Sally Hepworth is becoming one of my favourite mystery writers. I previously read her books "the soulmate" and "the mother in law" and quite enjoyed them.

Darling Girls follows the lives of foster sisters Jessica, Norah and Alicia from their upbringing with Miss Fairchild to their second chance family. Their childhood was anything but a fairytale. Miss Fairchild is a foster mom from literal hell and this book makes you wish foster kids were given greater attention. The girls in present day are on there own and managing their own lives when a body turns up at their old foster home. This book will make you wonder if they are prime suspects or key witnesses. I was not prepared for the twist regarding Amy. I didn't want this book to end. I do love that she tied everything together at the end. I particularly loved Alicia's ending. I would love to see this get picked up for a movie or television show. I cannot wait to read what Sally writes next.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this thriller! Pretty fast-paced in the beginning but slows down about midway through. Definitely a satisfying ending but didn’t find it to be a jaw-dropping ending.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quick, satisfying read, Darling Girls invites us into a family created from necessity. Three foster sisters bond through the the trauma inflicted by their unstable foster mother. Each carries her own set of baggage. Atmospheric, the bucolic foster home only later presents as a house of horrors when the body of an infant is discovered during demolition. The sisters are called to the scene by authorities. Each has a piece of the puzzle. Will justice prevail? More suspense than an actual thriller, Hepworth none the less has brought another crowd pleaser to the shelves!

I am thankful that I was able to read and review a copy of this book. Another great read from Sally Hepworth! Ms. Fairchild was wonderfully creepy and disturbing and so unreliable. It gave such a current of tense unease while reading and kept me wanting more. I also loved the relationships with the sisters and how each of their stories worked out in the end. I’d highly recommend this book to others!

This was a great, can’t-put-it-down, read-in-a-day book! The character development for the stepmother was perfect - you could feel the tension not just when she was physically present, but when the girls were thinking about / remembering her. High on the creep factor. Twisty, with surprises throughout. I was not expecting the outcome of the major plot, and it’s always nice for the mystery to remain a mystery right to the end. If you’re a Sally Hepworth fan, or enjoy psychological thrillers, add this to your TBR for sure!

This was SO good! The twists and turns it took were amazing and always had me trying to figure out what was really going on.

The only reason it's not 5 stars for me is because it was dragging a bit in the middle. It could just be me though since I started it, took a break to read a different book, and came back to it.

Definitely recommend this one though!

Sally Hepworth is THAT GIRL. she is incredible and writes the most thrilling and gripping mysteries. I can’t wait for this next one if it’s anything like this

I just could not get into this one for some reason it wasn’t grabbing my attention. I’m usually a big fan of this author I just couldn’t get interested in this one!

I was so excited to have received an ARC of this book from one of my favorite thriller authors! This book clearly presents the long-lasting effects of being raised by someone who is an abusive parent and a narcissist. Though at times difficult to read, I could not put it down and really appreciated her shedding light on some of the harshest realities of the foster care system. There are multiple POVs, three of which are girls who shared the same foster home, and the ways in which they got there and how they are dealing with their foster mother, Holly Fairchild. Through a series of psychological games, she leaves scares that last longer than the time it took to escape her. All protagonists had a unique characteristic that made the story much more enjoyable. I would totally recommend checking this one out and reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book.

I love anything Sally Hepworth! This kept me on the edge of my seat and was a great summer beach read.

Three foster girls grow up at Wild Meadows Farm. The book is written in past and present chapters telling of a crime that may have been committed when Jessica, Norah and Alicia lived there. They are now the key suspects of a 25 years old crime. I would consider this more on the dark side, the abuse chapters got to me.

I love Sally Hepworth books!
She strikes the right balance between that creepy, eery, get under your skin thriller without ever being too scary to me.

This was no exception. I was hooked on this story from the very beginning and blew through it because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. This is a story full of messed up people and messed up things but I also really appreciated how she ended it with redemption and hope, not always the case with psychological thrillers.
Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! The characters are mean, bratty, and unlikable, but they made the story so compelling. A fun domestic thriller.

This was one of the better mystery/thrillers I’ve read recently. After finishing my second book by this author, I can confidently say she is a strong writer within this genre. I liked the multiple POVs of the girls - each character had a distinct and recognizable voice. The premise itself was really interesting, but it might be triggering for some readers (child abuse and foster care abuse). But wow, the twists were so good! Unexpected yet not random, which made them all the more impactful! This was an excellent read that kept me engaged from start to finish - would absolutely recommend!

Just the kind of “messed up” that I’ve been missing lately!! Sally is an auto-buy for me. Mind games at their finest… who’s telling the truth??

This gave, Mommy Dearest Vibes and I was there for it. The "sisters" had a wild upbringing always searching for love. Was the power of wanting it enough to cover up a mystery of a fellow 'sister'? Or was reality skewed enough to believe nothing happened? They are thrust back together again to help the police poking around something that just didn't seem quite right.

Thanks to NG and the publisher for the advanced copy to review. I loved it!

Once again Sally Hepworth has knocked it out of the park. In this story, we follow three sisters who grew up in foster care at the hands of the evil Miss Fairchild. This was a well written psychological mystery that deals with women's issues, and foster care representation. This is my new favorite Hepworth book to date.

Another winner in the books for Sally Hepworth!! 🌟 To be honest, I enjoyed this book the whole way through, but the ending- the last chapter just blew me away, and turned what would have been a four star book straight up to five stars!!! That’s how you close out a book! Well done, Ms. Hepworth. Well done 👏

Darling Girls focuses on three foster “sisters”, who grew up together for a couple of years at Wild Meadows foster home in Port Agatha. They are all grown and living their not so best lives, when they each receive a phone call 25 years later from a detective about the discovery of human bones on the site of Meadows Hill.

All three of the women who are so close they call each other sisters, go back to Meadows Hill to be interviewed by the detectives on the case. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah all have flashbacks from their time at Meadows Hill and with their cruel and abusive foster mother, Miss Fairchild. It’s a mystery who the bones could belong to, because as children no one ever believed them and they were gaslit for years.

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! All opinions are my own. Publication date: April 23, 2024

Lots of secrets in this book. I loved how the girls banned together in such a tough circumstance. Miss Fairchild was awwwwful, and even though her story was so sad, she was the worst. Great read.

A thrilling and chilling read that was addictive and enjoyable from the beginning. This was an entertaining read and I enjoyed this one to the end. One I would recommend.

I truly loved this one. I listened to the audio of this and feel like it truly added to the story. This was a fast paced read that I just had to know the ending of. I highly recommend this to all of the thriller readers out there and look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this story. This review can be found on goodreads, storygraph, Barnes and Noble and my instagram @manymerrybooks.