Wow, I absolutely flew through this one! Delightfully readable, with the perfect balance of haha and wtf for a fast-paced thriller. The pace, by the way, was perfect for a thriller. Hepworth does a stunning job of immersing you right into the complex dual timelines and multiple viewpoints. I personally love books with those features, but it’s easy to mess up if the characters aren’t well developed, and that was not an issue here. Each of the viewpoints was distinct enough, it was easy to tell whose pov each chapter was from and how it fit in the timeline. My only tiny qualm was that there were two small plot points that seemed a little too obvious, but overall figuring then out early wasn’t a deterrent, it just made me curious to see how they would play into the overall story. I intended to only read a few chapters before bed and now here I am at 2am leaving a review. I fell so deeply in love with the sisters that I just had to keep reading to make sure everyone ended up okay in the end. Highly recommend this read!

Note: This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

After reading The Good Sister, I’ve been sold on Sally Hepworth’s books. I started her latest after dinner and it took so much self control to not stay up and finish in one sitting. This was easily an engaging, fast-paced read with such important subject matter on foster care systems. More so, learning about the author’s own foster care testimony was even more touching and gave more purpose to reading a thriller. I loved how the theme of a strong sisterhood bond was prevalent throughout the book. Sally Hepworth has done it again!

I so liked this book. The twists and turns kept me turning pages, Just like her other books Hepworth this book will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Special thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the honor to read this ARC! I loved this story. It has everything a great book needs. Great characters, story, plot, twists and turns and the ending!! Did NOT expect that last chapter it hits out of left field. I knew i didnt like Miss Fairchild for a reason!
I love how Norah,Alicia and Jessica bonded and how you get to have some backstory into what makes them tick and why they are how they are. I was especially happy to reconnect with the "foster babies". Overall great book and i cant wait to read more from this author!!!

With elements of psychological mystery and crime, this domestic thriller follows multiple perspectives and dual timelines. Highlighting topics within the foster system, mental health, and the dangers of narcissism and master manipulation. Trigger warnings for child abuse.

Thoughts:

Although there were things I appreciated about this novel, I just didn’t love this one as much as I had hoped. I think it hit me around the 50% mark that something was just missing from this thriller, and I became less excited to continue reading. I felt the pacing start to slow, the suspense became less influential, and I was beginning to predict the twists. I also found myself preferring one timeline over the other...

But, I did find the novel very readable, easily digestible, and the character development to be an important aspect of this book.

The beauty of reading is that we all have different reading preferences, and I have seen other readers write rave reviews. But for me, as I’ve only now read two books by this author, The Soulmate remains my favorite of the two.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I saw a book by Sally Hepworth and couldn’t request it fast enough and then, when I was chosen couldn’t wait to read.. as with everything else I have read by her, the characters are so fleshed out and the story is held close to the vest. It is told by the characters themselves, Jessica, the first foster child to be placed with the foster parent,Miss Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild soon brought in Alicia and Nora. Each came with their own back story.. The story is told by the characters from their child self and their adult self. The three form a special sisterhood unbreakable bond.. Not by blood but by the trauma they were subjected to at the hands of Miss Fairchild. She never hit them but they were forced to clean the house every day to perfection.. Inher attempt to curtail Nora’s violent attitude. She dragged her downstairs, threw her in a closet below the stairs alone no light the door to the closet and top of the stairs locked left with no food or water and made her stay under the stairs for more than 24 hours. Their adult personalities were very much affected by their childhood experiences. The story goes on with so many twists and turns you literally won’t see them coming. This is the ultimate murder/thriller/suspense for your reading in April. Special thanks to the following for allowing me to read/review early. I have given my own honest opinion: #NetGalley, #StMartin’sPress, #kSallyHepworth,
,Publication Date: April 23,2024.

WOW. Sally Hepworth does it again. I have read multiple books by Sally and have enjoyed every one so far. This book was a challenging read(please check trigger warnings) but it was so well written. The story follows along with Three "Sisters" who all grew up together in a foster home of their nightmares, Wild Meadows. Many years later, mysterious bones are found on the site of their childhood home. Read this book to see all the twists it takes to uncover the truth of what happened all those years ago and the truth behind their foster mother.

rated 4.25

Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are sisters, not through blood but through everything that counts. The three of them grew up in the same foster home together, and formed a lifelong bond. When bones are discovered under the home that they grew up in, the police quickly focus on the girls, and if they know about or could be responsible for the murder.

Their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, is pure evil to the girls. While her physical abuse of the children was mild, the mental and emotional abuse that Miss Fairchild imposed on the girls was gut wrenching to read about.

The story is told in past and present tense, through the point of view of all three women/girls. I enjoyed learning about the backstories of each character, and how their tragic childhood molded them into the women they are today.
Jessica is a closet pill abuser.
Norah has extreme anger and impulsivity issues. While Alicia seems to be the most adjusted, she has entered into a career as a foster care worker, in an effort to save as many children from what she endured.

This story was triggering and difficult to read. Sally Hepworth always writes a captivating novel, with her iconic shocking endings. Darling Girls is a classic Hepworth success, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading this one. Childhood abuse is incredibly hard for me to read, but Hepworth did an excellent job at accurately conveying what so many are forced to endure.

Read if you want
⚡️Fact-paced
🤯Shocking ending
♥️Captivating characters

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a great book!! I read it in one day!! Had my attention from page 1. It may have some trigger warnings for some. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A much darker story than previous books I've read by Sally Hepworth but that is not a bad thing. 3 girls together with a foster mother "Miss Fairchild" who pushes the envelope with what outsiders understand to be abuse.

How this time with Miss Fairchild affects their adult lives kept me turning pages and the ending was perfection!!

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for a review.
Three girls who were raised by a foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild, get called back to answer questions after a body is found under the house where they were raised. They are sure the body is of another little girl that Mrs. Fairchild denied ever existed.
Each of them has a different way of dealing with what they went through as young girls being raised there, causing turmoil in their adult lives.
I really enjoyed the book, though some of the side stories were a bit too much. I especially liked the ending! The book cover doesn't match the idea I had in my head of what the house would look like though.

Darling Girls is a unique domestic suspense/mystery. I enjoyed the different points of view and the rotating timeline. I did find it to be a bit slow but I was interested to figure out what exactly was going on. Another solid ready by Sally Hepworth

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Darling Girls unfolds in the different view points of Alicia, Jessica, and Norah (and one unknown POV with a therapist that I figured out pretty quickly, but that didn't take away from the story because there are twists, people!) both in the present time after the discovery of bones under their old foster hoe and in the past when they were bonding in that home as children. It's interesting to watch the way the girls experienced their time in foster care manifest in their current lives and how they interact with relationships, though my only qualms with the story were the extra characters that showed up as a twist who really didn't seem necessary at first and what I felt was a pretty cozy little wrap up. I did love a few of the twists that I did not see coming and will be recommending this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another 5 star book from Sally Hepworth! What a master storyteller! This book is phenomenal and is one of my favorites this year! A suspenseful journey that had me feeling so many emotions. This is one of those books that you will still think about years down the road. Such a dark side to the foster care system, but the love these sisters shared was heartwarming. I loved all three and their very different personalities. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the copy of this eARC.

Thank you for the opportunity for the ARC of this book. I throughly enjoyed it!

Wow! This novel has me turning the pages from the beginning. Hempworth has created likable characters with layers. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia come from a past of trauma. They are connected together at Wildwood with their new mom, Miss. Fairchild. The girls return to their foster home when a body was found. Together, they uncover secrets from their past.

With a twist you won’t see coming— do the sisters overcome their past? Who can they trust?

“…instead of seeking kind people, she sought out those who disliked her…the certainty and security of what she was getting became like a drug. A much more powerful drug than the agony caused by a desire for love and warmth. ”

Sally Hepworth has never disappointed me. Her reign as the queen of domestic suspense continues with her latest novel, Darling Girls. As is typical for Hepworth, it is full of twists and turns and just when you think you have the story figured out, she pulls the run from under your feet!

The story is told in alternating timelines from Jessica, Alicia, and Norah. The three girls formed a bond of sisterhood while living in the same foster care home, where they joined forces to shield themselves from a malicious foster mother. The story’s timeline alternates between 25 years ago when the girls were living in foster care to present day, where each girl is struggling to live an ordinary life. The girls assume the past is buried, until the police request their return to the town of their childhood home for questioning when bones are discovered under the home.

Hepworth’s dark wit is present, adding an occasional bit of humor to the book’s theme, the broken and disturbing foster system. Hepworth does an excellent job relating the far-reaching mental and emotional effects of foster care tragedy, isolation, and heartbreak.

Trigger warnings: child maltreatment, rape, domestic violence, drug abuse

My thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Thank goodness I didn’t have any plans for today because I devoured the whole book in 1 day. I always love a Hepworth novel and this one didn’t disappoint. From the first chapter in Dr Warren’s office to the last chapter that took quite a turn, this was a wild ride. I loved the alternating chapters between past and present with Jessica, Norah (with an h) and Alicia. This is one that will stick with me and I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for the ARC. I absolutely adore Sally Hepworth’s writing so I was excited to see the upcoming publication of Darling Girls.

This book follows 3 women who spent time together in the same foster home, “Wild Meadows,” when they were younger. Their bond became so close during this time, and remains so, that they consider themselves to be sisters. One day, they receive a call that a set of human remains have been found under Wild Meadows. They are asked to take a trip back to help uncover the mystery of the remains. During their trip, they must confront the nightmare that was their past, their evil foster mother, Miss Fairchild. The last thing they want to do is relive the horrible abuse they suffered. However, this may be the one chance they have to get the justice they have longed for, for so many years.

This book gripped my attention from start to finish. It was tough to read at times as it touched on the horrors that unfortunately sometimes happen within the foster care system. However, I think this is such an important topic to touch on.

While this whole book was a wild ride that I thoroughly enjoyed, the last chapter absolutely blew my mind. Such a good twist that made the whole book even that much better.

I adore Sally Hepworth. When I found out I was approved for this advanced reader copy, I jumped at the chance to read it right away. Unfortunately, this was not my favorite book by this author. Part of the problem was that I did not connect well with any of the three (four?) main characters. However, I think the triggers (abuse, addiction, violence) were really what got me with this book. I don't particularly like reading about foster children that were abused. I know it was a work of fiction but I still found it difficult to read about. Despite the triggers, the book was fast paced and kept me guessing in typical Sally Hepworth fashion, I ended up rating this one three stars.

Thanks for the ARC! I really, really enjoyed this book - as I do with all of Sally’s! The book was for sure a page turner. I loved the mystery and that it kept me guessing on what happened with the girls and their foster mom. Will absolutely be recommending this!