Sally Hepworth always provides a page turner. This one felt a little stale, however. The story did not seem unique or fresh and was fairly predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this! This book was fantastic. It was my first by Sally Hepworth, but definitely will not be my last. I now want to binge anything she's ever written!

The story follows three adult women who became sisters while spending time with the same foster mother in their youth. When bones are discovered under the house they spent time in, the girls recount their terrible experience with Miss Fairchild, wondering who the body could belong to and how it got there.

This is a story that gets you caught up in the past and present, and delivers a shocking epilogue. Each chapter keeps you hooked and wanting to read more!

Another great psychological thriller from Sally Hepworth.
Jessica, Norah, and Alicia lived in a foster home called Wild Meadows with their foster mother Miss Fairchild when they were children. Miss Fairchild was a very strict and, at times, cruel person. The girls manage to get away from her. Or so they think. Now, some decades later, they all get phone calls from the police saying that bones are discovered under the house. This brings them back to the little town and the woman they were trying to escape.

This story has a lot of twists and turns. And the end will leave you gasping! Darling Girls is definitely a book I will recommend at the library.

A story that pulls you right it. Your heart hurts for the characters. A mystery that I didn't see coming, tying in clues throughout the story. A wonderful read. Another grand slam by Hepworth!

Sally Hepworth has become one of my must-read authors, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to read her newest novel and owe a huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have to say the synopsis of this one did not particularly excite me, and I actually worried that I wouldn't like it. It features three women who grew up together in a foster home run by a horrible woman. They have stayed far away from this place as adults until they are called back for questioning because human bones have been discovered underneath the house. Foster care is not my favorite subject to read about, but like I said, I will read anything Hepworth writes, so I started reading it as soon as it finished downloading. And I am so glad I did, as it was an excellent read.

The story is told from the perspectives of each of the sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, set both in the present and in the past. This was done perfectly, as it shows what each of them went through as children and what has led to the issues they each deal with now as adults. It also has chapters with an unknown woman as she meets with a therapist and tells her own traumatic story. In the present, the sisters are meeting with detectives and helping to unravel the mystery of who the bones could possibly be, and who put them there. I did figure a few things out ahead of time, but there were still surprises, especially the very last chapter. Parts of it are heart breaking.

As I said, it is so well written, and has me wondering why on earth I worried that I wouldn't like it. I would say it's one of Hepworth's best yet, and I can not wait to read what she writes next.

Absolutely love everything about this book. Loved the alternating between past and present and as well as the multiple points of view. The plot was so fast pace and suspenseful and truly kept me guessing up into the very end.

I know this was supposed to be a murder mystery book but these girls were FUNNY. I found myself chuckling multiple times. This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I will absolutely be reading more.

Thank You to St. Martin's Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. I will be recommending this book to all my friends once this is released.

Darling Girl by Sally Hepworth

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eGalley book to read and review.

Three young girls living together on a farm with foster mother, Miss Fairchild. These three young girls form a sisterly bond that continues throughout the years. One has a bit of OCD, one has some anger issues and the other has some serious low self esteem issues. Miss Fairchild, isn’t the sweet loving foster mom you might expect.

A mystery/thriller full of twists and turns. Overall it was a decent read, but at times certain statements or actions of various characters felt lame. There is child abuse in this so do be aware of that. The ending took me by surprise and I love when an author can do this, so I elevated my 3.5 rating to 4. I’ve read many books by this author.

The foster care system is broken and desperately needs to be fixed. Children do fall through the cracks and this is so sad and unfortunate.

A clever ending for otherwise weak book

I expect more from Sally Hepworth. Even with "dysfunctional sisters, criminal charges and a monster of a former foster mother," this book failed to hold my interest.

The characters and plot fell flat. I typically enjoy reading books about sisters, but I never felt the strong sisterly bond Jessica, Norah & Alicia were supposed to share. All three of these characters were unreliable narrators who were irritating and annoying.

Holly Fairchild reminded me of Miss Hannigan. I got the sense she was fostering simply for the money.

The sections with the psychiatrist were the best parts, especially when I figured out which character was his patient.

After reading the acknowledgement, I understood what Hepworth was trying to do but unfortunately it didn't happen in the pages of the book. The bulk of the book would benefit from a strong edit.

This honest review is in exchange for the digital arc.

first, i would love to express my deepest thank you's to netgalley & st. martin's press for the electronic advanced readers copy. this book was available to read for everyone and i wanted to read it! i heard loads of good things about sally hepworth's work, so an e-arc was my first book to read from her.

my thoughts and opinions?
-4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the plot/storyline idea
-3 ⭐⭐⭐ for the format and grammatical issues

since we are in the fall season/halloween type of vibe, i knew i wanted to read "darling girls"! i heard super duper good things about "the younger wife", so i did not come into this book with much expectations. but wow! i love how hepworth tackled an important issue/topic in today's world.

to give a general idea, the main premise about the book is how it talks on the issues of the foster care system. it sheds light on the actual reality that happens to most people. surprisingly, the book was very emotional since you get chapters of the three main characters when they were children to chapters of them in the present. you find yourself rooting for jessica, norah, and alicia; and hating on miss fairchild (she is the worst!). but it also has elements of "you shouldn't believe what anyone says, keep an open mind." it also tackles serious/heavy topics that the readers should proceed with caution.

i love the bond that jessica, norah, and alicia have with each other. they grown up in the same foster home and stuck by each other like peas in a pod. from the cute, heartfelt moments that the three of them had, i thought it was so adorable that they cared for one another. i love how hepworth showed that there is another definition to what sisters/brothers mean. of course it means blood-related, but having people who love and support you can also be called sisters/brothers.

the reason why this is rated around 3.5-4.0 stars (around the middle) was due to the grammatical and spelling errors. however, this is long due to be published so i think it will pretty sure be fixed by late april. i don't think it is anything to be concerned about, but i was getting confused on what word hepworth meant by the spelling error.

i also want to talk about the plot twist. there were many plot twists and i feel like if you are an avid mystery thriller reader, you can catch up and figure it out quickly. i thought it was a author writing error, but i was able to pin the two together and said, "Ohhh, that makes much more sense." it's not predictable by any means, but go with your instinct if you were to guess.

overall, no complaints! the most important takeaway i got out of reading this book is that there needs to be reform and change in the foster care system. thank you, sally hepworth, for your creative mind into writing "darling girls"! once again, thank you to negalley and st. martin's press for the e-arc!

if you are interested, book is set to published on april 23rd, 2024! 💗

One hellllll of a ride ! Captivated start to finish. Beautifully written with all the twist and feels. Loved every second of this book and I truly think the execution was done beautifully on the plot development and characters !!!

I absolutely loved this Sally Hepworth book! It had me hooked on every page, often keeping me up late at night.

The story provides a powerful portrayal of the long-lasting impact of growing up with an abusive and narcissistic foster parent or parent. Miss Fairchild's character is brilliantly explored, highlighting her manipulative tendencies. I highly recommend this book for its abundant twists and turns.

I stayed up late reading it, and the ending was incredibly satisfying.

Huge thanks to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The publication date is set for April 23, 2024.

Well written and intriguing. I loved the relationship between the 3 sisters and how they had each others’ backs no matter what. The repercussions of mental/emotional abuse once in adulthood I thought was very well portrayed and described, but the fact that they had this forever connection I thought was so important and vital to their survival.

While much of the foster situation was intentionally disturbing, it was very well written and really well done. Miss Fairchild was a fantastic villain - I couldn’t stand her her which was the whole point. Each situation felt realistic and had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I wouldn’t say it was super thriller-ish but it did have some good mystery and great character development. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy do this book. All opinions are mine.

I haven't read a book this fast in such a long time. Another job well done by Sally Hepworth!
When three sisters get called back to the town of their former foster home, secrets are unraveled and the girls begin to question their recollection of their time in the foster home.
This story was incredible- told from multiple points of view, it goes back and forth between the past and present, building tension until the very end.
I would recommend looking up trigger warnings, especially about child abuse. There were a few scenes that, as a mother, kept me awake at night. With that said, the scenes added to my investment in the book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was face paced, kept me guessing, and was hard to put down. There were a handful of typos and spelling errors I noticed.

Sally Hepworth does not disappoint with her thrillers. I have been a fan since "The Good Sister" and have becoming a bigger fan after every new release. Darling Girls has so many twists and really makes you question the foster care system. I really enjoyed the bond the "sisters" had in this story and the depths they would go to take care of each other. Great book! Read it in a day because I could not put it down.

Thank you to Sally Hepworth, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for gifting me an ARC of this book.

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors, so I had very high hopes for her new release, Darling Girls. This book DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I loved it from the second I started it and was sucked in until the end.

This book is about three sisters, a foster mother, and a dead body discovered beneath the house they grew up in. The past holds many shocking secrets that will test the bond of the sisters.

I fell in love with each of the three sisters and their different personalities. Hepworth did a fantastic job with character development and building their relationships. This book held my interest and revealed twist after twist until the end. This was a book that had me thinking about it days after. Sally Hepworth is a queen, and I cannot wait for her next book!

This book was GREAT! Character development was flawless, story line keeps you riveted, and the twist at the end was the icing on the cake. 5/5.

I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of Sally Hepworth’s upcoming book Darling Girls. I have become such a huge fan of hers in the past few years, and I was not at all disappointed.

Darling Girls is about three found sisters who lived in foster care together. Now adults, with varying degrees of functionality, they are still closer than anyone in their lives, watching out and protecting each other at all costs.

When the bones of a small child are found at their former home, the sisters are called in for questioning and we have a past and present story line where we learn what they went through as children. This is definitely dark, and sometimes hard to read, but it was excellent.

As usual for Sally Hepworth, there is a shocking and twisty ending, which made the book even better. Overall, this is another sure fire win for her.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this highly anticipated book, which comes out next year.

Wow!!!! That last twist, did NOT see coming 🤯. This book is dual timelines and multiple POVs but very easy to follow along with! It’s about three foster “sisters”, darling girls if you will. That escape their foster mother Miss Fairfield decades before. Once some bones are discovered underneath their old foster house, they are forced to face their past one last time. This book had me hooked from the very first page to the very last! Such a fun and disturbing ride! I highly suggest checking it out when it comes out on April 23rd, 2024.

I want to give a huge thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for an ARC ebook in return for an honest review!

Thank you for a preview of this book by one of my favorite authors. It tells the story of 3 "sisters" who grew up together in a foster home under the care of Mrs Darlington. All was not as it seemed in this home and when a murder is discovered years later, secrets are revealed. I loved the closeness of these women, and the setting of this foster home was intriguing. I figured things out fairly quickly but still enjoyed this story and the twists along the way.