This book is a page-turner! Written from various points of view, this book tells the story of three women who revisit their childhood foster home when bones are discovered in its basement. As the characters learn more about the mysterious bones, they must also come to terms with how their pasts have affected their presents.

The plot of this book is fast-paced and engaging. Sally Hepworth does a wonderful job of developing the different characters so that each feels like a unique, complex person. Because of this, it’s very easy to distinguish the different chapters and become deeply invested in the story. There are plenty of twists along the way and the ending leaves the reader feeling satisfied. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mystery!

This book hit very close to home for me because my sister is a foster parent. She treats all the kids that come in her home as if they were her own. I think this story was very well written and I could not put it down. I just had to know who was buried under the house. Oh, that twist at the end. So good.

WOW! I absolutely adore all of Sally Hepworth’s novels, but this was fantastic. Darling Girls continues in the tradition of her other novels by providing a more nuanced domestic thriller. Darling Girls was a slow burn on the beginning, but eventually I could not put it down. I truly felt the frustration of each POV character. I couldn’t recommend this book more highly for an engaging read.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me an ARC of this novel.

Great read...a bit slow for my taste. But still, a good story.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this advanced copy.

Loved this book! It started out a little on the slow side and took me a while to get into. Once I hit the 40% mark, I didn’t put it down! Characters are real and fun. Ending was definitely a surprise! Would recommend.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this opportunity to read Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls!

Man, Darling Girls has me so conflicted. Let me start by saying I have read 3 of Sally Hepworth’s other books and I rated each of those at least 4 stars. She is one of my favorite authors. This one however didn’t quite do it for me.

Darling Girls had a very slow start with past and present alternating time lines and 3 POVs building the history and relationships of the foster girls and the foster mother. This history at times was just not fun to read as it focused on the abuse of the foster mother and each of the girls poor circumstances. When it focused on the relationship between the girls, the story did become more interesting and heart felt.

Sally Hepworth has always been great at building intrigue at the beginning of the story where we don’t know where the story is going and you want to keep reading to see what each character’s motivation is and what is going to happen next. But Darling girls was such a slow build that it was at least 40% through the book before that element of intrigue started kicking in.

Also I felt a disconnect between the characters’ stories as young girls and the women they became as shown in the change in time lines for each character. Something just didn’t gel for me with learning their stories as young girls and matching them to the dysfunctional women they had become in the present day. For me it was hard to imagine they were the same people.

The story did have some surprises towards the end that were satisfying and made reading the story worthwhile. Even though to me Darling Girls had some short comings, I found it to be an interesting read. I’m going to rate this one 3 stars and I look forward to seeing what Sally Hepworth brings us in future books.

A Sally Hepworth book is always a must read for me. I as so excited to read the newest novel and I was not disappointed. I loved all of the main characters and getting to know them as both children and adults. The struggles they faced throughout their lives was woven throughout the book and I never lost where I was when there was a different point of view or point in time. In fact I loved all of the different points of view. It was very well done.

My favorite part of the book, well second favorite was not knowing who was talking with the doctor. I started to figure it out in the end but it was never fully clear. But that twist! Wow! What an excellent ending. For a brief moment I was pulling for that character and then BOOM!

All in all this was a wonderful book. I am very grateful I was selected to read an early copy. When this is published it will be on my bookshelf.

The character building in this story is amazing with Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Some parts of the book are hard to read about when the girls are younger, in foster care. Miss Fairchild is their foster mother and not a very nice one at all. Years later, bones are discovered under the house the three girls grew up in. The chapters are past and present with the lives of the girls before and now. Jessica is very likeable but has something to hide. Being loved had been the goal of her life. Norah has seemed to find trouble in her life and Alicia grows up to become a social worker, helping children find safe homes.
Heart- Wrenching, Stunning Twist, and Women's Empowerment! 4 Stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Loved this book! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC! Loved Sally’s last book as well. She’s a great writer!

As young girls, Jessica, Norah and Alicia formed an unbreakable bond when they were foster children with the manipulative Miss Fairchild.

Fast forward 25 years when the three women get an alarming call from the police…a child’s bones have been unearthed when the farmhouse was demolished. They have been asked to come back to Port Agatha to answer questions.

Ms. Hepworth takes you on a wild journey through this twisted, sometimes harrowing, tale.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review. **

Sally Hepworth is an auto read author for me, so I was excited to be able to read an early copy of Darling Girls. I went into it without reading the synopsis, which I often do with authors I really love! This book kept me engaged with moving between current and past timelines. Everything came together so well at the end, and I LOVED the twist at the end. I will be recommending this to everyone I know for sure!

Oh, Sally Hepworth---you have done it again! Darling Girls was a fantastic thriller with plot twist after plot twist. The novel follows three "sisters" who survived an abusive foster mom and follows them as they try to not only come to grips with their upbringing but also with the news that the bones of a young child have been discovered decades after they have escaped buried in the basement of their foster home. Such a page turner!

Woof i DEVOURED this book in one day. Exactly what i needed to get me out of a reading slump! While i have a lot of Hepworth’s books on my wishlist, this was the first that I’ve read and let me say, i’m a huge fan.

When a dead body is found under the foster home three girls grew up in, they travel back to the scene to assist police in finding out who it is. Trauma from their childhood comes back as they learn more about what happened to them 25 years ago.

Yall i loved this book. The story is told between three sisters point of view, both now and in the past. I enjoyed that each sister had their own personal problems and triumphs through out the book while also dealing with the same investigation. The characters are all likable (other than the evil foster mother of course) and it really made me happy that they were supportive of each other no matter what. The writing style was great, it kept me interested (obviously as i read in a day!) the twists kept twisting and i was on the edge of my seat to figure out what happened next!

Pub date April 23 2024

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC!

You hear horror stories of the foster care system and you know it’s real. This story could be any foster kid’s story. To see how those few years shaped these sisters lives is heartbreaking. But the ending! Gasp! I dare not spoil any of it. A must read!

This was just okay. Interesting enough to finish, but not very thrilling in general. I liked other books by Sally Hepworth more. Still, I wouldn't advise anyone against reading this, I hope this story finds its audience.

It has been so long since a book held my attention. Very well written and interesting storyline. I finished the story in two days.

"Darling Girls" is a thrilling and captivating novel that effortlessly grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The intricate plot, combined with the well-crafted writing style, makes it a page-turner that's hard to put down. The story took me through a journey of mystery, suspense, and unexpected twists.

The narrative alternates between the present day, where bones are discovered underneath Meadows Manor, and the past, focusing on the lives of the foster children who once lived there. The author skillfully weaves these two timelines together to unravel a compelling mystery. I felt connected to Jessica, who was the main child first introduced as a foster child to the mother. The relationship was quite enmeshed until the other two foster kids came. The character development in this book is outstanding. Jessica, the central character, is portrayed in a way that made me genuinely empathize with her. As we delve deeper into the story, we witness the evolution of the relationships between the foster children and their cold and manipulative foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. Mrs. Fairchild would punish them for the minutest things, such as teaching them to swim and allowing them to drown, not letting them eat, or have any fun. Such a nightmare to live with, manipulative, and would abuse them but not leaving any proof. The portrayal of Mrs. Fairchild is chilling and hauntingly realistic. Her treatment of the children and the atmosphere of fear she creates in Meadows Manor are described in a way that sends shivers down your spine. The tension and psychological abuse depicted in the story are both disturbing and thought-provoking. The three girls like sisters, connected and protected each other until the foster mother adopts a baby who she does not allow anyone else to bond with or spend time with. The girls worry about the young baby’s well-being since she cannot defend herself. The story takes a dramatic turn when the foster children unite and try to protect a new baby, driving them to report the abuse, but leading to a disappearance. What a twisted story, very engaging, provoking, and just not what I imagined. I highly recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Decades ago, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were foster children together at Wild Meadows – the beautiful country home of the mercurial and beautiful Holly Fairchild. Now adults, the three sisters return to the site of their tormented adolescence when bones are found in the basement of their former home. Old memories and mysteries resurface, and the trio needs to confront what really happened all those years ago.

I need to state immediately that this book deals with issues of child abuse - mental, physical, and to some extent sexual. It also deals extensively with unhealthy foster care situations. I knew what this book was about when I picked it up but, after reading. it is clear to me that I am not the target audience. An entire plotline focused on abuse was too rough for me to truly enjoy this. That’s on me for not knowing myself well enough as a reader.

The book was well written, and the structure of the narrative is designed to invoke a sense of mystery. We have the viewpoints of Jessica, Norah, and Alicia in the present day as the 30-somethings reconvene in the town of Port Agatha to assist in the investigation of the bones found in the basement of their former foster home. This narrative is intertwined with a narrative from when the three girls were pre-teens together living in the abusive home of Holly Fairchild. There is a third narrative of a woman telling her childhood story to a therapist and the reader is not privy to whose viewpoint it is.

As in all other Sally Hepworth books I have read, I liked the Australian setting although, there is much less of it in this book due to most of the scenes taking place indoors. I also enjoyed the characters and how they were each shaped by their experiences in different ways. The emotional abuse that the girls experience was visceral and highly effective in engaging the reader. I cared very much for the fate of these girls, then women. The mystery element, for me, was just okay. I don’t feel like there was enough groundwork laid for me to be completely invested in whose bones they were. I was curious, but not “on the edge of my seat” engaged. I was also able to reach the correct conclusion, prior to the “big reveal”. There was, however, one last little twist that erased that disappointment. I think fans of Frieda McFadden’s books will enjoy this one.

Three women who bonded and formed a sisterhood in an abusive foster home as tweens are forced to return to the small town where they were raised after bones are discovered underneath the farmhouse where they lived with their terrible foster parent, Ms. Fairchild.

Another solid thriller from Sally Hepworth! There were some fun surprises throughout. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs from the three sisters and LOVED the wicked little twist at the end.

Another riveting novel from Sally Hepworth. This book tells the story of 3 sisters who came together through the foster care system and the strong bond they formed. The sisters are called by the police back to the house they grew up in due to a current criminal investigation. I really found myself engaged with the characters and wanted to see them succeed in their adult life. Their foster stories were a bit bleak at times, but that is not unexpected. In some ways some of the foster system reminded me of "White Oleander".
Overall I recommend this book, there was a small twist or two, but really the story of these three girls supporting each other was the real heart of the book. Easy to pick up and hard to put down, definitely add to your TBR pile!
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a longtime fan of Sally Hepworth and will always be first in line to read her books. This book and her previous, The Soulmate, have been a bit over-the-top and I much prefer her earlier books, BUT her writing is always engaging. She incorporates great humor into her books and her characters are always super unique and interesting. I had this storyline figured out about halfway through, but it was still fun to read until the end. She's entertaining, pure and simple. I'd give this a 3.5, rounded up.