Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy to review. This book is expected to publish in April 2024.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia met in foster care years ago. After spending their formative years together in Miss Fairchild's care, they are still inseparable. When bones are discovered at their old foster home, they're called in to recount their time spent there to determine if something dastardly occurred.

There is no doubt in my mind Sally Hepworth can write an intriguing tale. And while I did finish this one, it is not one I would recommend. The brutal child abuse described was too much for this momma's heart. While I know those types of situations do unfortunately exist, it's not something I want to read extensively about.

CW: child abuse, sexual blackmail, gaslighting, drug abuse, overdosing

Sally Hepworth is my go-to author for a quick read that is bursting with wit and keeps my on the edge of my seat. Her latest was captivating and a bit dark, but I loved it!

This book was a wild ride! I found myself chuckling at the antics of Jessica, Norah and Alicia and heart warmed by their intense bond. I absolutely hated Mrs. Fairchild, and was appalled at how she treated her foster daughters. Still, it created a story that was hard to put down and quite disturbing at times. Reading the author's note, it was maddening that the overall theme of the story was based on real events - Australian children being taken from their birth families and re-homed. The final chapter had my jaw on the floor! I knew that the main characters had some serious psychological damage, but even I wasn't prepared for that ending.

Sally Hepworth is such a great author and "Darling Girls" was right up there at one of my favorites by her! I was hooked within the first few chapters which is always a selling point for me. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone! 5*s!

Great thriller by Hepworth! I thought all the characters and backstories worked. I enjoyed the three sisters and the insight we get into Mrs. Fairchild.

The book follows three young girls/sisters who were in foster care and were neglected and abused and how that shaped them as adults. And toss in the mystery of the bones under a home that they all shared as children you get a great thriller/mystery.

And per usual we get a twist!

Final review:

I loved this tale of three sisters where what happened is not known and many of the sisters memories are affected by things that were done to them as children and later as adults. We follow Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, three women who have chosen to call themselves sisters after the hellish childhood they had. When they are contacted by the police about a body being found under the home of a foster home they all grew up in as children, they all start to remember what happened to them as children and think about their mother, Ms. Fairchild.

I think that Hepworth did a great job developing each of the women, and even giving us insights into Ms. Fairchild and what made her tick.

I thought that the story would get a bit stale after a while, but thought that Hepworth did a great job keeping the story engaging and for you to wonder about what was real, and not real.

Sally Hepworth cannot write a bad book. Like ever. When desperate times call for desperate measures, what will the trio do to get what they want? This domestic thriller had me wanting MORE the whole time. I read it in 2 sittings. SO DANG GOOD!

Wow! I’ve read Sally Hepworth previously and I will say that I still have not been disappointed! This story was fantastic and I really liked the character building, which is huge for me in thrillers! I love characters that really bring the story to life and Hepworth did that with her main women of this story! Overall, a fantastic thriller read!

Sally Hepworth does it again!

Darling Girls is faced paced thriller that explores the secrets of three women who share a traumatic past. The writing weaves together the present and the past, revealing the twisted relationship between the women and their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. Deep secrets are revealed when the women are forced to return to their past. The twists in this book were fantastic, there were several that I didn’t see coming, keeping my on the edge of my seat until the very end.

This story highlights the devastating impact that trauma inflicts and the associated behaviors. However, it also shows that in some instances it can be overcome with time, truth, and love.

I read all of Sally Hepworth's books and this one just didn't do it for me. I know I'm in the minority, I enjoyed reading about the three foster girls who became sisters, I hated Miss Fairchild, and really didn't like the end of the book. There are quite a few "triggers" in this book and that was part of my problem. I ended the book with an "Oh my gosh, no!" feeling. I will continue to seek out any books she writes and I hope I like them.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC of this book!

My second read by Sally Hepworth did not disappoint! This dual timeline story follows three girls who grew up in the same foster home - and the chaos and damage left in the wake of their time there. Each of the girls had different backgrounds, personalities, and trauma, but they bonded over their shared experience, calling themselves “sisters” even though they never legally became so.

The character building in this book started out a bit slow for me, but once the ball started rolling, I couldn’t stop reading. As I became invested in Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, my heart broke for them and wanted to hug them. The dual timeline kept me guessing, as did the journal entries from the psychiatrists office, sharing details of a character with no name, telling a woeful, significant story.

While the entire story makes the reader feel melancholy, you cannot help but root for the justice of these, dare I say it, DARLING girls. The book gives an inside look at how life in the foster care system (this one based in Australia) can leave holes in the hearts of those shuffled through it, but that even the most broken can end up with a redemption story. I think that this book, while heavy, will leave readers with a hopeful feeling of the resilience in human nature, and those who will stand with you when your world is crumbling.

4.5 stars (only bc the spelling errors & grammar of this ARC actually started to affect my reading…I had to reread several sentences, multiple times, to understand what was being said. But the overall story slapped).

OH MY GOD!!!?????????

This book was such a freaking wild ride and THAT ENDING!!!! At first I was so comforted that everything was tied up in a near little bow & even cracked a little smile…but i should’ve know better

SPOILER ALERT!
Overall I enjoyed the book and liked the characters. I don’t think it was as good as The Good Sister. I thought there could have been a better plot twist and I thought we got one when it was found out that Jessica tipped off Miss Fairchild about Amy (which she did). I thought the plot would take a different route after that but it didn’t.

I love Sally Hepworth's books - this was my sixth book by her and my second favorite after The Good Sister.

Told in alternating chapters between three sisters, the book switches between timelines of present day and past - when the girls met and created their sisterly bond in the same foster home. All 3 end up traveling back to the town where the foster home was, and are forced to confront what happened to them in foster care.

The quick chapters made this impossible to put down, I was racing to find out what happened and really surprised and impressed by the twists. I really loved all three characters, and felt for them and their individual struggles. Jessica was the one I felt the most connected to, and could see her motivation for the mistakes she made.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller, with great character development and good writing. I will for sure be reading everything Sally Hepworth writes as soon as they are available!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Sally Hepworth can write! Her storytelling is just amazing. I fell in love with the characters and all their idiosyncrasies and their unbreakable bond. I read this on my kindle which I only read at bedtime mainly. I wanted to go to bed early so i could read more. Darling girls by sally was really good! It's about a foster home. I would love to read more like it.

I enjoyed the setting and the characters. It was the perfect amount of description for me.

Jessica, Nora & Alicia meet in a foster home and become sisters for life. Unfortunately their foster mom is an evil lady who fosters for money. She is also trying to find the perfect child who will love only her. Over the years a lot of bad things happen to the girls while they are living with their evil foster mom. They finally decide to tell the police what is going on although no one believes them. 25 years later bones are found under the house they lived in. They are forced to go back to the town they lived in and confront their past head on. Who's bones were buried under that house? Who killed someone and buried them under the house? Will anyone believe the sisters now? This was a great book. I really love Sally Hepworth!

Darling Girls was a solid 4.5 star read. I’m glad that I read this one versus listen to it because the back and forth timeline as well as having alternating character chapters would’ve been confusing. While reading I felt a little ho-hum at times and didn’t mind putting the book down. But that ending… *chef’s kiss!

Wow. Just…wow.

This was fantastic! I adored our three sisters and just wanted more and more of them.

The story is heart-rending and full of surprises. Each time I thought I knew what was going on, I was wrong.

In addition, the author gives us a villain who reads as real and terrible. Even after the book was over, I wanted this person to suffer!

A truly excellent read!

• ARC via Publisher

Sally Hepworth does it again.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC to read and review!
This book overcame a trigger of mine - abusive treatment of children. In spite of that I loved the book and am so glad I read it.
Jessica, Norah and Alicia were all in a foster care home with Miss Fairchild. It was not a good situation and each young woman clearly has scars from their upbringing. They are all contacted by a police officer who tells them bones have been found at the house and they are all called back for questioning and investigation.
What follows is a roller coaster ride or twists and turns! Domestic suspense at its best.
The book goes back and forth with the different points of view and at times it is not totally clear who is narrating a section. I could hardly put this one down.
I did find the ending satisfying and the final twist was like WOW!

Once I got into this one, I couldn't put it down, but if I'm being completely honest, the horror of the foster care system is never going to be my first choice for a "quick read" mystery novel (maybe I'm still recovering from reading "White Oleander" many, many years ago). I did find this one very interesting and I absolutely loved the characters--if you are looking for a character-driven mystery, Sally Hepworth is always the way to go.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book had me hooked from the first page, and I devoured it! It was a haunting story that will stay with me for a while. The character development and depth was beautiful. Chef's kiss!

Alice, Jessica, Norah each have their own issues, but they have a sister like bond that can’t be broken. They grew up together with a foster mother they had to be very careful around. Now that bones are discovered under their old foster home, they need to bring up those memories.

Another great Sally Hepworth story for me! I could not put this one down and was enamored by the story of the girls in the past. The foster mother’s cruelty kept the suspense at a very tense level. There was also a mystery in the present day timeline and random therapy sessions thrown in. At the end, it all comes together in shocking ways that I never would have predicted; and that’s still not the end!

“The thing about sharing a story like mine is that it doesn’t stop when you’re not telling it. It continues to play out in my mind continuously.”

Darling Girls comes out 4/23.