Miss Holly Fairchild was a pretty young Foster Mother who lived in Port Agatha, a farming community a few hours from Melbourne. She provided foster care to children at her country estate and farm, Wild Meadows. While she offered transitional respite care for several babies and infants, her main charges were three young girls who she fostered long term. Their names were Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. While all three girls had different reasons for landing at Wild Meadows, they soon came to see the other two as sisters. They also quickly learned that Miss Fairchild was not as endearing as she first seemed. The girls banded together to survive their foster care nightmare and retained their unbreakable sisterly bond into adulthood.

The novel alternates between the girls' childhoods under Miss Fairchild's care and twenty-five years later when they are called back to Port Agatha to help detectives solve a mysterious cold case at Wild Meadows. As they all work to unravel the past, they uncover more than they could have ever imagined.

Sally Hepworth does it again-she's written a clever book that will keep her readers guessing. The storyline is interesting and her characters are believable and captivating. This book was hard to put down. I was intrigued, yet at times was horrified and sad. Fans of psychological thrillers will find it an enjoyable read.

Just finished reading “Darling Girls” by Sally Hepworth.

This book was a page turner. It jumps from past to present telling the stories of Jessica, Norah and Alicia and how they grew up in foster care. Although not related by blood, they are “sisters” in every way.

The present day mystery begins with each sister receiving a call about human remains found under their former foster home. The narrative then goes back and forth from past to present to give possible clues to who se remains they are. You think you have things figured out but there’s always a twist.

On a side note there is a touch of humour which helps with the heavy trigger warnings of child abuse.

Definitely a book to recommend if you enjoy a psychological thriller!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I loved this book and it had me on the edge of my seat. I finished it in one sitting because I was so enthralled… It’s darker than some of her previous books I’ve read before and follows three women - Alicia, Jessica, and Norah who lived together with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother. They’re all very different, but this book shows sisterly love really well. Strange things start happening many years later in the present when a body in found on the farm where they lived. If you like mysteries, pick this one up!

3.5 Stars
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy! I enjoy Sally Hepworth’s books and this was no exception. The mystery builds to a almost satisfying payoff - to me, the reveals felt rushed. Characters were likable, although their development felt a bit forced. I did enjoy reading this and will be recommending to my friends!

Very interesting story, but the writing felt rushed in this book. It didn’t seem to have the same fast paced style as other Sally Hepworth books.

Overall, still enjoyable and a good, dark twist.

Best book I have read in 2023. I have read the majority of Sally Hepworth's novels. This by far is my favorite!!
The main story is complimented by the back stories of each foster child but also by the backstory of the caregiver herself. I didn't want this book to end.

The twist at the end........😳

Sally H can do no wrong! This is another solid 4 stars from me. Great characters that I love or love to hate, nicely timed thrills too!

This book was incredibly riveting. Three foster children from different families got taken in by Miss Fairchild. This story tells us about their traumatic history under her care. Miss Fairchild had many foster children through the years but one went missing. The three foster girls story is told in the past and the present.. Their story is pieced together with clues from the past that will make them question everything they thought they knew. There are twists turns you won’t see coming so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Another classic Sally Hepworth with carefully created mysteries and complicated relationships, where you think you have the ending and then she pulls the rug out from under you.

Three girls who are brought together in a foster home, the story goes back and forth between the present and the past to bring together a story of what really napped in their foster home over 20 years ago, and what it has to do with a detective asking them to come back to the town they were raised in.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Darling Girls checks all the boxes for the perfect thriller. Alicia, Norah and Jessica share a bond like no others and when bones are discovered buried beneath the farmhouse where they were fostered as youths, their troubled past along with their foster mother comes back to wreck havoc on their lives. All three sisters have issues of their own and this book perfectly balanced themes of suspense, sisterly bonds, betrayal, childhood trauma and the true definition of family.

I devoured this book in one day! I love Sally Hepworth and this one was one of my favorites. Super interesting triller and twists that I didn't see coming, right to the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Net Galley and the author for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Three women have a shared past that included being in foster care. Miss Fairchild takes them in one by one. This seems like a selfless act from a childless woman. Miss Fairchild, though, has some issues: she is unpredictable, she has rules that could be considered child abuse, and more. Years later, bones are uncovered at the site of their old house. They're all reunited at the scene to try to put the pieces together. They're better together than apart, but they still have their own trauma to work through.

A story of 3 girls who became sisters in foster care. It's told in past and present and starts with each of the girls getting a call from the police in the town where they were in foster care. They are requested to return and tell their stories of their time at Wild Meadows where Miss Fairchild raised them.

It's a dark story recounting their time with Miss Fairchild but there's some lightness and humour thrown in that makes it easier to get through their stories. Lots of twists too.

Darling Girls managed to be creepy, shocking, intriguing, and heartwarming. This story with its horrifying past and uncertain present was well written to keep the reader engaged and guessing on who's who and what's what.
It took a lens to the sometimes-terrible conditions of Foster homes and how children are preyed on. It was a bit triggering to see how manipulative and evil a Foster parent can be. Hepworth was a genius when it came to the plot twists, especially the ending where a lot of thrillers fall short -I felt like a nice little punch of surprise.
The joy was reading the sisters' resiliency and bond with the intriguing mystery. I definitely recommend this fast-paced and page turning thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for the gifted advanced reading copy.

***Lots of trigger warnings for this one. Highly recommend you look up the TW before reading***

I finished this book a few days ago and am having a hard time deciding how I feel about it based on the content. Darling Girls was a quick read with alternating POVs between 3 sisters in both the past (“before”) and present (“after”).

Darling Girls kept me engaged and had a twist I didn’t see coming. I think this was classic Sally Hepworth, so if you’re a fan I think this will be right up your alley. Ultimately there’s just something that didn’t sit well with me? For that reason I give it a 3.5 but I do think a lot of you will love this one.

3.5⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. Once again Hepworth has written a great story.
Jessica, Alicia, and Norah are all products of the foster system who meet at Wild Meadows, a home run by Miss Fairchild. They become “sisters” while there because of the treatment they receive from Miss Fairchild depending on her mood. Years later when the girls receive news that a child’s body has been found buried under the house, they have to return to Wild Meadows where each has to face their past growing up there, Miss Fairchild, and how it has affected their present lives.

This was another hit by one of my longtime favorite authors, @sallyhepworth. I loved the character development and what I felt was a responsible depiction of the trauma of foster care and its aftermath. I enjoyed the dark humor, the dual timelines from the multiple characters’ points of view, and the twists which were unexpected and believable.

I will say that the ending has an extraordinarily dark moment that did not sit well with me, and frankly, I was surprised to see it. I read an early copy and hoping it does not make it to the final version. With that said, this was an otherwise incredible read.

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

5 stars- oh my I loved Darlings Girls by Sally Hepworth- this author has never disappointed me! This one is going to the top of my favorites I’ve read this year. For the last week or so I’ve been immersed in reading about Jessica, Norah and Alicia’s lives living in foster care at Wild Meadows with their cruel and abusive foster mother Miss Fairchild. I liked seeing them in their adult years as they return to the site for a police investigation after bones were found underneath the home they grew up in. Each one’s lives were affected in different ways and I loved the bond these three shared. The story is told in alternating chapters from past to present and alternating povs of Jessica, Norah, Alicia, and a character’s therapy sessions with a psychiatrist. This book is sure to be a bestseller! Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Alicia, Norah and Jessica are not biological sisters, but because of their common history of living in a foster home years ago with Miss Fairchild,they consider themselves so.
Their time at the foster home had been made sad because of emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of Miss Fairchild.
When all three women are summoned to Port Agatha because the remains of a child are found in the basement of their former foster home, they have to face challenges and relive pain from their past.

This is one of the craziest stories I’ve read in quite a while. It starts out pretty straightforward with an investigation into a human remains found on an old property, but quickly unravels into the wildest ride. Twists on twists on twists. I never could’ve predicted the ending and there’s nothing I love more in a book. Excellent.