Review: @sallyhepworth never disappoints me! I was dying to get a copy of this book. Darling Girls absolutely captured my attention and I devoured it in one setting. I cannot praise this book enough.

From the first chapter, I was completely captivated by the 3 sisters. The book shares the story of their upbringing in a foster home, from each of the perspectives. The story is told in a dual timeline- the time the sisters spend at their foster home and current time where police have found a body in that that foster home.

Having to relive their past, the story unfolds the traumatic experience of the girls. The past and present start to combine and questions are continuously being raised. The story is more than just about survival but it’s about the power of trust and loyalty. What these sisters survived is incredible.

More of a domestic suspense, the ending does have some good twists. I gasped at the last chapter, not believing how it ended. It was absolutely incredible and twisted.

Aside from the plot, the characters were incredible. I usually don’t like multiple POVs, but the author did such an incredible job giving light to each of these stories. It wasn’t all dark, some chapters, especially Norah’s made me laugh at times.

Even though this psychological family thriller didn't blow me away, it did keep me solidly engaged, and the last chapter definitely got me -- I didn't see it coming. I really love the relationship that the three sisters have, and I enjoyed seeing how their wildly different personalities and lives still all worked together. And getting a little update on each of them at the end was just what I needed! Not often the MCs of a thriller get a happy-ish ending.

What a good book! Jessica, Alicia and Norah came to Wild Meadows as foster children. There was a beautiful home with a swimming pool, and their foster mother, Miss Fairfield, appeared to be perfect. .To those on the outside everything appears to be good, but inside, the story is different. Miss Fairfield's behavior is unpredictable, food is often scarce, and punishment is ever looming. The three girls have no one else, but choose to be sisters, looking out for each other.

Fast forward until the time the three girls are grown women. They are living mostly responsible lives, although each has scars from their childhood. Then the call from the police comes - during a demolition of the house, bones have been found buried in the basement. Who do the bones belong to? Who is responsible? Will they be accused?

This is an excellent book with good character development and an intriguing story line. Read it-you won’t be disappointed!

Thanks to Net Galley for and ARC of this book.

Sally Hepworth is back and dare I say this is my favorite?

The perfect amount of family secrets and intrigue with mystery. The sister relationships really worked here

This is only my second book by this author, but I do believe I quite like her. This story didn't feel like a psychological thriller like those I'm used to. True, I was confused as to who was actually the main narrator, so that little twist was a surprise. What these girls went through was painful, but seeing them pull together I order to protect each other, despite not being related by blood, was an important aspect of this story. Did it WOW me with lots of twists and a-ha moments? No, but all in all a good read.

This was just Sally’s best yet. It was super dark and twisted. Loved the sisters so much and all of their flaws. The twist was perfection!

Surprise, surprise - I enjoyed another book by Sally Hepworth! She’s such a consistent author for me that I’m convinced she can do no wrong. This is probably my favorite of the books I’ve read by this author yet. But please, make sure you check the trigger warnings before diving into this one because it is darker than her usual (child abuse, sexual abuse).

SISTERS, SECRETS, and MURDER - I was hooked from the start and captivated by this mystery the entire time I was reading it. The ending shocked me and overall I really enjoyed how everything wrapped up and came to light. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley.

4 stars!! One of my favorite authors & an auto-buy for me. Sally Hepworth is back with a twisty, but well paced thriller. Multiple POVs with time jumps tells the story of three foster girls (now adults) who are reunited after a body is found at the estate where they were raised. Memories are twisted, truths are told & emotions run high in “Darling Girls” - highly recommend for all the thriller lovers out there!

Thank you St.Martin Press & NetGalley for providing and ARC for me to read/review. All thoughts are my own.

I have enjoyed previous reads from this author and this book was no exception, despite the VERY dark content. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are several trigger warnings, including child abuse and trauma. I thought the character development was well done and I really liked the sisterly bond between the three main characters. I liked the Dr. Warren chapters and guessed who his patient was pretty early on, which was a win for me because I am not normally a good guesser. I did, however, find the good doctor to be creepy and more than a little bit unprofessional.

Many people didn’t seem to like the twist in the final few pages, but I was fine with it (and I really did not see that one coming at all).

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press. and the author for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest feedback.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia found each other in foster care as children. They were raised in the same home by the absolute worst person to ever become a foster parent, Miss Fairchild. Their shared traumas inflicted by this woman bonded them for life.

Decades have passed and the girls are living their adult lives trying to forget about their childhood. One day, the police show up and start questioning them about a body found on the property of their foster home. The three sisters travel back to where they grew up and start looking into the murder that took place in their house of horrors.

I really enjoyed this book, but it was just so predictable to me. I saw a lot of the plot twists coming and was a little underwhelmed overall. Also, the flashback scenes with their abusive mother were a bit much for me. I would still recommend it to a friend to read, but I don’t think I would ever pick it up again.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This book had the perfect amount of suspense and mystery. Loved how the story was crafted together, with the different POVs and timelines. My first book by this author and it did not disappoint. I will definitely be checking out her other books.

Sally Hepworth is the ✨QUEEN✨ of slow burn mysteries!
Darling Girls is told from the perspective of the three main characters- Norah, Jessica, and Alicia. It also has therapy segments in between that you’ll later find out the identity to. The characters are all well defined and relatable- they all three have trauma and demons they are dealing with. Darling Girls has enough twist to keep you interested, and I promise you won’t see that ending coming!

Thank you @stmartinspress, @sallyhepworth, and @netgalley for my digital review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I found my first Sally Hepworth book in a London Used Bookstore and fell in love immediately. I have read all her books since then and love to see a new one come out!!

What I loved:
1. Good mystery
2. Loved the rotating point of views - which I normally don't like but she does it well.
3. Love that family is not always who you are born to.
3. Always a twist with Sally and this one was one I didn't expect!

What I wished was different:
1. Felt the characters were a little one dimensional - which doesn't seem possible, but they were just flat.
2. Some repetition when the girls are living at the home - a little editing could have made it sharper!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Sally Hepworth for this digital ARC to honestly review

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the mystery. The time jumping could be a little disorienting, but generally speaking the author made it pretty easy to follow. The characters are some that you can feel something for to varying degrees. I was a bit put off with the way the young girls often spoke like they were in their mid-teens when they were more like 10-12 years old. The first half felt somewhat predictable, but then the twists started about halfway through and it got more interesting. Overall, I liked the story, but I fear it is one of those that I will soon forget. It's worth a read for anyone particularly fond of mysteries, although it could be potentially triggering for some.

Darling Girls begins with the discovery of a body buried beneath their childhood foster home brings three foster sisters back to the place they swore they'd never return. What unfolds will keep you guessing until the very last page.

I am a huge Sally Hepworth fan and couldn't wait to read her latest book. It's fantastic. While more character-driven than the previous novels I've read of her catalog, this was a very propulsive store that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to unravel the twisty story of Darling Girls. This story is dark (please check content warnings!) but had some hilarious bits thrown in as well. The sisterhood bond displayed was also great. This would be a great book to toss in your beach bag, take on an upcoming, or sink into by the pool.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

I really love Sally Hepworth's style of writing. It's so easy to jump in and get caught up in the storyline. This book was no exception!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are three foster children who spent time at Wild Meadows with Miss Fairchild. During their time there, they endure hardships and trauma bond into "sisters" for life. Now many years later, they are grown and horrified to learn that a body has been discovered on the property. As they come together, secrets begin to unfold about their past there and what really happened. This was a fun mystery that had me guessing! I will say that the ending wasn't my favorite. There is a final reveal at the end that I felt needed further explanation to completely understand, but ultimately this is a fun twisty mystery! I highly recommend if you enjoy Sally Hepworth (and you should!).

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! I really liked Hepworth’s “The Soulmate” so I was excited for this hot new thriller. It did not disappoint!! So many twists and turns.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are incredibly close sisters. They grew up in a foster home together that everyone thought was picture perfect- but it was far from it. Their foster mother Miss Fairchild was secretly cruel, but the three girls at least had each other. Although not biologically relayed, they forged a lifelong bond to cope with the trauma. They’ve tried to block out their past but when a body is found under their old foster home, they know they have to get to the bottom of it.

Told in varying viewpoints and timelines, the pacing of this thriller keeps you turning the page. I really didn’t see where this was going! What a solid thriller, I look forward to reading Hepworth’s backlist.

✨Content Warnings: Child Abuse, Child Death, Murder, Emotional Abuse, Drug Abuse, Physical Abuse, Confinement, Domestic Abuse, Addiction, Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Rape, Panic Attacks

wow, wow, wow. This blew me away. I felt so attached to all of the main characters and was blown away by the final twist. Loved it

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin’s Press for an E-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Sally Hepworth’s book, Darling Girls is like the movie Annie with a dead body under the house. We meet Jessica, Norah and Alicia who are under the foster care of Holly Fairchild.
Hepworth does a great job of character development and creating distinctive personalities for all 3 women. The timeline transitions are seamless. I enjoyed jumping back into the past where readers are exposed to the unstable personality of Ms. Fairchild. We sense the tension that she could fly off the handle and impose fear generating punishments on the girls. I felt empathy during the tense moments and felt camaraderie when the girls begin to push back more against their perpetrator.

The female friendships and solidarity of Jessica, Norah and Alicia is really the highlight of this book. The plot was mildly suspenseful. I would label this more of a female friendship novel vs a thriller. In the future I’d love to see Sally Hepworth put her characters more in peril. I’d love something a little more nightmarish and in “full thriller mode”. Her novels are always fast paced and well written but just need the book to be season a bit more with stronger murder vibes. 3.75 stars