I always enjoy Sally Hepworth's books and Darling Girls was no exception! Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were foster kids living in Miss Fairchild's home. They were mistreated, starved, and verbally abused. They are able to get away from Miss Fairchild, but are called back to the small town when a child's bones are found under the house.

This book kept me totally engaged and was a quick read because of this. Themes of trauma, child abuse, addiction, found family.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy of the book.

This book was a very good portrayal on the life-long lasting effects of being raised by an abusive, narcissistic foster parent/parent. There was also a good character study done on that of Miss Fairchild, and how she was able to manipulate everyone around her.

I highly recommend reading this book, as the twists and turns were plentiful!! I read this book late into the night, and the ending was well worth it!!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for an Arc of this book which I had the pleasure of reading!

I really enjoyed this one. The characters are all very flawed but still easy to root for. The dual timelines worked well together and I was equally interested in past and present. The horrors faced by foster children are showcased while also not being repetitive.

It’s hard to rate this one because it was such a quick fast-paced read but the subject matter which includes a lot of child neglect and abuse was so hard to read. I didn’t find it extremely suspenseful but I did want to know what actually happened the whole time. I’m just glad it wasn’t so scary that it kept me up at night haha the ending is wild.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is a thriller that follows three foster sisters: Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. The story alternates between then and now, and also cycles through different narrators. Honestly, this book overall was a difficult read for me, but let me focus first on what I enjoyed.

I loved the relationship between the foster sisters, who are very well-developed characters. I loved reading of the bond they formed as children in a foster home and the support and encouragement they showed each other. In the present, they each have a separate story simmering in the background, which was probably my favorite part of the book.

Now, for the bad news: this book is filled with abuse. All the abuse. It is everywhere; it is not possible to skip over it or skim through it. So, while I enjoyed these characters and the overall story, Darling Girls wasn't really the right book for me.

I have read and enjoyed Sally Hepworth before, and I know I will be back for more Sally Hepworth in the future. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia spent several years together at the same foster home in Australia. Though not biologically related, they consider themselves sisters. A woman named Miss Fairchild raised them. Many years later, the body of a child is found under Miss Fairchild's home. The police want to interview the women to see if they know anything about this child. How much do they know and what secrets might they be hiding?

I enjoyed this story, though not as much as some of Sally Hepworth's other novels. This one was more of a study in psychology and human nature than a page-turning thriller.

Note: There are trigger warnings for child abuse.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a review copy of Darling Girls.

A thrilling, fast paced page turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder.
Highly recommend reading this book. It will keep you up all night!
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh. Wow. That ending was seriously amazing. I couldn’t believe it. This was one of those books where when I finished I had to start it all over again to see all the little hints that were left… I just needed that moment of reading this all over again!
Sally Hepworth is a talented author with these captivating plots I just can’t get enough of!

This story is told from the past and present lives of Jessica, Norah and Alicia. As children the three “sisters” lived in Wild Meadow, a supposedly peaceful, idyllic foster home that is far from a nurturing environment. As adults they are summoned by the police back to the town of Port Arbor after their foster home had been demolished. Human remains have been found in a grave at the property and the police hope that they can shed some light on what happened. The police are also talking to their abuser Miss Fairchild whom they haven’t spoken to since leaving the foster home and seeing her again brings up too many memories. Their time together and the lingering results from the abuses continue to affect the women into adulthood. Lots of twists and turns, secrets and surprises along the way. This was a tough one about child abuse in a care home. My initial thought was that I wouldn’t be able to finish it. Definitely not what I was expecting. This ARC was provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just don't think this author is for me. I liked the characters and really loved some of the twists, but the overall pace of it was too slow for me.

I liked all the characters I was supposed to like? Sally Hepworth really has a knack of writing characters you want to root for. And this didn’t disappoint. I loved the bond between the sisters and was surprised by the twists. Very interesting story. I do feel a bit disgruntled by the end because I HATE WHEN SOMEONE GETS AWAY WITH MURDER.

Man. Sally Hepworth knows how to build complex, flawed and possibly very evil characters... and is good at throwing in a twist. This one had all of that and more.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the digital review copy of this title.

This book gave me the biggest pit but I couldn't put it down! Norah, Jessica and Alicia are foster sisters who share trauma from growing up under the care of Miss Fairchild. Years after leaving Miss Fairchild's care, the three sisters are called back to their foster home when they learn that a body has been found buried beneath the house. As a parent, I was horrified at some of the things I read but Sally Hepworth knows how to keep her readers engaged, and I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for ARC access

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a good mystery told in two different timelines and multiple POVs. The story focuses on three women that formed a sister bond while in the same foster care at Wild Meadows estate run by Miss Fairchild. On the surface the girls are "lucky" to be in such a wonderful placement, but scratch the surface and you'll find Miss Fairchild is unpredictable, vengeful, and is not to be crossed. When they are young teenagers they are able to break away from her and go on to grow up and be successful. But, each women still carries deep scars from their life at Wild Meadows, and the last thing they want to do is return to the place of their nightmares. But, when a body is found under the house, they are forced to return to speak with detectives. The question is, are they witnesses or suspects?

The story switches between Outwardly successful, the girls are internally a mess and lean heavily on each other to get through life, including this latest stress of the police investigation. They're forced to re-live some of the worst moments of their lives, and are not dealing with it well. Jessica has OCD and is dependant on valium that she steals from her clients. Norah has anger issues and is quick to react with her fists. Alicia is filled with insecurity that interferes with every relationship she's had and one that she may enter into.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Despite the subject matter and their issues, they still felt a bit flat. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but I never got that payoff. The book flows along at a low simmer but never reaches a boil. I kept waiting to get tense and concerned for the girls' welfare, but I never felt they were in danger. Even the twists were tame and predictable. Overall, the book is well written and a good mystery, but just a bit tame for my tastes. I think people that don't want their mysteries dark and twisty will really enjoy this book.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

This story follows three "sisters" in two different time lines as we learn about their childhood in a bad foster care situation and then as adults where they have just learned there have been human remains found under their childhood foster home. This was an interesting story, the alternating timelines did keep me more interested in the story and I felt the pacing was effective. This story was an interesting mystery and suspenseful and it gives enough information at just the right time to keep you reading and wondering. Overall it was a good book but not amazing.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

* Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing the ebook and the audiobook in exchange of a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the best book I have read this year. I am a huge thriller lover and this one hit all the right spots. The sisters dynamics was amazing, I didn't had a clue what was going on and the end made me gasp because I really didn't see that coming. Amazing 🙌

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I loved Sally Hepworth’s THE SOULMATE and looked forward to reading her new book, DARLING GIRLS. For me, it started off well. Three girls are being fostered by Miss Fairchild in an idyllic setting. We switch from the past involving each of the three girls who are referred to as “sisters.” I was deeply involved in their histories and relationships. However, as we moved to the present, I became lost and found myself rereading and rereading to get the stories straight. I hurt for some of the psychological abuse they suffered. The story just did not work for me. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Hepworth does no wrong in creating a quintessential thriller. The story of friendship created in the darkest of places as the narrative varies between past and present.

A well written thriller involving three foster care sisters and the foster parent they lived with during their pre-teen years. I wrote a staff pick for this for our library system and will be recommending it to patrons.

Alicia, Jessica and Norah grew up in the toxic environment of Wild Meadows as foster kids under the care of Miss Fairchild. Bonded through their shared trauma, they formed a sisterhood and did whatever they could to protect each other.

But so many years later, a body has been found underneath Wild Meadows and three women are forced to relive their past and confront Miss Fairchild and the system that let them down. All as they fight to prove they are innocent of murder…

Beware reading this book as there are difficult themes of abuse and neglect and the consequences of childhood trauma. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in this novel. The mystery surrounding the identity of the body and the slow reveal of what happened in the past was done well as Hepworth is great at throwing the twists just as you think you have figured it out. I was fortunate enough to receive this in both digital and audio form and enjoyed both versions as I went back and forth between both formats.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the gifted digital review copy and gifted audiobook.