I give up on Sally books tbh. The mystery is never entertaining enough to be a fun popcorn thriller which just feels like a slog. The characters are written like poor veneers with little depth or subtlety, and the twists and turns are either completely predictable or zany and purely for shock value.

This one was soooo good, I should have read it sooner!

It’s a psychological thriller, but it was thought provoking and filled with themes of family, betrayal and secrets. Told via multiple perspectives and timelines of the past and present. I was invested in the three foster girls’ stories. The pacing was fast and the chapters were short. There was tension, suspense and twists and I couldn’t put the book down because I wanted to know the ending. I loved every minute of it. This might be my favorite Sally Hepworth book!

I picked this book up after I heard the author speak. She was so cute and darling.
The book was not what I expected she would write.
It was a true thriller with lots of twists and turns!
Wow!
I will recommend for fans of Riley Sager

initial thoughts: this Sally Hepworth story was sadly just not my favorite. i was lucky to receive an ARC from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press (a big thank you!) but the ARC was filled with so many errors: spelling, wrong words, missing words, grammar issues, etc.

this wasn’t a mystery/thriller as advertised and the plot just didn’t do anything for me. I kept reading because I absolutely adore Sally Hepworth and usually enjoy her characters. this was a miss for me.

The one thing that I have learned from reading Sally Hepworth’s novels is that you better dedicate some good reading time for them, because you will not be able to put them down once you start. Oh, sure, you can try to fool yourself by saying that you will just sit down and read one or two chapters, but you’re just lying to yourself. Set aside the time, put your chores on the backburner, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Darling Girls grabbed me right from the get-go. This was a Mommie Dearest (Joan Crawford) story in foster care. We see these three girls as adults, trying their best to navigate their lives, but we also get to witness their time in foster care and see the horrific things these children had to endure. Of course, with their histories, they’ve each had a great deal of issues to overcome, and they are still in the process of overcoming them. Hepworth created a great cast of characters. Nobody could pick up this book and honestly say that they didn’t feel for Jessica, Norah (without a T), and Alicia. For different reasons, these girls were put in foster care, which is bad enough, but to be put in the care of Miss Fairchild, well, that was downright abusive.

My heart broke for the characters, I was certainly angry on their behalf, but I did find myself laughing a fair bit as well. Norah was an interesting character. Did she always do the right thing? No. Did she manipulate? Yes. Did she think that violence could solve her problems? Well…yes. Again, she didn’t always make the most conventional decisions, but she also didn’t have an easy life, and I thought she was absolutely intriguing.

These women were like sisters. They didn’t have to be blood-related to feel the bond between them. And when bones are discovered underneath their foster home and they are brought in for interrogation, well, you just know that these three will do whatever it takes to be there for one another.

Darling Girls was a riveting page-turner. I was never really sure how the story was going to unfold, it had a twist that I didn’t see coming, and that is exactly what I want in a story of this genre. Whenever I am in the mood for a thriller, I know that a novel by this author is sure to deliver.


*4 Stars

This book was perfect. I loved all the "sisters" and the background story and the Between of past and future. The story was so intriguing and the girls each had their own personality and voice in the story. I will still think of this story, and all the girls had to deal with, from trauma growing up and how they each dealt with truth of their past coming to the surface. I read this in one sitting. Unforgettable story, sad but so good! Made me want a group of sisters, there for each other no matter what...and boy there were some crazy twist. Such a memorable read!!

I’ve got a book hangover! I loved this one! This story had me hooked from the first page!

Three foster sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in a slightly traumatic foster home with their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. When a shocking revelation brings them back to what remains of their childhood home, they may end up with questions than answers.

Things I loved about this story was how well the characters were developed! We got a look at each of the darling girls as children and how their childhood’s impacted their adult lives. The setting was mysterious and kept me guessing. The twists are turns were in all the right places, which made it even better!

This was my first Sally Hepworth book, but it won’t be my last!

Thank you to NetGAlley, the author, and St Martin’s Press for this copy to read in exchange for a review! I greatly appreciate it!

Overall I enjoyed the book. I appreciated the character development, storyline and the authors attention to detail.

Another well-written book of suspense by Sally Hepworth. The relationships between the heroines and their relationship with their foster mother, gripping. Great storytelling throughout. I enjoyed the mystery unraveling. Highly recommend.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

wow, what a wild ride this was! such an interesting plot with a lot of mystery. i couldn’t figure out the twists until right before they happened. a highlight for me was the characters. i was highly invested in what they had going on and that kept me immersed in the book! LOVE the multiple pov and getting a glimpse of the story through each character.

i’d recommend this to mystery fans!

This was a wild ride from start to finish! I loved the suspense and the intense thrill. I loved the exploration of siblings relationships and childhood trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Review 4.5 ⭐️
Miss Fairchild came up with a new way to hurt them.” Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Wow and wow, did Sally Hepworth keep me on my toes with this one. While this was much darker than her usual family dramas, her exceptional storytelling is undeniable and the secrets and lies unfold one, after the other as the reader continues throughout the book. The book is told from the perspective of three different foster sisters, both past and present. In the beginning, as you getting to know the characters, it can be a little hard to keep up with who is who, but Hepworth does an amazing job giving each character a detailed background and who they grew up to be after leaving their foster care situation. I found that the chapters involving the past and the girls’ childhood more interesting and the present to be a little slower paced. This did help the reader come out from the darker points of the book. Of course, you can’t have a Hepworth book without the twisted ending, and this one left me with my jaw on the floor. This is more of a fiction novel with mysterious elements, so if you are looking to dip your toes in to more mysteries, this is a good one to start with.

The shared traumatic experiences at the hands of their narcissistic foster mother have forged an unbreakable bond of sisterhood for Jessica, Norah and Alicia. When bones are discovered buried under their old foster home, they travel back to where it all began to try find answers. The story is told in both past and present and from the perspective of each of the three women. There’s also the recounting of therapy sessions with Dr. Warren interspersed throughout the book where initially it’s unclear who the patient is. The way the story is told keeps you interested and invested in finding out what really happened. I do think this was a good story, but it did drag at times and lacked the level of suspense that I was hoping for.

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors and dare I say Darling Girls is one of her best? I read this back in the spring (I'm a bit behind with reviews, I know) and I still remember details about this one. That's the sign of a good book! I loved the storyline. It kept me guessing the entire time. I also loved how the POV changed throughout the story, and it was slowly revealed who the mysterious POV was. I loved how everything ended. Sally Hepworth is brilliant!

The story of three foster sisters dealing with the aftermath of their narcissistic foster mother was riveting with a delicious unexpected twist. I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's style of weaving complex family dynamics, secrets, and trauma with an arsenic bite of humor (similar to Liane Moriarity). I found all the POV's engaging and the storyline compelling. This was well-paced and satisfying.

In Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth, three foster children reunite after being informed that a body was found buried beneath the foster home where they grew up. They lived together and survived the abuse from their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, and now are leading their own lives. Those lives, though, are marred by the haunting childhood they shared. Now there's a crime that was committed on the property of their former home, and who is to blame for the death of this mysterious person?

Alternating chapters cover the present day for the three women and other chapters cover the past when they endured the abuse from their foster mother. I liked the different perspectives and also the characters are very distinct. You will not be confused as to who is narrating the chapter. This gives you a lot of insight into the different ways the girls handled how their childhoods played out. I thought that was effective.

One problem I had was one character seemingly pops out of nowhere, and you never find out what they were up to from the time the girls spent in the foster home until today. I felt like I needed that background, at least, in a paragraph or something.

Another issue I had with the book is the epilogue for one of the characters. It felt false, forced, and just a little too over the top. I almost felt like, of course, this had to happen.

This brings me to my next issue although it doesn't bother me that much. A lot of times throughout the story, it felt predictable. I could guess the trajectory of the character or the situation. While there are definitely some surprises, some things I figured out early on. I can't say it was disappointing because I really liked the characters except for one that I felt was bordering on cartoonish. Hepworth's writing shines through, and I enjoy her characterizations and descriptions of different situations. Maybe I've read too many thriller/suspense stories lately.

Anyway, this book isn't my favorite of the author's, but I did enjoy it and could have easily absorbed this in a weekend. It was a fun read, and I'm sure I'll be on board for her next book!

I really enjoyed this thriller from Sally Hepworth. It was a bit of a “slow reveal”, and maybe a little drug out at times, but overall was quite enjoyable. Will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Read this for my August book club with my girlfriends but also received as an ARC from #netgalley. I read the Soulmate by Sally last year and loved it and this one did not disappoint. So many different layers and complex relationships and trauma. I suspected a lot of things that happened but didn’t see it playing out entirely the way it did. It’s truly so heartbreaking that people go things like this in real life but I loved the sister relationship and how that got them through such hard times. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense novel that makes you think about bigger things.

#disneysongchallenge - Tangled - Mother Knows Best - mommy issues
#welcometotheerastour - Mastermind - a book with a big plot twist or mystery
#the52bookclub2024 - book by neurodivergent author

#netgalleyreview #netgalley #booklyapp #5starread #bookreview #darlinggirls #sallyhepworth

“Darling Girls” deals with a traumatic past and an unbreakable bond between three women. Although it reads more like a women’s fiction novel with thrilling elements, the “mystery” portion was a bit predictable as more is revealed through the past and present narratives. Definitely a fast paced read that will leave you wanting to know what exactly happened.