4.5⭐️
Love Sally Hepworth and loved this book!!

It is a story about child abuse in a foster home, so if you’re into dark thrillers... this definitely qualifies

Liked:
-Multiple POV
-Back and forth timeline
-relationship between the 3 sisters
-multiple jaw dropping moments and surprises
-each main character is dealing with things in their personal life + the main plot of the story. You feel like you really get to know each character!
-the mystery of whose bones under the house/ what happened

I guessed some of the twists, but the final moment left me shocked!!

One of my favorite authors! Her books do not disappoint, and this book is no exception! It kept me intrigued from the very first page! Such wonderful characters! This is a must read!

Darling Girls feels like a departure from Sally Hepworth’s regular books, but in the best way possible. This story weaves a web of twisted relationships, the need for love and connection and the lies we tell ourself. The three girls “thought” they had escaped from their evil foster mother until a child’s body is found under their old foster home as it is demolished. This brings them back home to help with the investigation and share what happened to them in their home as well as the missing 2 year old Amy who vanished one day while they were at school.

I'm a big fan of Sally Hepworth's! I had read many of her books. This one has been called gritty and dark - more than her other books. If you enjoy reading her books, I suggest you pick this one up.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I love Sally Hepworth’s books, and this one is no exception! All I can say is, wow - that ending!

Check for trigger warnings before starting this story.

This story is told from the perspectives of Norah, Alicia, and Jessica. They were foster children who ended up together in the same placement. The story begins when they are contacted by the police because a body has been found buried under the location of the foster home they grew up in. The police have questions. This brings the girls back to a time and place that they never wished to return to, and back into contact with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother. Let’s just say, they don’t have fond memories or a wonderful relationship with Miss Fairchild.

The story bounces back and forth between the past and the present. The reader really gets to know Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, and all of their secrets and traumas. I really liked getting to know them and their stories. This book was hard to read at times, but handled very well by the author.

I really thought that I knew where this was headed. There were a lot of twists and turns - but the ending will take your breath away!

Thank you to NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press, and MacMillan audio for the opportunity to read and listen to this fantastic book! The audiobook and narration is incredible. This one is already out, so pick it up. I highly recommend this one!

The beginning is slow but the last 100 pages kept me so intrigued. I wanted to know how it ended but the pacing was a little difficult.

This book was intense.

I love the author’s writing, I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in a book by Sally Hepworth. However, I wish I had more insight into the books topic prior to reading. As a new mother, some of the book was extremely hard to absorb. I understand this is the reality of many children, foster care and otherwise, but it is a still a very difficult topic to see play out.

Overall, I loved the book and can’t wait to see what great work comes next?!

Sometimes, family is what you make it!!

I really enjoyed reading this book, trying to link the pieces, and sort the past along with the "sisters"! It was intriguing and kept me guessing!

This has become one of my favorite Hepworth novels! The premise is unique in that we get a story about 3 foster sisters who experienced a great deal of trauma at their foster home. The story goes back and forth, from past to present, as Hepworth unravels the details of a body found at their old foster home.
I really enjoyed getting to know each sister and figure out the mystery. While it is a quick read, it definitely touches on some heavier topics. Highly recommend this one!

I could not put this one down, read it in 2 sittings! My favorite type of thriller with lots of twists & a surprising ending! A story about 3 girls in foster care that end up in the same home with a nightmare of a foster mother. 25 years later they receive a call that the home was sold, demolished & bones were found under the house. This book was dark but I loved the “sisters” POV & their bond in this book. Thanks NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book!

One of the best mysteries I have read in a while. This is the first book I have read by Sally Hepworth and I plan to read all of them now. It was engaging and I was interested in what happened to the characters. It is worth reading and reading now!

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I love Sally’s books! This one has some secrets along the way and some family drama. Sisters Jessica, Norah, Alicia have been informed that some remains were found at the location of their childhood foster home. We get to hear each of their childhood stories in an alternating pattern. What they endured in that foster home was unforgettable.

I really enjoyed this story. It goes through these saga of three girls living in a foster home together and how they became family by going through an emotionally abusive home. They found a body under the house and are wondering whose it is.

Sally Hepworth does it again with Darling Girls, a book focused on foster sisters who grew up together at Wild Meadows foster home.
I loved this book the entire way throughout, but of course this author keeps you guessing until the end! Perfect for any fan of twisty thrillers.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is another winner - a domestic thriller that deals with 3 girls who grew up in foster care together and have been summoned by the police to try and figure out whose bones are buried beneath the house where they grew up. All 3 girls have their own issues and memories, and the chapters are told in alternating views, along with the narration of an unknown character speaking to a therapist. Hepworth builds the suspense throughout the story and throws in a twist that you won't see coming. I absolutely loved this book and could not wait to get to the ending - highly recommend for your summer reading! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the twists and I didn’t see the end coming. I would recommend this book to others.

A masterfully written psychological thriller that showcases Hepworth’s talent for storytelling and character development!

At the heart of this story are three spirited women of immense strength who are forced to reckon with their malicious and abusive upbringing, decades after they were gaslit for the same abhorrent experiences they must now retell. Each sister was so different yet well fleshed out, I found myself deeply understanding the root of all their actions and wanting to give them each a hug. I’m a sucker for dual timelines as well, and Hepworth is immensely skilled at utilizing secret narrators and multiple timelines to keep me on the edge of my seat. This was one of the most masterful uses of that element that I have seen so far.

I so deeply appreciate when plots centered on horrific abuse end with happiness, redemption, and love. I don’t enjoy trauma porn whatsoever and it was encouraging to see the three sisters on their individual journeys of healing their inner child and finally accepting the love and happiness they have always deserved. I only wish I can spend more time with each sister as they continue to heal.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press! Hepworth has not disappointed me so far :)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is about three young girls brought up in foster care. Jessica, Alicia and Norah couldn't be more different but they were bonded together because of the way they were brought up by Miss Fairchild. On the surface everything looked perfect - the girls were "lucky" to be there. But Miss Fairchild has rules to follow and you don't want to be on her bad side! Years later bones are discovered under the farmhouse where they grew up and they are brought together again and old memories are hard to ignore. Another great psychological thriller you don't want to miss!

Darling Girls
By Sally Hepworth
Review and Rating 4 ⭐️

Sally Hepworth sure knows how to write a page turner! Devoured this one in two days.
Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are three sisters raised in foster care. They bond over the shared trauma they endure at the hands of their foster mother Mrs. Fairchild. They finally escape and years later return to the home they were raised in after a body is found buried under the house. Are they key witnesses or prime suspects?
The story is told in dual timelines, with multiple point of views and a surprising ending. I really enjoyed this twisty thriller and highly recommended it! 4⭐️

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.



Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!