I enjoyed the first 70% of this book but the last 30% felt really sluggish to me. Once they stopped the dual timeline I struggled to stay invested. I think the concept is interesting but the payoff wasn’t enough based on the build-up. I also felt like some of the dialogue was awkward, written in a way I couldn’t imagine real people saying. Some of this could be due to the uncorrected proof but the back and forth with the psychiatrist fit in the chapters awkwardly, it would make more sense to be their own chapters.

Excuse me?! That ending! Darling Girls is a psychological thriller that really focuses on the characters, their development, and how past traumas have stayed with them into adulthood. This book is dark. I actually want to say this felt darker than some of the other thrillers I've read, and I think it's because it's not crazy to think of this book in a realistic way.

Norah, Jessica, and Alicia are three girls who've bonded in foster care while dealing with the trauma of an abusive parent. Set between three separate timelines, the past, the present, and various meetings with a psychologist this book had me on the edge of my seat. I didn't want to put it down because I just had to know what happened. This is my first book by Sally Hepworth and I am a fan! I can't wait to read her other titles.

A well written and engaging thriller. I will definitely seek out other books by this author.
The characters and story really kept me engaged.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Another fantastic thriller from this author! With twists and turns to keep me guessing, I could not stop turning the pages. I know I will always be entertained by this author’s books and each one is a must read!

Very good book by a reliable author! I loved the dual time lines and the multiple POVs. The setting of the book was right up my alley. I highly recommend this book and this author.

Such a great read! Jessica, Norah and Alicia are foster sisters who are contacted by a detective about bones found at their old foster home, Wild Meadows. The three are questioned and all remember a past they’d rather forget.

I couldn’t put this one down! Great thriller. Thank you for the ARC for my honest review.

4.5stars!
Well, it is to no surprise that I adore this author. I read all her books and I am practically hanging by a moment for whatever she will write in the future. At every publish, I claimed to have found a new favorite but then again, at every publish becomes my new favorite and Darling Girls is no different.
What made Sally's books so interesting? She got these three recipes into cooking. A dead body, a deathly secret and a crazy psychological thriller plot that thickens at every flip of the page.
Darling Girls was about women in their thirties who all grew up in a foster home, Jessica, Norah (with an H) and Alicia. A police investigator has reached out to them for information that might help the investigation regarding remains of a dead person buried under the foster house where they grew up. Un-earthing the unknown human remains who happens to be of a child come with the consequences of unburying the long-forgotten secrets, nightmares, pain and sufferings.
This one seem to be triggering and not for the faint of heart. Any book that deals with child abuse is heavy and difficult to read but for some reason, Sally Hepworth has the art of putting this painful reality into words gently without taking away the credibility and roughness of the pain that is deep and raw and heartbreaking.
I truly enjoyed this read and I can't wait to talk about this on Sally's US tour. She has done a beautiful job with Darling Girls and she has presented its themes of friendship, secrets, and the lasting impact of childhood experiences that was thoughtful and insightful. It was great that I was able to experience the book through different formats. I was one of the lucky people to received advance readers e-copy from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley and to have listened to Jessica Clarke's voice narrating the complimentary audiobook from Macmillan Audio in exchange of my honest review and with that being said, I highly recommend this book!

This psychological thriller immediately propels the reader into an intriguing, confusing plot in which the POV alternates between three former foster children, sisters in all but blood, and the mysterious patient of Dr. Warren whose narrative is the only one in first person. The action centers around a large house in rural Port Agatha, near Melbourne, the home of former foster parent Holly Fairchild and Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, the three sisters. A body has just been discovered underneath the home, and they've all been summoned to be interviewed by police. The device of switching between protagonists, and between Now and Before time frames effectively hooks the reader in and propels the action, although it demands close attention from the reader to avoid confusion. As the story goes on, the past and present happenings in the sisters' lives serves to fully flesh out the characters, and I became fully invested in their story and had a hard time putting the book down until I'd finished it. The climax and resolution of the novel are satisfying, and the final twist didn't seem gratuitous, as sometimes can happen in a thriller of this type; it is unexpected but makes sense. I'll definitely recommend this one to readers who love tense, complicated psychological thrillers.

If you like sister stories of secrets dredged up from the past, DARLING GIRLS is for you. The story follows three sisters in the aftermath of the discovery of a body beneath the foster home they grew up in. Sally Hepworth does sibling dynamics so well, and the bond of sisterhood takes center stage here. While there is a mystery it takes a back seat as a subplot to the main focus of the story: the characters. The sisters were not very distinct in my mind and I found the pacing to be slightly slower than what I was in the mood for.

Childhood trauma does play a major role in the storyline so please know that this story may not be for everyone. Through her lively characters Sally does bring some moments of levity. While I enjoyed some of Sally’s previous novels more, I think DARLING GIRLS will still find its home with many readers.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, but there were parts that fell a little flat. It could've been really good and there were times that I was totally immersed, but mostly it was just ok.

Darling Girls delves into the traumatic past of three women, Alicia, Jessica, and Norah, whose lives were irrevocably altered by their time with a foster mother, Miss Fairchild. The book navigates the psychological and emotional complexities of child abuse and the long-lasting impact of such experiences. The author does an exceptional job in portraying the individual struggles of Alicia, Jessica, and Norah, each dealing with their own psychological scars in unique ways—Alicia's low self-esteem, Jessica's OCD, and Norah's anger issues. What makes "Darling Girls" particularly compelling is the exploration of the bond shared by these women. It's a bond formed in a shared traumatic experience that is both their strength and their curse. The discovery of bones under their old farmhouse is a symbolic uncovering of their buried past, forcing them to confront memories and truths they had hoped to leave behind. The book poses profound questions about the nature of survival, the capability of the human spirit to endure, and the possibility of escaping the shadows of a traumatic past. It's a dark, intense read that may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with similar traumatic experiences, due to its raw and honest portrayal of abuse and psychological torment. This is Sally Hepworth’s best book in awhile. I strongly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy for a review.

I couldn’t put this one down! I had to finish it to see how it all tied together. I haven’t liked many of this authors books but this one was such a good read. It definitely was sad though, being a mom and reading stories of all these girls living in a foster care situation was devastating.

This is highly addictive!
Shady pasts, unknown human bones found, everyone's a suspect and a tight knit found family with secrets of it's own.
I could not put this down!
I always have high hopes for Sally Hepworth, and am somehow still always surprised when she knocks my socks off.
Also the audio has delightful Aussie accents *swoon*
Much love to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for my DRCs.

I couldn't put this one down! Our story centers around 3 foster sisters under the care of the psychologically torturous Miss Fairchild. Jessica is a type A oldest sister with a home organization business. Norah is a troublemaker with multiple run ins with the law. Alicia has made it her life's mission to help other foster kids by becoming a social worker herself. Now adults, the 3 sisters receive news that a body has been found under their foster home. The question is: Who is it, and who done it?

As the oldest of 3 sisters (although I had a vastly different upbringing than the "darling girls"), I related to the sisterhood element throughout this story. I enjoyed the slow tease of the mystery, getting a few more clues here and there along the way, eye-widening moments no one could have guessed where coming. This book is full of twists and turns, and this book is DARK in the best way! Lovers of family dramas, dark thrillers/mysteries, who done its and the like will LOVE this one.

Toward the end, some of the resolutions felt a little cheesily delivered, but I enjoyed how the bow was tied on all the storylines.

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this early in exchange for an honest review!

****Publishing April 23, 2024******

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jessica, Norah, and Alicia all became foster sisters when they were eventually placed with Miss Fairchild. All placed for different reasons and all treated differently depending on the mood of Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild was at times on the cusp of being abusive. After escaping her wrath and never hearing from Miss Fairchild again, 25 years later they receive a call from Detective Patel. A body was found at Miss Fairchild’s estate! They are asked to come in for questioning. Is it what it seems? Will the sisters be accused? What will be discovered?

Sally Hepworth’s latest book incorporates the foster care system into her latest domestic thriller. The uncanny characters and unsuspecting twists and turns create a page-turning and entertaining read! A great book to take on vacation!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press , I was provided an ARC of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #Netgalley

I really really enjoyed this book. Everytime I thought I knew where the story was going it took another turn. I appreciated the individual characters and their differences in personalities as well as the thought and emotion behind them.

Wow! What a rollercoaster this one was! Everytime I thought I had it figured out I was met with a plot twist that made me do a double take!! And SO many emotions. You couldn't help but feel horrified for what the girls endured and the impacts it had on them.

This was my second book by the author and I will definitely be watching for more.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book

Sally Hepworth does it again! I could not put this book down. The characters were written so well, especially with the multiple POVs and dual timelines. It is a tougher subject matter with the darker side of the foster care system at the forefront of the plot, but I thought it was written with such care and I loved the author’s note about it at the end. There were a lot of really great twists and turns, but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It was such a complex and nuanced story of resilience, sisterhood and overcoming trauma. I highly recommend this one, but just be warned, there are some really tough moments in this story so make sure you check the content warnings and see if you’re in the right headspace for it.
CW: mentions of suicide, sexual abuse, child abuse, death of a parent and grandparent, rape, child neglect, domestic violence, child death, drug addiction, overdose

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about 3 sisters revisiting their past when bones are found under their old foster home. They are all healing from what happened to them in their childhood and having to deal with seeing their foster mother again and try to help the police figure out what happened. Alongside this story, information is given from the foster mothers perspective as well about her own childhood.

I didn't see everything coming in this book and I really enjoyed the relationship between the sisters and how different all the girls were. The character development in this was great! I wish it had a different ending as it was kind of abrupt but that's not unheard of in thrillers like this. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

This is my favorite by @sallyhepworth !
Mrs. Fairchild seems like the perfect foster parent. Behind closed doors, she makes the girls clean, take care of each other, & limits the amount of food that they are allowed. When a new foster baby comes into the home, the girls decided to tell school authorities about the danger the nanny could be in. Who is Amy? What ever happened to Amy? The girls are all called back years later a adults when a body of a small child is discovered buried under the house!