Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is a story about three girls who become sisters because of the horrific circumstances they endure during their tenure at a house of horrors foster home. This story twists and turns and I was utterly captivated.

OMG. This was not a typical Sally Hepworth read and I was actually quite nervous as I began reading....the storyline had me freaked out that something awful was going to happen every time I turned the page. It was so good I devoured this book in 2 days. I liked how you didn't know who was in session with the therapist until the end (even though you could work it out about half way through) it keeps you guessing. Great book.

DARLING GIRLS
BY: SALLY HEPWORTH

3.75 stars rounded up!

I thought long and hard before deciding if I wanted to read Sally Hepworth's newest novel called, "Darling Girls." I had good reasons for my mixed feelings and while reading my first impression was to ask myself: "What have I gotten myself into?" This particular novel in my humble opinion is probably my favorite of hers by far because it tackles some difficult to read at times subject matter. I was quite uncomfortable at times reading about the child abuse inflicted to the the children who are placed into Foster care with the antagonist, Miss Holly Fairchild. So beware before deciding to read this if you're up for the disturbing, realistically portrayed abuse and cruelty perpetrated on young, impressionistic minds by the Foster mother. I liked the ending so overall I thought it worth the one sitting read which while upsetting has depth and illuminates the traumatizing, long lasting effects of being exposed in youth to horrific living situations.

The novel goes back in time to the harrowing and unpredictable actions that three young females placed in Miss Fairchild's care to explain why these three adult women are struggling in the present. I did like that these three females who weren't biological sisters formed an enduring bond that resulted in them considering themselves sisters deeply caring for each other. All three of them are supportive of one another, but display emotional scars from their exposure to their narcissistic Foster mother's self-serving and insensitive poor treatment.

Jessica who was the first and the youngest to be placed with Miss Fairchild exhibits an obsessive compulsive need towards perfection as a grown woman. Although she is the only one out of the three women to be married, her husband feels that she puts her two sisters needs ahead of his. Jessica organizes homes and steals her clients Valium prescriptions for her anxiety. Norah who was the second child fostered by Miss Fairchild is angry and physically abusive leading her to have trouble with the police and courts. She had violent tendencies as a child and hasn't overcome them in adulthood either. Alicia was the third to be placed in Miss Fairchild's Foster home which was supposed to be temporary. She had a loving, nurturing grandmother who Alicia expected to be reunited with after her grandmother recuperates in the hospital after a bad fall. Alicia is a case worker in the Foster care system as an adult.

The three sisters are notified that they need to return to Port Agatha, Australia which is a two hour car ride from where they currently live in Melbourne to answer questions in an investigation by three detectives. There have been bones discovered which were buried on the property where they lived in Foster care with Miss Fairchild. Whose bones are these? Was somebody murdered? Who is the murderer? You'll have to read this to find out.

As I said this is my favorite of Sally Hepworth's novels because it illustrates how damaging childhood experiences lead to self sabotaging choices that can be life long lasting if they aren't dealt with. Interspersed with the past and the present are short chapters of an unknown character that is meeting with a psychiatrist. I liked the ending of this so it elevated this suspenseful and character driven novel to 3.75 stars. This made me feel that I was glad that I read this unsettling novel, although I do question how it most likely takes years of self examination and hard work to overcome self destructive tendencies in adulthood that is the result of childhood abuse by a care giver. I cautiously recommend this after deciding if you are willing to be able to tolerate the insidious emotional cruelties that you'll be witnessing done to innocent children. It does make you think and this is one I'm not likely to forget.

Publication Date: April 23, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Sally Hepworth and St. Martin's Press for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#DarlingGirls #SallyHepworth #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

Darling Girls is a story of the dark side of foster care and has well developed characters and it is fast paced and kept me guessing till the end.

This is dual timeline and told in the POV of Norah, Alicia, and Jessica. They are foster sisters who learn that bones are discovered on the foster home they were in years ago. Their time with foster mother Fairchild was not easy, and their stories are heartbreaking, but they are strong women.

I rushed through this, because I had to know what happened. I'm going to read out again, because it's just that good. Hempworth is a master!

Thank you #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC of the masterpiece!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia....three sisters but not by blood. All three grew up in the foster care system with Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild had rules, she had moods, and could be very unpredictable. After fleeing their foster home in a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. But years later, when bones are discovered buried under the farm house of their childhood, they're brought back to their past. Who is buried under the house??

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this book. I could not put this down! This is my first Sally Hepworth novel and it did not disappoint. Right from the beginning I was hooked. Short chapters, perfectly paced, and so intense. I highly recommend.

First off, I love Sally Hepworth and this one did not disappoint!
It does have a trigger of child abuse just so you are warned.

THE DARLING GIRLS are 3 children brought together in a foster care situation. Twenty years later they are dealing with their trauma in different ways. Now a body has been found at the site of their former foster home. Who? Why?
Hepworth is a master of character descriptions and surprises! Each woman’s story is told and they must come together to find some closure and discover ways to move forward.

Pub date is April 2024

Thank you to Netgalley for this “read now”

Thought this book was really well done. The mystery of the novel was very interesting, and I enjoyed going back and forth from the present to the past. Another great book from the author. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. I was blown away! This was my first SH novel & wow.. I’ll be reading all her books now.
Right from the beginning, I trusted no one. All the characters are wild and for good reason. The three FMCs grew up in an unstable environment as foster children with a sociopath. Many years later, human remains were found under the house they lived in. No one “knows” who was buried there or by who.

Read if you love:
Crime fiction
True crime
Murder mystery
Untrustworthy characters
Found family
Multiple POV
Duel Timeline

I always enjoy Sally Hepworth's books. This one moved a bit slowly for me ... I was waiting and waiting for some more excitement. The ending was a bit predictable but it was a good read. I wouldn't call this a dark or twisted thriller, though.

One thing I have to mention is that, though this was an ARC, there were so many typos and proofreading issues that it made it honestly a bit annoying to read. ARCs generally are mostly corrected, so I'm not sure what happened here ... did they upload the wrong copy?

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. Thanks for reading my review! Based in Australia, three grown women are bound by a horrific childhood. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia met as kids in the same foster home under a monstrous and deceptive foster mother, As adults, they are asked for assistance when human remains are found under their old foster home, Wild Meadows. Now they're forced to re-open old wounds in order to find out not only who the remains belong to, but also who's responsible.

I'm assuming this book still needs proofreading as I found numerous simple proofreading mistakes. Beyond that I absolutely LOVED this book and am thrilled to recommend it. I loved how each chapter was relatively short and it switches to different peoples points of views and also goes back and forth between past and present. This one had me guessing quite a bit.

Darling Girls is one of the most incredible thrillers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. My mind is blown. I feel speechless but this book deserves a review so I’m going to do my best. I jumped at the chance to read it when I saw it on Net Galley as I’ve be never been disappointed by Sally Hepworth, but it exceeded all of my expectations. My only note is that some of the subject matter is tough to read; I suggest being mindful of triggers.

The characters have such depth to them, I’ve never felt so connected to fictional people. This book is perfectly paced, the back and forth between past and present is done incredibly well, and the touch of first person narration is a great addition. The ending was simultaneously infuriating and satisfying.

I don’t keep a lot of physical books but this is one I’ll absolutely buy when it’s released. I’m sure there’s so much more I could say, but you really need to read this for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

About three sisters and the love they have for each other while in foster care. The length that they wilk go through to protect each other while in foster care. It's about how the struggled as children and into their adulthood because of their experiences.

This book was so good! It kept me interested the entire time. It was written from diffrent viewpoints, aswell as past and present but was extremely easy to follow along. The twist at the end when I thought it was over made it imitate 5 stars!

Man, this book was intense. It was my first Sally Hepworth book, so I’m not sure if that was to be expected or not. I sped through this book incredibly fast, so I definitely give it points for keeping me hooked. But the child abuse the main characters suffered (and the tertiary characters mentioned as well) was pretty extreme. Sometimes it’s a wonder authors can write about that, but in this book it was so important that Hepworth did. The three main characters (Jessica, Norah, and Alicia) were all children of the foster system, and the abuse that came to them wasn’t an anomaly in real life. I like that Hepworth mentioned in the acknowledgments that she interviewed actual former children of the foster system. It makes me so sad knowing this kind of abuse exists, and makes me hug my little one that much tighter.
I think with everything going on in the book, I was too distracted to think about any potential twists or turns, so I was definitely surprised throughout it. If you can stomach it, I do think this book is an excellent read. I couldn’t quite give it 5 stars, but I still really enjoyed it.

Trigger warnings:
- Child abuse to the extreme
- Mentions of rape/sexual assault

📖 Read if 📖 :
✔️ You love dark thrillers
✔️ You appreciate books exposing the horrors of the foster system
✔️ You want a real page-turner
✔️ You like books with multiple POV’s and flipping between past and present


Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this title, all opinions are my own.

This was just ok for me, which was disappointing because it started out really strong. I think I got a little bored in the middle and by the end I didn’t really care what happened. Three stars!

An unputdownable book that led me down a roller coaster of emotions—anger, fear, grief, sadness, love, shock, horror—all the while waiting to read the truth of not only three foster children’s upbringing, but that of the cruel foster mother responsible—and her own past! The twists and turns were many, and the ending left me speechless. Oh, darling…you must read this for yourself!

Yet again I was drawn in by Sally Hepworth and her riveting story telling. I stayed up late needing to know all of Wild Meadows’ secrets.

When bones are found on the property of a former foster home, the now adult foster children are called back to town to help find answers.

As always Hepworth kept me guessing until the very end.

Wow this might be my favourite read by this author so far! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and it was so easy to get through!

ARC from NetGalley. I DID enjoy this one, although it was difficult to read about the mistreatment of young girls. I sympathized with the characters, as I found myself hoping for them to get the ending they deserved. I definitely didn't guess the ending, but, looking back, I can see how Hepworth built to it over the course of the novel. I would recommend for more adult readers, as the emotional load of the characters was quite heavy.

Darling Girls is one of the darkest and best books I have read this year! This really keeps you questioning until the very end and I couldn’t put this down!