Wild Meadows a place that was supposed to bring acceptence, safety and love but instead brought fear, trauma and dread. A place of nightmares.
And now Jessica, Norah and Alicia must return

OHHHHEMMMGEEE, Sally does it again.

This is defenitly my new favorite Hepworth, hands down.

It has darker, and grittier elements to it for sure. With immense intensity building with the turn of every page and flashbacks thrown in, there was no way I could look away.

The plot is deep and heavy. And the way Hepworth put her mesmerizingly addictive spin on things was just fantastic. I just can't get over the way she does domestic. Its sooo good.

They aren't sisters by blood, but by coincidence. Brought together by lack of family care and bound together by their traumas they faced together. This is a trio I defenitly sympathized with and enjoyed seeing a deeper sight into their lives. And it was magnificently refreshing to see although they weren't biological siblings they still guarded and loved the others as if they were.

Just go read it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

A huge thank you to @sallyhepworth @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honost thoughts and opinions. I loved discovering all the secrets buried at Wild Meadows.

Sally Hepworth writes some of my favorite domestic suspense novels. DARLING GIRLS was propulsive, perfectly paced, and filled with characters to love and root for... and one to love to hate. At its core, it’s a book about the bonds of sisterhood (biological or not) but it takes place with the backdrop of an abusive foster home situation. Now, it was more like watching a juicy episode of DATELINE than, I don’t know, reading DEMON COPPERHEAD, but do know going in that we’re dealing with tough stuff.
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DARLING GIRLS is a stand-out in Sally Hepworth’s catalog. If you have enjoyed her works before or love a good domestic suspense novel, this would be a great pick for your TBR.

Darling Girls was one of my favorite mystery/thriller books so far this year. I was so invested in the sisters and the outcome of the investigation that I couldn’t put it down. The dual timeline allowed a great perspective of the mistreatment they suffered in foster care and how it affected them, both together and separately, over the long term. I would definitely recommend this book, after checking the trigger warnings in advance as there is sensitive content!

Darling Girls is less a thriller and more crime fiction/mystery with family drama mixed in as well. I think this mixture of suspense with deeper connection and emotion is what made this book a standout for me.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are not sisters by blood but sisters nonetheless. They spent time in the same foster home with the awful Miss Fairchild when they were young, and bonded over the trauma of the experience. They were each other’s lifeline. Fast forward, the girls are now adult women and their personalities and coping strategies are as different as they were when they were kids. They are still close as ever and are brought back to their old hometown after a body is found beneath the house they lived in as kids. Whose bones are they? Who is a murderer? Who is telling the truth? You’ll have to read to find out!

The start of this novel is definitely on the slower side, but you can’t help but be invested in these sisters. Once the story picks up, there is no way to put it down. As a Social Worker who works with kids in the foster care system, I tend to be sensitive to how mental health and child welfare situations are portrayed in books, and I think the author did a really nice job overall. Of course it is a work of fiction, but I felt it was a respectfully done representation. The relationships in the book felt so genuine and brought a level of depth that I appreciated.

And that ending… just when you thought you knew all there was to know Sally Hepworth is like, hold on one more thing…

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 @𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 @𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

What do you say about a story which involves, sisterhood, secrets, love and murder? PLENTY!

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are all foster children living on a farm with Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild runs her household with strict rules and punishments and was NEVER to be talked back to. The three girls formed a bond and referred to themselves as sisters..

All of the sisters points of views are from the past to the present. Now adults, the sisters are forced to confront their past when bones are discovered buried on the grounds of their former home. Each sister is dealing with their individual traumas. The police call them in to answer questions, but it is uncertain whether all three sisters are seen as witnesses or suspects.

This book was a real mystery until the end. There was some real twists that kept you thinking and captured my attention.

There are some heavy topics in this novel and I recommend to read with caution.

I can always count on Sally Hepworth for a thriller that is compulsively readable! Or on this case, listenable! 🎧 ⁣
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𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 - out today! - was riveting from the beginning, slowly revealing more as the story went on, with a cast of very engaging characters. Darker than the author’s previous books, this thriller focused on the ways in which the foster care system regularly failed the children in its care. If that triggers you, this is not the book for you. ⁣
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Hepworth regularly injects dark humor into this story, which certainly helps lighten the mood. Norah, Alicia and Jessica’s backstories were riveting, and I loved the alternating timelines of “Then” and “Now”. Just when I thought I guessed where the plot was going, the author completely blindsided me. I’m so glad I didn’t see any spoilers. I loved this mystery/thriller and highly recommend it! ⁣
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Thank you to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sally Hepworth's books have always been enjoyable reads for me. This was no exception. This was gripping and intense with well-developed characters. It was told in the perspective of the three foster sisters that I thought was very well done. The twist at the very end was jaw-dropping and completely unexpected.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

What I enjoyed: the multiple POV - all three sisters were engaging, fleshed out characters and it was easy to root for them all, dual timeline, suspense was engaging and kept me invested, Miss Fairchild was creepy and made me feel on edge!

What I did not enjoy: the final twist felt shocking but flat at the same time (maybe would have preferred if I had a bit more time with the book to process this or understand the character more in conjunction with the plot itself)

This is my first novel by Sally Hepworth and let me tell you I AM A FAN and will be reading her other novels. From the beginning I was enthralled with this story and the relationships between the characters from when they were young to now. Their characters were so well written, their emotions so palpable that I felt like I was truly in the story and going through it with them. Just when I thought I had it figured out, then would come another twist that I didn't see coming.

The end was exactly the perfect way to end this novel. It was the best parts of a surprise and of satisfaction. This would make such a great movie or tv show. I highly recommend this book if you're into thriller/suspense novels.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this novel. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

Yes! Another great read by Hepworth! She is an auto-buy author for me! This one was so addicting to read. You just wanted to know what exactly happened at Wild Meadows. Did one of the girls do it? Did Miss Fairchild have a hand in it? You just have to keep reading to find out! The audiobook was so good too!! I love when a story is based somewhere I have never been; this one being Australia. An Australian accent just makes it so much better! Loved the audio!! Highly recommend to read this one soon!!

*Thank you so much partner @stmartinspress and @macmillian.audio for the #gifted egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I read this as a netgalley ARC and appreciate the opportunity. I enjoyed it. It was suspenseful and a bit mysterious just like I like them. I would recommend it to my fellow thriller book lovers.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were each rescued from their respective homes after family tragedies struck and sent to live with their foster mother, Miss Fairchild at her estate, Wild Meadows. Jessica was the first to arrive, and Miss Fairchild seemed to dote on her, & treated her as if she were her own child. But with each additional child, she became more and more unhinged, and her moods became more erratic & unpredictable. Finally, the girls decide they can't wait any longer, and report her abuse, and that is the last they see of her. Fast forward to when the girls are now adults, and they all receive calls from detectives from their hometown, telling them that human remains have been found buried under the house at Wild Meadows. All three women are asked to come in... but are they witnesses or suspects?

I always love this author's books, and this is definitely one of my favorites. The story is told alternating between past & present, with both of them rotating among the three women's voices, so you get a well-rounded viewpoint. Also, interspersed randomly throughout the present sections are sessions with a therapist but you don't have any idea who the patient is until close to the end of the book. There were a few reveals at the end that I didn't see coming, and I love that it ended with giving an update on each woman a year later, after all of this was over with, letting the reader know how they were doing. This book is perfect for fans of Tarryn Fisher, Mary Kubica, Lisa Jewell, & Jeneva Rose. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc copy to review! Darling girls is out today, and I highly recommend grabbing a copy 🩵

Hepworth’s writing is so imaginative, and her plots are different than any other thrillers I’ve read. Her new releases are one of my favorites each year, and Darling Girls is no exception.

This tells the story of three “sisters” who grew up in foster care and are called back to the town of their old foster home when a crime had been discovered at the home.

I really enjoyed all three main characters in this novel and found them relatable and realistic. The ending was a bit predictable, but the idea of the novel was completely fresh. This is also told in alternating POV and timelines, and I found myself dying for more information from the past when it flipped to present day. My only critique is that the addiction in this book felt like it was just thrown in for dramatic effect, and I think such a tough subject should be handled with more care. Overall, definitely give this a read!

Buckle up- this one is a wild ride!! It is dark and the content is heavy, but you somehow cannot look away and cannot stop reading!

Darling Girls centers around three women who consider themselves sisters as they lived together in a foster home at Wild Meadows with Miss Fairchild. They are called one day and told that there are bones found at Wild Meadows after it's been torn down, As they travel back to this place of dark memories and revisit the past they've tried to forget they are faced with the question of whose bones have been found?

The story is told in alternating past/present timelines and through the perspective of each different woman. The story was incredibly gripping, while at times hard to read it was also hard to put down. Landing on 4,5 stars because I did guess some of the twists, but that likely comes from reading so many thrillers!

This should definitely be on your radar- out today! 4/23!

BRB while I go read her entire backlist!!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sally Hepworth for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia met in foster care under the tenuous and harsh care of Miss Fairchild. Told to be happy that they had been saved from tragedy, the girls toil on an idyllic farming estate. Their trauma keeps them bonded into adulthood and the present day. When the women find out that a body is discovered at the estate, all the pain, secrets, and lies come to light. Who is the dead body? And who killed them?
The story is framed in three timelines. The first is the present when the women find out about the body at the house. The second is the past when the girls stayed there. And, the last, is an unknown talking about her past with her therapist. These threads weave together to tell several stories that affect the story as a whole. The back story takes over the mystery in the beginning, leaving the reader slogging through. When it finally reaches its apex, things start moving quickly.
There isn’t enough time spent on the girls’ relationships now besides the mystery at hand. I would have liked more of that. I wanted to see the tightness and how things were between them. This would have had more emotional impact to something that happens towards the end. But above all this was an enjoyable thriller. I savored each twist and turn Hepworth took me on, as well as seeing who the mystery narrator actually was.

I am a big Sally Hepworth fan and have reviewed several of her books. If she has a new book coming out, I add it to my Goodreads “Want to Read” list. And that was the case with Darling Girls. So, when St. Martin’s Press reached out with a widget, I immediately accepted. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to read this book. Thankfully, it didn’t let me down.

The main storyline of Darling Girls is told in three parts. The first part contains chapters that show how Jessica, Norah, and Alicia dealt with growing up in foster care. The author labeled those chapters with the name of who the chapter was following, and all of these chapters started with just their name. The second part details how each girl ended up at Miss Fairchild’s, the abuse they suffered, and what happened when Amy came into the picture. These chapters also start with the girls’ names, but “before” is written underneath. These are significant chapters because everything is explained, and I mean everything. The third part is told in first person by an individual (revealed to be Miss Fairchild) during sessions with a psychiatrist. Those chapters (labeled The Office of Dr. Warren, Psychiatrist) are also critical because they reveal how and why Miss Fairchild was shaped into who she was.

At the end of the book, the author states that Darling Girls’s idea came from speaking to women raised in the foster care system in Australia. She also spoke to foster parents and social workers. I will assume that some of the more awful scenes were those that actually happened. She also acknowledged that villains (such as Miss Fairchild and Scott, the social worker) in the foster care system need to be fixed. I agree wholeheartedly with her.

This is not an easy book to read and it was not an easy book to process. Norah’s trauma, how she processed it, and how it affected her as an adult particularly struck a nerve with me. I read her chapters with tears in my eyes because of what she went through. Now, I know that she is a fictional character, but I couldn’t help but want to reach through the book, hug her, and put her in freaking therapy like yesterday.

The storyline with the body of an infant found under the house was compelling. We are introduced to Amy through the girls’ “before” storyline. How and why Amy was brought to Miss Fairchild wasn’t disclosed (remember, these girls were in their early teens). The treatment that they went through and what they saw Amy going through prompted all three to do something that would affect them for the rest of their lives. I felt so awful about the aftermath of that and what the police/Miss Fairchild implied. What is even worse is when, in the present-day chapters, the police were willing to entertain their story because a body was found.

I am not going to go into each girl’s backstory. But I will highlight what I thought was interesting. As an adult, Jessica was super uptight and had a type A personality. She ran a successful business. But Jessica was also a benzo addict and would steal them from her client’s houses. Norah had a temper on her, and she wasn’t afraid to use her fists to make her point. Because of her past, Norah has a hard time connecting with people. She used her temper and sex to keep everyone but her sisters at arm’s length. Lastly, there is Alicia. Out of the three, she has the most minor trauma. But, she does have body issues and low self-esteem due to the abuse she endured during her time with Miss Fairchild.

I loathed Miss Fairchild. The author truly wrote a villain who got under my skin. But, for a little bit, I felt bad for her. She also endured awful things, and they shaped her into who she became. Still, reading what she said to the girls and her treatment of them slowly stole away any pity I had for her. Even years later, she still got such reactions from the girls. She also got what she deserved in the end.

The mystery angle of the book was excellent. I liked how the author brought the bones of the infant found under the house and what happened that last day with Miss Fairchild together. It was freaking explosive. There were a couple of twists in that storyline that dropped my jaw. I also loved that Miss Fairchild finally got what was coming to her. Her lies collapsed on top of each other.

A twist at the end of the book took my perception of Miss Fairchild in another direction. I couldn’t believe what I read and the implications that were hinted at. I also loved seeing how Jessica, Alicia, and Norah were starting to heal from their childhood.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sally Hepworth for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Darling Girls. All opiniond stated in this review are mine.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 361 / Genre: Psychological Thriller

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia aren’t sisters by blood but they are sisters through their shared time together in an abusive foster home. And they’ve been supporting each other ever since. Years later, a body is discovered under the foster home, so they have to go back and dig up their past to help shed light on who those bones belong to.

This was exactly the kind of thriller I love. Every character is complicated and interesting. There’s strong female bonding, dogs, and twists and turns that pop up to keep you guessing all the way through.

Thank you, @NetGalley, @StMartinsPress, and @SallyHepworth for my gifted copy. I loved it!

Happy pub day to Darling Girls!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia find themselves in very unfortunate situations that land them in the foster system. They get placed with Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows. At first it looks like a dream come true. A loving mother, a pool, horse stables.
Miss Fairchild turns out to be a monster. She finds little ways to torture the girls. Making them clean for hours and giving them unimaginable punishments when they ‘misbehave.’

It’s been well over 20 years since the girls left Wild Meadows, but when they are contacted by detectives about human remains being discovered on the property, they return to where it all began.

There are some shocking twists in this book, and then a twist to the twist!

It is written in the POV of all 3 girls, past and present times. Even though this is fiction, it’s still sad to read how broken the system can be. Children getting thrown around into family after family. Never learning how to cope with their trauma. My heart broke for Alicia the most. Her loving grandma passed away when she was 10 and had a rude awakening with Miss Fairchild. I cried when she cried 😢
She is now a social worker and makes sure kids get placed with the best families 🤍

I’ve always had a soft spot for fostering and/or adopting one day, so this book pulled at my heartstrings a little bit. The authors acknowledgements at the end made me cry even more. These children consider themselves ‘lucky’ even when bad things happen to them but know that it could’ve been way worse.

Wow!

Absolutely phenomenal thriller from Sally Hepworth. I’ve read a few of her books, this one is my favorite so far. A riveting story of three girls fostered by a cruel and unhinged foster mother, and the mystery surrounding bones they find buried beneath their long deserted but not forgotten foster home.

I LOVED this book. Alternating between the girls’ childhoods and the years they spent in foster care under the supervision of the awful Miss Fairchild, and the present investigation into the bones found buried beneath Miss Fairchild’s home. Sometimes when books alternate between past and present, one timeline is done better and more exciting than the other. That is NOT the case in Darling Girls. Both timelines were equally exciting, and page turning. Once the book hit about 50%, I literally could not put it down. Each girl had a really compelling background to explore, and I was fascinated while reading their stories and each of their experiences under the care of Miss Fairchild. At times this book reminded me a little of Before We Were Yours, which was another book I devoured and loved.

Sally’s writing and storytelling are both impeccable. The twist at the end has my head spinning! Well done!

Highly recommend!

Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors. I've read a lot of her books. They are well written and keep me on the edge of my seat. Her characters are fully developed, and her descriptive writing makes me feel that I am living the experience with the characters. She writes the best evil characters. As always, Hepworth hits you at the end with a totally unexpected plot twist.

I highly recommend Darling Girls and all of her books.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a chance to review this book.

Link to Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2TMUFBJFLIGH7/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv