This book hooked me in the first few chapters. I really enjoyed the character development it helped show the bond of the girls sisterhood. The ending had me shook! I did not see that coming and then a few more chapters later another twist I wasn’t ready for! If you’re looking for a good psychological thriller/mystery type book you’re in for a ride with this one! I love multiple viewpoints in books, to be able to read through different viewpoints makes the story more fun and exciting in my opinion. I had the privledge to read this on NetGalley & it is OFFICIALLY out in Australia & New Zealand!!!

This book is amazing. LOVED the structure, LOVED the characterization. The twist at the end had me reeling! Completely unexpected!

There are a few minor spelling errors throughout the ARC, but by and large, this book kept me hooked from the beginning to the end!

First of all, this book has some trigger warnings for child trauma and abuse. It is gut-wenching, you'll want to fight Miss Fairchild and cheer for the girls. I have a moderate understanding of child trauma and I think the character profiles make lots of sense. It was 5 stars due to the writing and how the plot unfolded. Thanks for the advance review copy.

3.5 stars
I'm not sure if this is a fault of reading an ARC but I was confused by the chapters with Dr. Warren - I felt as if they should have had their own pages and not lumped at the end of an existing chapter because it was confusing for me.
This was definitely twisty and fast paced but was hard to read at some points for me. Would definitely recommend checking out content warnings.

The Ties That Bind

Blood is thicker than water – we’ve all heard that line, but what about foster sisters? Is their bond stronger than blood?

We meet Jessica, Alicia, and Norah as they revisit their foster childhood when the police have called them in 25 years later. They used to all live with Miss Fairchild, and it has affected all three of them. I did like the authentic friendship the three women shared.

We get snippets of the present and past, and I tried to put all the pieces together. There are also some chilling chapters from a psychiatrist. Who is the patient?

This author is known for her twists, and this one was no different! As clues about Miss Fairchild came to light, her sinister and manipulative nature emerged. How is she connected to the bones found under the house? Or are the darling girls responsible? And whose bones are they?

This one kept me intrigued, and the final reveal was a doozy!

This was the second title of Ms Hepworth's that I've read and I'm quickly becoming a fan.

Well written and plotted, Darling Girls is told in four voices in a dual timeline.

Compelling and twisty, moving and mysterious, this one started off slow (to me), but kept my attention throughout.


Triggers include child abuse in foster care.

Recommended for when you have the time to devote because you're going to want to keep reading.



Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC!

This was an interesting, fast-paced read that kept my interest until the very end. I loved the deception and decoy lines that kept you away from the truth.

Wow what did I just read!! Have you ever read a book that just blew you away? Hepworth’s newest book, Darling Girls, was that book for me. I have read Hepworth’s other books so I was already a fan but she completely outdid herself with this book. The book switches between before and after as well as is told from multiple view points. Sometimes this can be incredibly confusing but Hepworth did it masterfully. The story focuses on three sisters who grew up in an awful foster home and the horrors they experienced. When years later bones are found on the property the past is revisited and the girls face their past.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this amazing book.

This is my first Sally Hepworth read and I loved how it pulls you in from the very first page.

A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love and murder. Told with dual timelines, through the eyes of Jessica, Norah and Alicia, Darling Girls tells the story of their life with their abusive foster mother.

A very solid mystery with lots of important information on foster care added in. If you get a chance to read Darling Girls, make sure to read the “Acknowledgments” at the end!

4.5 Stars! Sally Hepworth is becoming one of my favorite Mystery Thriller authors! I really enjoyed this book, but that last one chapter... wow! It just blew my mind. This book talks about three foster “sisters”, who grew up together at Wild Meadows foster home. Fast forward and they are now grown and living their own lives when they receive a message 25 years later from a detective in Port Agatha where their foster house used to be. They have to go back and help on the investigation about the discovery of human bones on Meadows Hill.
This book has a lot of twists and turns, but the end is definitely not expected.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC copy of this book for my honest opinion.

I dragged my feet a bit in reading this because the subject matter seemed so grim. And while it does involve some upsetting topics, it doesn't linger on them in a prurient way. That's good, obviously, since they're load-bearing part of the plot. It all adds up to a compelling story with a few shocks along the way.

Thank you so much netgalley and St Martin's press for this advanced copy. Wow. What can I say about this book. We follow 3 sisters who grew up in foster care, raised by a foster mother from hell. From the beginning of the book, I felt appaled and horrified by what these girls endure. As adults, they're living somewhat dysfunctional lives when they find out Bones have been discovered under their former foster home. From there we dive deep into the mystery of who's bones these were while simultaneously going back in time to discover the sisters past and how they made their escape.
The twists were shocking and heartbreaking. I felt every emotion reading this book. I rooted for the girls, hated the mother, and cried at the end. I couldn't put it down. And that final chapter really packed a punch. It was so good.

Thanks to @Netgalley, @Stmartinspress for this eArc for my honest review! Publish date: 4/23/24
Having just finished “The Soulmate”, I didn’t hesitate to jump right into “The Darling Girls”!

THE TWISTS at the end, WOW! My mind is still spinning, I’ll be thinking this over for days! It’s honestly what brought this book to “5 stars” for me!

3 young girls, Jessica, Norah and Alicia found themselves together under the care of their foster mother, “Miss Fairchild”, on a farm called “Wild Meadows” ( and that it was), in the town of Port Agatha.
The girls all have their own distinct personalities and mental issues stemming from their disturbing childhoods.
Jessica- smart, independent yet deals with addiction. Norah- anger issues which has led to a criminal record and Alicia- insecurities related to the day she found out she wasn’t leaving Wild Meadows because her grandmother who raised her up until now had passed away.
The girls bonded immediately, claiming “Sisterhood”, despite the lack of shared blood between them. Jessica was first to arrive at “Wild Meadows”, and had a very close bond to Miss Fairchild”, until Norah and Alicia came , things quickly turned. Miss Fairchild sick with jealousy over their bond started to abuse them.
When they are pushed to their limit, they say they “ have to tell”. The do, The school principal and the police!

25 years pass and bones are discovered under “Wild Meadows”. Jessica, Norah and Alicia all receive phone calls from investigators from Port Agatha, asking them what they know. They are asked to come in for questioning as well as 3 others who were temporarily watched as babies at the farm by Holly Fairchild. Only one was missing, Amy, , THIS is where it gets good!
. This was their fear, to be asked to return to a place that only had horrific sick memories of a mentally deranged foster mother and the farm they spent several miserable years in together.

This novel deals with mental health, abusive narcissism yet the unyielding bond of “sisterhood”.

I highly recommend this book, it’s a thriller, who did it ?!!!
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This book just got better and better from the beginning. By the end I was completely in shock. I felt so many feelings throughout this story. Empathy, frustration, joy, affection, closure. This book really had me on the edge of my seat! Just when you thought the book got good, it got better, and better and better!

The story unfolds as three girls are fostered by a woman, Miss. Fairchild (interesting name choice for someone like her, by the way) who looks perfect on the outside but has a wicked and manipulative personality. The three girls do all they can to stick together even if it means being with Miss. Fairchild and enduring trauma and scars that last a lifetime.
The present, 25 years later, the girls are called in by detectives about a body found underneath their foster home. Now they must confront their past to uncover who was dug up and what it could expose which could end it all for them especially when Miss. Fairchild and her manipulation tactics enter the picture.

Thank you Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

Omg so I read this one a little slowly I had only been reading it in the pool. But WTF. This was a grey book once passed the halfway mark I couldn’t put it down and I finally finished it! First of all the details for each character in this story are amazing! I felt truly invested in each one including the worst, most unlikable character! Then the unfolding of events OMG. Yes yes yes! This is the first novel I read by Hepworth (I read a novella by her while waiting in line at the SS office) and it DELIVERED! Absolutely recommend this one, it releases 04/23/24! I will definitely be reading more Hepworth!

cw: child abuse, toxic household, foster home abuse, child death, drug abuse, suicide attempt, sexual assault, panic attacks, body shaming, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, gaslighting

Moods:
Emotional
Dark
Mysterious
Fast Paced

Darling Girls is a dark, emotional, and fast paced mystery that follows three foster sisters through alternating timelines of past and present. The use of alternating timelines allows you to really get a sense of the abuse that the girls suffered and how it has effected them in adulthood.

The sisters are made to return to their hometown for questioning when human remains are found beneath their foster home.

The story delves into the heartbreaking realities that come along with the foster care system. Miss Fairchild is a dark and abusive foster parent who has her own abusive past that is revealed as well.

The end does have a few twists, which I found to be very well done! One I saw coming, but the other got me.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a fast paced mystery that will keep you turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed.

Excellent mystery. Written in different timelines and from different characters. Sally Hewlett books are always great. Kept me guessing with all the he twists Three girls grow up in a foster home and years later bones are discovered. pulled me right into the story. Very hard to out down.

This book was fabulous! A fast twisty mystery. Sally Hepworth always serves up a crazy story that I can’t get enough of. Loved the three sisters that are the main characters and we get the story told from various viewpoints and several time lines. Plenty of red herrings, suspicious behavior, unlikeable people and just plain insanity. Highly recommend this book for a fun time!

This is my fourth Sally Hepworth, and y'all, this woman can bring the twists. I felt so smart on this one because I thought I'd finally figured one out, and there were still a few twists I hadn't for me to enjoy. And then, AND THEN, the last few pages of this one came. And y'all, I knew nothing. This is a story revolving around three grown women who have returned to their childhood foster home. Living there wasn't a pleasant experience, and they've each tried to move on, but now, human remains have been found. Piecing the story together involves clues and developments from both the past and present, and like I said, it's got one heckuva twist that's going to get everyone talking! Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this April 2024 release.

Darling Girl by Sally Hepworth



As usual, Sally Hepworth doesn’t fail to “deliver” in her latest novel about a “twisted” foster mother and the “darling” girls under her care.

This “character rich” saga alternates between the past, present and a psychiatrist’s office, a setting which leaves us wondering…”who is the patient”, until the very end.

Wild Meadows home is a farmhouse in a rural area, home to Holly Fairchild, a “youngish” woman who has decided to become a foster mother, clearly without a Psych evaluation, or background check! Young Jessica is delivered to her doorstep, , by a social worker, with the promise of a wonderful life. What could go wrong? A beautiful home with a pool. A, seemingly, adoring “mother”. Little Jessica quickly adored all of the attention, and adoration, of “Mother Fairchild” . She became the ultimate “people pleaser” in order to survive the psychological abuse. Then, along came Norah. An older girl, with a family history of sexual abuse, and violent behavior, she was a “scrapper”, with a quirky sense of humor. She learned to use manipulation to get what she wanted. Her strength would be critical to survival in that home. Alicia, sweet and fragile, closer to Norah’s age, arrived when her grandmother/caretaker became ill. Expecting a short stay, it became permanent within a few weeks, when the Grandmother died. Having been doted upon and well-cared for all of her life, this new home is “hell”.

The girls band together to “fight” and form a “sisterly” bond that would, ultimately, save them from that wretched situation, and keep them forever connected.

Oh, did I mention the baby, turned toddler, who suddenly disappeared one day?

Twenty five years later, a call from Police Detectives reignites their old traumas, when the bones of a small child are discovered underneath the former foster home and they reencounter Holly Fairchld, and a few of the other unsavory characters from that chaotic childhood. As adults, they are each still broken in different ways, and still “struggling” to fit into some kind of “normal” life.

You cannot help but fall in love with each of the girls as we follow them into adulthood. They are survivors. They are sisters. Of course, there is a murder, with a twist. Can you guess it? Enjoy the ride.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for the ARC.

It was my pleasure to provide a review!