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Darling Girls
Author:  Sally Hepworth
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: April 23, 2024

Darling Girls is another winner for Sally Hepworth, who remains a favorite author for me. The beautiful and charming Miss Fairchild is fostering three girls. The foster home is lovely, immaculate, and welcoming…until it isn’t. It stays immaculate because the foster Mom is a psycho and makes the girls clean obsessively, withholds food, and torments them. They get very little food, and if they steal any food, they are severely punished. But the three girls, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah, all orphans, become best friends; in fact, they become “sisters” who bond for life. The problem with emotional and physical abuse is that you are scarred for life; you take all that hatefulness and abuse into adulthood. The girls reunite when the police ask them to return to the foster home, where a dead body has been found buried under the house they once lived in, and the story starts to unfold. Ms. Hepworth keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, and the twisty ending is very good. #DarlingGirls #abuse #fosterchildren #fosterhome #fostercare #corruptFosterCaresystem #murder #friendship #sisters #bond #united #secrets #lies #arc @stmartinspress @sallyhepworth @netgalley
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: April 23, 2024.
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This book had me hooked from the start. Another great thriller from Sally Hempworth where you spend the entire book trying to figure out who the mysterious POV was and how it connects to the story. Three foster sisters are forced back to the hometown they escaped from after a body was discovered under the foster house they lived in. The story is told between the three sisters and goes back and forth between the present and the past. The timelines and POV were very easy to keep up with and I spent the majority of the read trying to figure out who the mysterious body was. The final chapter of the epilogue also changed the whole narrative that was created throughout the entire book and I love jaw dropping moments like that. This is definitely a must read for any thriller fans who love to figure out a good mystery.

Darling Girls is another great read from Sally Hepworth. The non-linear storyline about 3 girls in foster care being a part of an investigation will keep you gripped. The book starts as a slow burn but quickly speeds up. It will keep you guessing who do the bones belong to?

Darling Girls was a NetGalley award, but I've read all Sally Hepworth's previous books, so I was fully intrigued and eager to read Darling Girls before its 2024 release. Australia. Small town. Woman fosters several young girls. Abuse. History. Death. Clearly there's a story from the woman's past. Lots to unpack. Absorbed completely by the storytelling approach... started Saturday morning and finished within 3 hours. Wow can Hepworth right. Lots of side stories but the main one was fairly straightforward. Shocker in the end. Really makes you wonder about how people function in this world.

It was a little slow to start but overall great read! I loved the different personalities of the sisters and the ability this book had to pull at your heartstrings and keep you on your toes all at the same time

This may be Sally Hepworth's best, and that's saying something! Darling Girls follows the story of three foster sisters and their abusive home. In dual timeline format, Ms. Hepworth introduces us to her interesting characters, whose trauma makes them even unreliable to themselves, and it's fun to have a clear villain to route against.

Darling Girls tells the story of three girls who were in the foster care of Miss Fairchild. Let's just say it wasn't ideal. Then they receive a call from the police that human remains are found under their old foster home, which forces them to relive their memories. But whose body was under the house? And are they responsible?

The story takes you between the three girls story from their point of view in current times and their past. I love multiple POVs. There is also some interesting storyline from psychiatry notes.

I enjoyed the book and it is definitely an emotional story but with mystery and psychological thrills.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and Sally Hepworth for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Darling Girls is another fantastic novel by Sally Hepworth. Like many of her other books, it's not really a suspense/thriller novel, but it kind of is, along with being a mystery. This story focuses on the foster care system, and is told by three women that spent part of their childhood growing up together with an abusive foster mother. Each woman had their life impacted by being part of the system and living in Miss Fairchild's household. Jessica came into the household early, and constantly strives to be perfect as a means of being loved and accepted. Norah had horrible experiences in the system before she suffered through Miss Fairchild, and is still prone to lying and physical violence. Alicia was lucky enough to have her grandmother in her earlier childhood, but this only makes her more aware of how badly the three girls are being treated, and determined as an adult to make sure that other foster kids don't have the same experience. The trio are brought together when human remains are found on the site of their old home. Is one of them responsible? Was it their foster mother? Someone else entirely? And what about the other child that lived there that no one is talking about? Hepworth did a great job of evolving the story to keep the reader hooked, while also drawing attention to how precarious a situation it can be for a child in the foster care system. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Sally's books, I love the writing style, plot and twists, her execution of all 3 are flawless in this book!!

I was a little unsure of this one at the start, but it didn’t take me long to become engrossed in the story of Norah, Jessica, Alicia, and their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. I loved the dual timelines, so we got to follow the developing mystery and investigation at the girls’ former home AND we got to learn about their experiences in the home as children at the same time. I enjoyed learning about both the girls’ lives as adults and their experiences, and trying to put together the effect that their pasts had on their current situations, and their childhoods, and how they came to live with Miss Fairchild. This one kept me guessing the entire time, and I flew through it! And BOY do I love a last page (or last chapter in this case) surprise. Highly recommend this one!

“‘At least here, we have each other,’ Norah said at last. ‘Maybe if we stick together, we can become like…like sisters.’”

I loved Sally Hepworth’s previous thriller The Soulmate, so I was honored and thrilled to receive the ARC of Darling Girls. At first glance this novel is a masterclass in gaslighting, but the true heart of the book is the relationship between the three sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Exhibiting an unbreakable bond that can only come from choosing to be sisters rather than being born that way, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia weave a thrilling mystery told in two timelines: their abusive childhoods in the foster system under the care of Miss Fairchild, and the present day investigation into the recently discovered bones under the house they were fostered in. With gasp-inducing reveals, Oscar-worthy gaslighting, and an extremely compelling cast of characters, Darling Girls is a brilliant addition to Hepworth’s library of thrillers.

Synopsis:
They were supposed to be lucky. Miss Fairchild was young and beautiful, living on a big country estate with stables and a pool, and her house was meant to offer sanctuary after years of physical and sexual abuse in the foster system. But while Wild Meadows may have appeared to be a safe-haven to every case worker who dropped their wards off, the three girls inside knew better.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia share no DNA. They look nothing like each other, and their close ages would make it impossible for any woman to birth all three of them, but each girl knows as clearly as the sky is blue and the grass is green that they are sisters. Although the three each arrived at Wild Meadows at different times, once the girls were together they formed an unbreakable bond, thickened with trauma and pain, and tightened every time someone tried to separate them.

Now, twenty-five years later, the three are still just as tight-knit, sisters in every way that counts. After all, they escaped Wild Meadows and the manipulative woman who called herself their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. But when detectives call the sisters to inform them that bones were found buried underneath the foundation of Wild Meadows, old wounds are opened, and forgotten mysteries resurface. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia make their way to Port Agatha to be questioned, quickly realizing the investigation may not be as cut and dry as it should be; after all, Miss Fairchild always was the master gaslighter, even to the police.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia each have lingering scars from their childhoods, and present-day secrets that could ruin them if uncovered. Will the bones of their past come back to bite them, or will the sisters finally get the justice they deserve, twenty-five years later?

Thoughts:
I ate this book up almost alarmingly fast. Sally Hepworth always does such an amazing job of keeping a reader hooked through each chapter, and Darling Girls was no different. The multiple points of view and dual timelines had me speeding through the novel, desperate for answers, and the unreliable narration made each reveal even more shocking. Using red herrings and delayed reveals, lies and withheld facts, Hepworth manages to have the reader questioning every character that emerges, from the lovable, awkward social worker who surely couldn’t hurt a fly, to the suspecting detectives who can’t seem to do their jobs right the first time. Of course, we have an obvious villain in Miss Fairchild, but Hepworth skillfully weaves a narrative in which we begrudgingly sympathize for the monstrous woman.

I adored the dynamic between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, and especially loved their unwavering dedication to each other throughout the whole story. The three girls truly emulate the sisters-by-choice philosophy, and make it clear to everyone in their lives that their bond comes first. I loved Norah’s wit (especially the names of her three dogs), Alicia’s near-fallible kindness, and Jessica’s over-protective nature. Hepworth did a beautiful job representing the plight of the foster system and the lingering trauma it leaves, demonstrating the effects—both subtle and obvious—it left on each girl well into their thirties.

Hepworth is quickly becoming my go-to mystery/thriller author, and I can’t wait to continue reading her heart-pounding stories. I love female mystery authors, and I’m always excited to recommend Hepworth at the bookstore. In fact, Darling Girls may just edge out The Soulmate for my staff pick come April!

I had a very hard time reading this book. Child abuse is not something that I want to immerse myself in. At times some of the scenes seemed gratuitous. And the ending was disturbing!

Jessica, Nora’h and Alicia were all in the same foster home. 25 years later An investigation has been opened,into a crime that may have occurred while the girls were living at the foster home. This book will make readers uncomfortable and many May put it down. Having said that I do recommend for public libraries as Hepworth has a large following. Perhaps it should come with trigger warnings?

Thank you Netgalley and Sally Hepworth! This was my first Sally Hepworth book and it will not be my last. This multiperspective, across different timelines story was a fast paced read. I found the stories enthralling and couldn't put it down! An amazing story of how family can be made. Fast laced thriller

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth tells the story of Jessica, Norah and Alicia “sisters” that grew up in foster care at the home of Miss Fairchild. Then a small body is found underneath the house and an investigation ensues. A good character development of the sisters. This was a good read and a lot of research into the foster care system. Thank you NetGallery and St Martins Press for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Three girls form a sisterhood after living in a foster house of horrors. I read a few reviews before diving into this one and was anticipating a great read. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me. The characters failed to compel me to care about them and the storyline was a stretch.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and am writing this voluntary, honest review. Although this was another fantastic book by Ms. Hepworth, this was not an easy read. Trigger warning for child abuse, drug use, and abusive/narcissistic mother. That aside, the story arc was well written and I was hooked to the 2nd half and read it all in one sitting. Thank you for allowing me to review and I hope others enjoy it as much as I did!

Sally Hepworth always knows how to blow my mind! This book was so good; I devoured it in less than 24 hrs. She so skillfully draws the reader in to the plot with her characters that when the twist occurs, it leaves you with your mouth hanging open. Darling Girls is NO exception. This is one of Hepworth’s best. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book is amazing. The good reviews you see on it are true I highly recommend this the way the author speaks the words on the page have you invested

"Darling Girls" kept me guessing with its dark secrets and unsettling past. The bond between the sisters draws you in, and the farm setting builds suspense. However, predictability creeps in, and the ending feels rushed. While an engaging read, it doesn't delve deep enough into the characters or their trauma. If you enjoy domestic thrillers, give it a try, but don't expect a mind-blowing twist.

This is my favorite Hepworth book to date! I don’t even have words to describe just how good this was. I was absolutely hooked into the story, these characters, and the plot unfolding. I even tabbed/annotated while reading. It deals with some heavy, emotional stuff (trigger warnings for child abuse/neglect). But, wow, did it make me feel everything. It made me think very deeply about the foster care system, and what those kids have to go through. I loved the structure of the story, getting the past and present timelines, as well as the multiple POVs. The building suspense was gripping, with a mystery at its core that kept me guessing. The girls felt so real to me - I wanted to reach through the pages and save them. I can’t recommend it highly enough! Going to be a favorite thriller of the year for me.