralled with this book, and especially from about the halfway mark on, I didn’t want to put it down. It took a little more time to get into it initially, but as each characters story evolved and more twists were thrown in, it got better and better.

Trigger warning- there is chile abuse in this book.

Those parts were hard to read, and my mama heart ached for these foster children and knowing so many kids are treated poorly on a daily basis. But the author did a great job sharing the beautiful and hopeful stories that come from fostering as well.

The ending 🤯 wow. That’s all I’ll say.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced reader copy. I will definitely be recommending it to others!

Sally Hepworth is one of my all time favorite authors. While this title started a bit slower than her previous novels, it eventually picked up speed and excitement.

Sally Hepworth has been a auto-buy author for me for a while and honestly this is her best yet.

This book follows three "sisters" by choice Jessica, Norah, and Alicia who grew up together in foster care, under the care of their foster parent Miss Fairchild. Needless to say they didn't have the best childhood, and it is hard for them to look back on their time but they have to when bones are discovered.

Told in multiple POV's and timelines, we get a glimpse of the girls' upbringings and exactly what happened all those years ago, along with the adults that they are now.

This is a really captivating and emotional read and I read the whole thing in one sitting. I could not put it down. Easily one of the best I've read this year.

This is a really emotional slow-burn thriller but is a really great read.