I loved the first half of this one but it kinda lost me after that. The last chapter almost made me bring it up because it was super shocking but I don’t know. Nothing remarkable about it.

I love Sally Hepworth! Everytime she publishes, I want to pick her up to enter her world.

Brief synopsis: Three young girls once lived on a farm with a foster mother named Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild, and they thought they were free. But the reach of someone with such power is long, and even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When bones are discovered buried under the farmhouse of their childhood, they are called in by the police to tell what they know.

My thoughts: The setting of this book was intriguing, a dead body found at three foster sisters’ old foster home.The story travels back and forth in time from when Jessica, Norah and Alicia are children to the present when they are contacted by the police regarding the remains of a child found buried under the pool at the old foster home. There are also chapters with one woman speaking to a psychiatrist but we aren't sure who it is until the end. I enjoyed getting to know the three sisters at the center of the mystery. Of note: all of the characters in the story are unreliable, flawed and complex adding to the mystery.

Darling Girls is full of tension, twists and turns and a mystery I wanted to solve.

Trigger warning: Hepworth includes difficult topics in Darling Girls, including foster systems and the sexual abuse/harassment of children and adults.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin Press for sharing Hepworths latest domestic mystery filled with sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder.

Three girls bond as sisters when raised in a horrendous foster home. Jessica came as a toddler and she and Mrs. Fairchild had a maternal child relationship until Jessica went to school and Mrs. Fairchild wasn't her whole world. Norah came later and was always a strong individual so she came in for most of the abuse Mrs. Fairchild handed out. Alicia came last when her beloved grandmother died leaving her without a home.

Mrs. Fairchild insists the house always be spotless. Sometimes there was food, sometimes not. There was verbal, psychological and physical abuse. But the girls never told anyone as they didn't want to ever be separated. Mrs. Fairchild started taking in babies but she would get tired of them and make the girls take over their care. Finally she adopted a toddler named Amy but again she got tired of her when Amy started transferring her affections to the girls. Mrs. Fairchild started abusing Amy and the girls decided they had to tell someone. But when the authorities come to save Amy, there is no trace of her and Mrs. Fairchild said the girls made her up. Amy is never found but the girls are taken away to a group home where they finish growing up.

Now years later, bones have been found under Mrs. Fairchild's house. They are the bones of a small child. Jessica, Norah and Alicia return to the town to help the police. Mrs. Fairchild is still there and she tries to incriminate the girls. Who was the body and what happened?

Sally Hepworth is an Australian author. Her thrillers focus on various family relationships and are full of twists and turns. This one follows the same formula and readers will be fascinated at this tale of abuse and murder. Each of the girls has made a life for herself, one a social worker, one a home organizer and one moving from job to job. This may be the final piece that makes their lives whole. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

4.5 stars rounded up! This book got me out of the slump and was exactly what I needed! Not like her usual books but I was completely hooked from the first chapter. I love the relationship the three foster sisters had and Ms. Fairchild was completely batshit. I loved this book so much!

The universe did not give the three main characters in this story much, but it did give them each other.

Nora, Alicia, and Jessica forged their sisterhood as young girls sent to the same foster home, and now decades later they find themselves dealing with a mystery from their past.

Honestly I don’t think I appreciated this story enough while I was reading it, and I’m glad I waited a bit to write a review of it. This book was more of a slow burn mystery, but with some twists you definitely won’t see coming. I especially loved Nora’s sarcasm and wit.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this somber yet profound story of found sisterhood and female empowerment,

DARLING GIRLS follows a group of 3 girls who grew up together in a foster home with a crazy foster mother. Years later in adulthood, the foster house is torn down and bones are found underneath the house.

If there’s one thing Sally Hepworth is going to do it's going to be to deliver a shocking ending! DARLING GIRLS was a wild ride and it’s certainly the darkest book of hers content-wise as it moves away from her more standard domestic thriller and is more of a psychological thriller with a domestic twist. If you loved her previous work I would definitely recommend giving this one a shot.

This is definitely going to be one of my top reads of 2024! 🤩 and how is this my first read by Hepworth?! I need to go back and read all of her other books now!

Needless to say, this was 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞, 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗, and 𝗦𝗨𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗨𝗟 with so many shocking twists!

It was a slow burn yet also a page turner 🤔 I had such a hard time putting it down with the multiple POV’s (Jessica, Alicia, and Norah) and dual timelines. I enjoyed just watching the bond of the 3 sisters grow and develop throughout their trauma and the story. It was beautiful to watch how deep and strong their sisterhood was even if they weren’t blood.

And of course, the shocking twist at the end…🤯

This is my first book by this author and I was very impressed. The story kept me engaged the whole way through, where I could not put it down. I loved how the story went from past to present, which let me learn each character individually, with an additional voice, who you don't know, thrown in here and there that tied up the story at the end. This book kept me guessing and trying to figure out what would happen next, but with the twists and turns throughout, it just kept me shocked again and again.
As a mother of two daughters, my heart was drawn to the characters where I just wanted to adopt them myself and show them what true love is and means. This book gives you a tad incite of what some foster children go through, from the past to present concept in this book, which is sad, and how it traumatizes them throughout their lives emotionally.
The last chapter was definitely a shocking twist that I did not see coming! I was left with a WOW! If you enjoy darker context books then I highly recommend this book! I am excited to read more from this author!
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sally Hepworth for my advanced copy of this book!

I will always read Sally Hepworth. Always. Her writing keeps me interested and I always want to know what is going on. DARLING GIRLS is no different. We are introduced to Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, foster children raised by their foster mother Miss Fairchild. Not everything is picture perfect. The girls escape Miss Fairchild’s care and years later, a body is discovered under the house. Are the girls suspects or witnesses? I loved going back and forth between past and present, it really gave me an insight into each girl and their trauma, how it played into who they were as adults. It’s a heartbreaking, and trauma filled book and I loved the twist. Another great book by Sally!

Sally Hepworth never fails to write a domestic suspense that I absolutely love. Her characters are real, the situations written as if you could've known that person or been in the situation yourself. Darling Girls is a messed up thriller that really shines the light on nature vs nurture, with a little nightmare of foster care thrown in. Sit down and buckle up. I highly recommend you read it.

I received an advanced copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved Darling Girls. When the remains of a child are found at their foster home 30 years later, three foster sisters are drawn back to their "home" and reconnect over their shared nightmarish history.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of Darling Girls!

I have loved every Sally Hepworth novel I’ve ever read and this one doesn’t fall short!

This one is a slow burn but well worth the weight!! A MUST READ!

4 STARS

This book. Yesss.
Absolutely yess

I wasn't sure where this book was going at first. But then something happened and I couldn't put it down.

This book was so easy to read. I loved the twists and the ways it makes you question everything.

And then you get to the last chapter. And BOOM.

I enjoyed every minute of this well- plotted, well-paced novel by the super talented writer Sally Hepworth. I had already read her previous book, The Soulmate, and thought it was excellent. I liked Darling Girls even more.

Three main characters are all courageous, likable, and inspiring women. They were foster kids were raised by an abusive foster mom, and the wounds of their childhood have made them all troubled as adults. They are all working on themselves, and trying to heal and support each other, and I was rooting for them the whole way.

Miss Fairchild, the foster mother, is a narcissist, and accurately represented. Anyone who has spent time in the company of a narcissist will recognize how realistic this character’s behavior is. Sally Hepworth knows her human psychology for sure.

There are also four lovable dogs in this book who add humor and to balance out the sad scenes. There is one chapter where the dogs are farting in the car. I was falling over with giggles as I was reading that part.

Thank you so much Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio, for giving me free digital downloads of both the written book and the audiobook. Having both forms of media is my favorite way to experience a book, because I can absorb every sentence book by reading and hearing it.

The narrator of the audiobook was terrific, and I love hearing an Australian accent. I need to get more audiobooks read aloud by Australians.

Sally Hepworth is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I found this book to be dark and twisty. I loved the sisters and their flaws. The twist got me, and was perfect. I would definitely recommend.

Three sisters that grew up in a foster home relive their past when bones are found beneath the home they grew up in. I enjoyed seeing the bond between the sisters and the book kept me guessing. Fast paced read!

I love when a book can keep me guessing (and convinced I know what's going on even when I don't) and Darling Girls absolutely delivered on that. When I first started reading, I wasn't sure if I was going to like the plot/where we were headed, but I am so happy to report that I loved it. Hepworth brings depth and care to her characters' trauma and backstories that help to create an unputdownable read.

This title was less creepy than previous ones but it held my interest well enough. I enjoyed the sister's relationships and research done on the foster care system. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy

Sally Hepworth has again written a fast-paced, intriguing tale of sisterhood, secrets, betrayal, and murder. I dare you to start this book and try to put it down. I loved the relationships that developed between Jessica, Norah, and. Alicia, complete strangers until they all came to live with Miss Fairchild at her sprawling farming estate, But life on the farm was not all rainbows and unicorns. As the girls uncover secrets from the past and try to figure out how to move forward, a body has been discovered in the garden at the farm. Now they must face the woman from their past who shaped them all so much, one Miss Fairchild. This book is interesting and has a lot of great twists. A must read!

Review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth 4.25 ️
When a body turns up under their former foster home, three sisters must confront their past to keep their names clear.
Sally is my go-to for domestic suspense and Darling Girls was another hit that was darker than her past books. I love how she explores family dynamics and her books on siblings (in this case foster sisters that become family) happen to be my favorite. 
Sally delivered on both plot and character development. The beginning was a little slow but the multiple POV and dual timeline set the scene for the mystery to unfold as the book progressed. Each character was flawed and dealt with their traumas differently, keeping you guessing who could have been behind the dead body.  While some of the twists were easy to spot, there were a few that surprised me and the ending was a sinister shock. I read and listened (the Australian narrators are amazing) and it had me saying just one more page!