Twenty-five years ago, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah bonded as sisters, living with their foster mother Miss Fairchild on the idyllic Wild Meadows estate. However, the girls will tell you it was anything but idyllic. Miss Fairchild was rather unpredictable and not a typical motherly figure. The three were able to break free from Miss Fairchild, but their scars followed them into their adult lives. When a body is found under the home on Wild Meadows estate, the girls are questioned. Is this the proof of Miss Fairchild’s abuse? The investigation will bring more questions than answers.

Wow! Sally Hepworth really did not disappoint with this one. Told in alternating points of view between past and present, we really get to know the sisters both then and now. The characters are fully developed and I came to care for each one individually throughout the story. The twists were plentiful and kept me reading to find out what happened next. I alternated between listening and reading the book and finished in less than 24 hours. Definitely clear your schedule for this one! I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys thrillers! I give it 4.5/5 stars.

This book was quite the wild ride!! I wasn’t sure about it for the first 40% or so to be honest. It was a very slow burn. But once it started moving, I was hooked and binged the rest in one sitting! There are a lot of trigger warnings for this book, and the subject matter is super tough to read about at times. I had a guess as to what was going on, and thought I was right, but then was totally thrown by the ending! That makes for a pretty good thriller in my opinion. I also enjoyed the three main characters, their sister relationship, and their growth throughout the story.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth pub date is April 23,2024
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book early.
Her book the soulmate was so so good and SH did not disappoint in this one!
The twists and turns and when you think you know what is going on and surprise another twist!!
Wow what a ride!
Thanks again for the opportunity to read this early!!! Another good one and I look forward to reading some of her other books now!!!

I swear Sally Hepworth keeps getting better. This was such a good book to read. I was definitely hooked from the beginning until the end. There is a lot of traumatic experiences in this book so make sure you read trigger warnings. I was definitely surprised with the twists in this story and was super shocked by one of them. This is a fast paced psychological mystery. The girls in this story were so brave and became kick ass women. I would highly recommend this book and her other books as well. I always have a good time with Sally's books. Pull up a seat and enjoy this book!


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This is not my favorite book of the author's. It moved a little slow, and I found most of it predictable, but she does always turn out a solid domestic mystery.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this delightful thriller! This book was chock-full of twists and turns. For the first three-quarters, I wasn’t sure the author knew where she was going with every new detail that was introduced. Alas, everything came together by the end and I was kept entertained for the entire ride.

As a mother, I had a bit of a tough time with some of the triggers mentioned at the end of this review but I was able to get through it, and even enjoy it, regardless.

Trigger warnings: Child abuse, foster care system, sexual assault, drug abuse, child death.

Darling Girls is a dark, psychological story of three women who spent their lives in the foster care system. The story revolves around a time when the three women were together in the home of Miss Fairchild. What a Mommie Dearest she was! The three bond as sisters, and that bond remains twenty-five years later. We get to see how the trauma they endured affected the people they became, and how an event that leads them to meet back up with Miss Fairchild all those years later affects their lives going forward. We even, ultimately, get to understand how Miss Fairchild became who she is. A page-turner! 4-1/2 stars

I received an ARC for free and gave my honest opinion voluntarily.

Was torn on giving this 4 or 5 stars. The story is a compelling, dark, page turner. It was a quick and addictive read., but it was the content that was hard for me to digest……Foster care, abuse, addiction… it was a very sad and heavy read. The writing, plot, and twists were great! I would recommend, but make sure people are aware of the disturbing contents as well.

Let me start out by saying that I truly enjoy Sally Hepworth’s writing. I find it easily readable, but still with complexity that makes her books enjoyable to read. I read The Soulmate last year, and I really enjoyed this. It had twists and turns that left me guessing with each chapter. Darling Girls, I’m afraid, is not marketed correctly. When I pick up a Sally Hepworth book, I’m expecting a thrilling, suspenseful mystery. This was a dramatic contemporary novel shrouded in the marketing of a suspense thriller. The mystery in this was so small, that the twists at the end were not shocking whatsoever because it felt like the stakes were so low.

This novel is primarily a discussion of how these three women, who grew up as foster sisters, are each processing their childhood trauma of being abused by their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. The book goes back and forth between present day and past POVs amongst the three women, Jess, Norah, and Alicia. We’re also given another POV from an unknown narrator speaking with a psychologist that reveals a different storyline. While the story here is certainly important, and I felt that Hepworth did a good job of showing something that is deeply awful and traumatic for so many children, this is not the story I was expecting and I’m not sure I was in the mood for it. Although, I don’t think I’m ever in the mood to read about child abuse, it’s just not something I enjoy reading about when I’m looking for a thriller to escape into.

One of my bigger nitpicky issues with the book was the number of POVs and the fact that they were almost all in 3rd person. This made the connections to each character much longer to develop and in the beginning, it was actually difficult to tell which perspective was which, at least between Jessica and Alicia (Norah was different enough in that she was clearly the “bad” girl). Once I got each character nailed down, it was still hard to really like them because they were pretty cliched in terms of personalities. The bad girl, the type A/OCD girl, and the nice girl.

What I did love about this story were the relationships between the 3 women and how they came together and supported each other through their abuse from Miss Fairchild as children and then through their own life problems as adults. Again, there’s a huge focus on each of the women’s own personal struggles in this novel, much more so than the actual mystery that was going on here. This is fine if you’re looking to pick up a contemporary or literary fiction story, but can be surprising and disappointing when specifically looking for a thriller/mystery. So, because of that I can’t rate this higher than 3 stars, but I will still pick up Sally Hepworth in the future.

My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's for allowing me to review this arc.

Wow!! I have read this author before, but this has to be the best one I've read so far hands down!!! Quick, easy, flows well, and great layers of depth with the characters !

3 foster sisters are forced to return to the town where they grew up when a bones are found under the home of the abusive foster mother that raised them when the home is demolished. Story is told from their past perspectives and current perspectives including their demons that stemmed from the past abuse during the investigation.

One element I liked that the author added was a psychiatry session that adds to the story. However you don't know the character who is in the session. I liked that and it was quite a surprise when it was revealed. Highly recommend this book.

Wild Meadows. Sounds like a nice place, right? This foster home was a nightmare. Miss Fairchild, the owner, was a narcissist who ran a tight ship and never allowed anyone to get too comfortable.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were pawns in Miss Fairchild's sick game, taking solace only in each other and becoming sisters in every sense of the word.

Fiercely loyal, the 3 girls are still close as adults. They are informed a body has been dug up at Wild Meadows as it recently sold and was being bulldozed into a McDonald's. They reluctantly come back to town to answer questions and look for answers themselves. They deserve some closure after all of trauma.

The quiet town that never quite understood them hasn't changed much and many of their stories from the past were called into question then, and again now. Are they telling the truth? Or did things at Wild Meadows get even messier than they initially let on. I guess we'll find out when they figure out whose body it is..

Darling Girls is my first Sally Hepworth novel and I’m impressed! I love fast paced books with interesting characters and this book kept me reading the whole time. The book is told through the past and present perspectives of 3 foster siblings- Jessie, Nora, and Alicia-and the occasional snippet from Mrs. Fairchild, the awful, loathsome foster mother and villain of the story.

Hepworth does such a good job making Holly Fairchild the worst kind of manipulative, irredeemable villain. She’s a close second behind Umbridge on my most hated book characters list. I think if you have had an emotionally manipulative caretaker in your life, the book might be triggering. Miss Fairchild is the person you would think about on bad fostering cases. Child abuse is a tough subject, but the ending at least has closure— though a surprising twist that just made me scream.

I really like the relationship that Nora, Jessica, and Alicia had with each other. It’s the only redeeming part of the book but is so much in juxtaposition with Miss Fairchild that I didn’t get completely depressed by what could be a really dark book otherwise. Each girl has her past and present issues, but they get through it with each other.

Hepworth knows how to string along the tension and when you finally get to a twist and reveal in the narrative, it feels very satisfying, and I love that without a good thriller. Overall, 4.5 stars. If you like thrillers it’s a great read.

What a story! I couldn't put this one down. Definitely a fast paced, page turner.

A grand estate and a loving mother figure was supposed to be a safe place for Jessica, Norah and Alicia. What they didn't know was the terror and mystery waiting for them at Wild Meadows.

With a final twist that will make your head spin, this book will captivate you from the first page. If you're a fan of multiple POV and unreliable narrator, this story is for you. There were some parts of this book that were very sad and hard to digest. Be careful if you're sensitive to child abuse triggers.

Just when I think Sally Hepworth can't surprise me anymore, she writes a new book that fills my need for domestic suspense. This is the story 3 foster sisters and their abusive foster mother. There are secrets and lies and the 3 sisters as adults try to sift through all of it. Trigger warning.... child abuse, this isn't for the faint of heart.

I really enjoyed Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. It centers around 3 girls and their childhood experiences in a foster care household in Australia. The timeline goes back and forth between present day when bones have been found buried where the home once existed, and in the past when they lived in the home with their mentally abusive foster mother.

I could NOT stop listening. The intrigue. The suspense. These women! Gah!
So well done!
Three sisters from a foster home - now adults, return to their childhood home when remains are found. Secrets. Lies. Abuse.
I loved the friendship and support these women extended to each other but struggled with themselves. Very well done.

This was the second book by Sally Hepworth and I really enjoyed it! I loved the alternating POVs, and was intrigued by the mystery patient in the therapy sessions. I loved the bond between the sisters. Some parts were a little slower but overall I kept wanting to read/listen more. Loved the twist!

Big trigger warnings for child abuse, especially at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Hepworth can officially do no wrong! I’ve read and LOVED three of her books now and know I’m always in for such a thrilling psychologicallysuspensful, and twisty reading experience. Darling Girls delivered!

The found family trope is one of my favorites and to see it in a thriller was really fun. Darling Girls follow three sisters-not by blood but by choice-who band together when their foster care placement under the manipulative Ms Fairchild, turns out to be quite abusive. Throw in a present day mystery and investigation involving bones discovered under the foster property, and you’ve got one intriguing plot that I could not put down. I was on the edge of my seat as all was revealed.

Hepworth crafted these characters wonderfully. I was fully invested in all 3 sisters and their emotional backstories. I loved that we got both past and present perspectives as the mystery unfolded and I think it wrapped up in a way that no one will see coming. I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect but the ending did leave my jaw on the floor! There are definitely some triggers involved here that I’d recommend looking up.
Until her next, I will be recommending this to all. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this #gifted ebook!

I simply could not put this one!! That twist at the end, I was totally not expecting AT ALL. Can’t wait to see what Sally is gonna be writing next!

Told from four different points of view: a manipulative foster mother, a young girl's need for love, Norah who thinks she knows the system, Alicia who shouldn't be there and a mystery voice. Darling Girls weaves these into a page turning psychological thriller. Hepworth has done it again.