Sally has done it again and just keeps getting better with each book.
She has a way of writing engaging characters and plot that makes you love them and their quirks. She has a way of writing great interpersonal relationships.
Wonderfull book!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

As usual Sally Hepworth brings us a story that keeps your mind sharp and your fingers turning pages! Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are bonded in more ways than one and when the discovery of bones surface at the foster home they were in and they are called back to tell what they know. Told in past and present and alternating voices the reader is in for a wild ride with an ending that will shock you!!!

Darling Girls - Sally Hepworth
Alicia, Jessica and Norah aren't just friends, they're sisters through their traumatic experiences.
One by one they arrived at Miss Fairchilds house, with promise of a nice safe place to live. A foster home where they thought they would be loved and taken care of. Little did they know, that image wouldn't last long.
Miss Fairchild was a vile woman, who from the outside looked like a warm, lonely woman, but instead, she was cruel and ruthless. There were rules to be followed, and the girls would do their best to never, ever, cross Miss. Fairchild.
When the little baby arrived, the girls had enough. They wouldn't let Miss. Fairchild get away with it anymore.
As adults, the girls function the best they can, but when the police call about the bones found under Miss. Fairchild's old house, the fear comes barreling back. As the girls are questioned, they're left with more of their own questions, telling their side of the story, the story that was once ignored by previous police.
But, everyone needs to know, who is buried under the house?
This book, I just have to say, wow. Sadly it doesn't come out until April 2024, but this will definitely be a favorite of my 2023 year. Hearing the girls heartbreaking stories of how they came to be at Miss. Fairchild's, how they survived together, and how they moved forward kept the book going at a fast pace and kept you wanting more. This book will pull at heart strings, shock you, terrify you, wow you, and more. Make sure you add this one to your 2024 tbr list, and I promise you won't be disappointed! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5!!!
Thank you Netgalley for the awesome ARC!

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is hard to put down once starting to read. There is a lot of actions and suspense. It is well written.

Alicia, Jessica and Norah are orphans, who were taken to Miss Fairchild’s home very young. They bonded and became sisters for life. They led a life of hardship as foster children under Miss Fairchild’s cruel way of taking care of children.

Years later bones were found under the house and the sisters were asked to return to the place that they had never wanted to see again.

It is a thriller with so many secrets that have been buried for years. There is a dog that you will fall in love with.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s press. Thank you for the wonder book. All opinions are my own.

I have to say this book took me totally for surprise, in the best way. It took me out of a reading slump and book after book of the same thing.
Now, I am giving this book 5 stars not only because it was extremely well written, amazing character development, and I couldn’t put it down. However, another huge reason is the message and honest message this book shares (also I work in the psychology field so it intrigued me entirely).
The boom centers around 3 sisters Norrah, Jessica, and Alicia who grew up together in a horrific foster home. The author did an excellent job in making me feel all the feels these girls went through, where they are now as adults, and how the things they endured molded them into who they are today (good and bad). It also shines the light on a subject that should be talked about more. They as adults have to go back to that foster home and face the trauma they endured and find how truths they never saw coming.
This book kept intrigued, interested, and motivated to continue to follow all of their stories! Great amazing work!

Thank you the author , Netgalley, and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book!!

I have read everything that Hepworth has written and this one did not disappoint! It centers on 3 girls who grew up in a foster home; years later when they are in their 30s, a body is discovered on the grounds and they end up having to rehash their tough upbringing while they were there. The story is told in both past and present timelines and alternates POVs between the 3 women: Jessica, Norah, and Alicia.

The mystery was really good and kept me guessing. When it was all revealed, it was so obvious that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out on my own earlier; the author left all the clues out for grabs. I did think that the 3 main characters were a bit 2 dimensional- they all felt like stereotypes based on their upbringings. I also thought the fact that they referred to each other as sisters when they really only spent a couple years living together as teens was very odd, but having not spent time in the foster care system myself, maybe this is common.

Overall, I thought the book was a winner that was packed with twists and turns. Despite the fact that the protagonists didn’t do a lot for me, I still really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to those who enjoy mysteries and psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Great book! I couldn’t put it down. Another good twisty tale from Sally Hepworth. It’s one of her best!

Thanks for the review copy. I read it in 2 days because I had to know what would happen next. This book made me grateful for my family. I look forward to reading more books by Hepworth.

I loved this one! Sally Hepworth is always putting out top thrillers. The suspense kept me in and I loved the different point of views from the sisters. It was fun to hear the therapy sessions of the mother too.

I always love Sally’s books but this one was not my favorite. I did enjoy the book being written in 2 timelines from the POV of multiple characters.

Flaw through this one in 1 day! Loved the twists and multiple points of view. Felt like the big twist was revealed too early and I kinda expected everything that happened. Also felt like the characters were just two dimensional. Enjoyed the faster pace and the dialogue though.

"Darling Girls" has all the makings of a wonderful psychological thriller. From past novels, that is exactly what the reader would expect from an author with Sally Hepworth's literary catalog. What follows is my honest reflection after reading the advanced reader copy I recently received. It also appears that mine may be an outlier opinion based on other pre-release reviews.

This novel is presented in a *past*/*present* format that often allows the astute reader the possibility of sussing out clues in advance of the ending. It has a compelling theme (child abuse within the home and within the foster care system) and more than its share of twists and turns to satisfy. And yet, for this reader, as the story progressed, it became more than a bit predictable while also being over the top in its late in story twists. Its characters (main and supporting) were often stereotypical, which for me pushed up against its themes of childhood abuse and the longevity of its trauma. Topics as serious as that deserve more. In addition, the past/present format, at times, worked against story continuity.

"Darling Girls" was a good novel, just not as wonderful as I had expected given Hepworth's previous novels and their reviews. For fans of the genre or Hepworth (or both), it most likely will be a satisfying read.

This novel is set for an April 23, 2024 release.

#NetGalley
#DarlingGirls
#SallyHepworth

This was my first book by Sally Hepworth and it certainly won't be my last. I've already started The Soulmate.
Great twisty turny thriller that still gave the warm fuzzy feelings of sisterhood and love. It kept me guessing until the epilogue and that's not something I can say too often.
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book.

Book Review
DARLING Girls by Sally Hepworth

Tropes
Drug Abuse
Fostering/Adoption
Neglect/ emotional abuse and trauma
Narcissist
Multiple POV
Extortion and blackmail
Found family
Small town
Past and present timeline

Characters
I saw a bit of myself in each of the 3 women who survived Miss Fairchild’s upbringing:
Jessica- a woman with the need to control her environment and a people pleaser
Alicia- a nurturer who puts others needs before her own
Norah- a sexually promiscuous and quick to anger hot head in Norah.
And
Miss Fairchild - one fucked up person -her story unfolds as told to her “therapist” while in prison and I struggled to find any empathy for her.

Overall Thoughts- A truly messed up domestic suspense thriller that makes you question the mind of the author that dreamed it up. My heart bled for these women and the abuse they suffered only to find healing at the end as they came to terms with their past. An emotional roller coaster of a read .

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own

Sally Hepworth is an auto-read author. She continues to keep me entertained. Thrilled to see what she cooks up next. Great plot with a lot of questions around the ending but enjoyed it. Thank you for the chance to read early!

I continue to adore Sally Hepworth and I will read everything she writes! This novel took me on a roller coaster of feelings. I was able to empathize with the sisters' close friendship as they persevered through their difficult upbringing together. Reading it was taxing; I needed pauses, but I couldn't stop trying to understand what was happening. The author's style was at once tragic and compelling; you couldn't put the book down. I think the author did a fantastic job of making it easy to keep track of the story's chronology jumps and multiple points of view. I became really attached to the ladies and cared a lot about what happened to them. The portrayal of the detectives seemed a little too idealistic, but that wasn't a dealbreaker. Although some of the subject matter can be somewhat weighty, I continue to recommend this book to others.

Thank you so much to #netgalley for this free copy for an honest review.

I've read 3 other Sally Hepworth books and have really enjoyed all of this. Darling Girls was no exception! This book was about three "sisters" in foster care and was written in past/present and the different character's perspectives. There was some confusion in the book, when someone was talking to a therapist, that I struggled with, perhaps that was just me. However, that was cleared up near the end of the book. I was not expecting the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The plot of Darling Girls isn't really the selling point-the "deal breaker" is how the plot evolves. Slow going at first, Sally Hepworth saves the absolute best for last. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are put in foster care at the home of Holly Fairchild. At first it seems like Miss Fairchild will offer her charges the love and stability that was sorely missing from their lives, but Holly quickly shows her true and ugly colors. As the three girls band together to survive, their "mother" becomes increasingly violent and unstable. When the bones of a baby are discovered under the Fairchild home Holly's past is exposed, turning the story upside down. Sally Hepworth has written a devilishly clever story in Darling Girls, but the burning question becomes "exactly who is the devil???" It's hard to keep up the momentum when dealing with the grind of daily living in the Fairchild home, but Miss Hepworth gives these chapters enough suspense that you won't lose interest. And you'll be rewarded for sticking around with one of the most jaw dropping endings out there. The devil is in the details, and they are a doozy!!

Right from the start, I cared about the characters in this story and was invested in the outcome. I felt sorry for the girls and wondered why no one had ever considered that they all had PTSD and got them help. However, I also enjoyed every twist and surprise, and really liked the way it ended. Well, mostly, but I won't spoil it.

3.5 ⭐️ a twisty, slow burning mystery, and the last chapter was pretty shocking.

i also loved how close the sisters were and how they stuck together and supported each other no matter what.

thanks netgalley!