Thank you Sally. I was anxious to get my hands on this book and it didn't disappoint. I've read other books by this author and loved them all so I knew I'd most likely love this one. Sally knows how to weave a good story with many perspectives and this one was no different. You couldn't help but feel for these 3 girls who were put into foster care and I was staying awake longer at night than I should have to continue reading just 1 more chapter. Pick this one up.

Sally Hepworth is a longtime favorite of mine so it's no surprise that Darling Girls was an amazing read! Literally could not put it down as it kept me glued to every page until the very end. Interesting premise, lots of sad and true-to-life situations but a few laugh-out-loud moments make this a must read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

I love Sally Hepworth, but this book just wasn’t my favorite. It just didn’t pull me in like some of her other novels. I guessed one of the twists early on, and I wasn’t that invested in the characters.

Darling Girls is the story of three sisters who grew up together in a foster home. The timeline goes back-and-forth from when they were girls to the present day. You get the perspective from each of the sisters and it's interesting to see how their childhoods affected their adulthood. There's some abuse and trauma in the book, but I think Sally Hepworth wrote it in a tactful way.

This was a quick read- one that pulled you in and left you wondering how it would end. And I will say the ending had a good payoff!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed the book, like I do Sally's others! Definitely recommend!

Another great, suspenseful read by Hepworth! This time a group of foster kids living with an unbearable foster Mom. Now they are adults and a dead body is found…and only they know who it could be…
Loved the twists all the way to the end! Bravo!

4.5 stars. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were foster children who became close when living together in Wild Meadows, under the care of Miss Fairchild. The trio declared themselves as real sisters, as they looked out for each other amongst the abuse and neglect they faced by their foster parent. Flash forward, each girl is now woman, living as adults and dealing with their pasts. They receive a call from the police, notifying them of a body found under the Wild Meadows home. How much information are they willing to share? And are they ready to return to this traumatic place?

I loved this book and absolutely flew through it! This is my second book by Sally Hepworth and she continues to prove her great storytelling in this new release. I liked the variety of not only personality, but also how each of them dealt with their trauma differently. It made the multiple POVs easy to get through. There were quite a few twists and though I was able to predict most of them, I did not mind that at all because of how interesting the chapters were. Definitely recommend!

A unique story line that finds these three sisters having to defend their "perfect" life that maybe wasn't as perfect as those outside the farm thought. They fought to free themselves from Miss Fairchild's rules and consequences, only to find they were not the only ones to be taken in by Miss Fairchild, but they survived.

Sally Hepworth is well known for leading readers into a story they expect only to suddenly find themselves in a maze with no idea how they will get out. These twists make her stories fan favorites among those of us who love to be tortured when our guesses prove wrong. Thrills are definitely on the Hepworth menu.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia grew up in foster care with Miss Fairchild, on a farming estate, Wild Meadows Farm. They were always told how lucky they were to be there, but Miss Fairchild was not a good person and the girls eventually ran away. It is now 25 years later, the farm has been sold. The girls have remained close, considering themselves to be "sisters."

A body has been found under the house and Jessica, Norah and Alicia are called back to the area by the police. The story unfolds through different POVs, and time lines. We are also witness to someone talking to a therapist, Dr. Warren. Are these women witnesses to what happened, or is one of them a killer?

This is an unflattering look at the foster care system, depicting child abuse. I have read other books by Sally Hepworth and I felt that this one was not as well done as her others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for an ARC. The review is my own.

Sally Hepworth has a talent for writing psychological thrillers that just pull you in, wrap you up, and hold on until the very last page. This book focuses on three girls raised in foster care in Australia, and the very troubled years they were together in a home where Miss Fairchild was their foster parent. The story begins with a secret being uncovered in that home, and the girls as adults being called back to the town to help figure out the true story behind it. Chapters were written in the voices of Jessica, Norah, and Alicia - all helping to bring the broken parts of the story together, and as it unwinds we discover the horrors that were Miss Fairchild. Many twists and turns in the story that can keep the reader guessing...... And just when we think we know the whole story --- guess again!! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #Darling Girls

Darling Girls will delight fans of twisty stories. The set-up: three girls lived at an abusive foster home and became virtual sisters. As adults, they are still struggling with their childhood experiences when police contact them individually to let them know that human bones have been found on the grounds of their foster home and that they want to speak to each of them.

As with all the other books by Sally Hepworth that I’ve read, this one takes place in Australia - this time it’s in Melbourne and a fictional small town a few hours away by car.

I listened to the audiobook on a long flight and it definitely kept my interest. There are lots of twists and turns and we get to hear from each of the girls as well as from the foster mother, Miss Fairchild. The best thing about the story for me was the amazing friendship the three girls/women developed and held to over the years. They were each other’s support system.

Lovers of psychological thrillers will eat this one up. I thought it was well written but I have gradually realized this genre isn’t my “jam.”

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. Jessica Clarke did a fine job with the narration of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sally Hepworth for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One thing I love about Sally Hepworth’s works is they are never finished until the very last sentence. In her latest novel, “Darling Girls” follows the lives of three women at two points in their life = the present and the time in their childhood they stayed at Wild Meadows. Wild Meadows was the farm owned by their foster mother Miss Fairchild. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia formed such a strong bond from their experiences at the farm they never truly separate.

Decades later, Miss Fairchild has sold the farm and during demolition, a body is found under the house. The girls are forced to go back to the town as an investigation is opened, coming face to face with their past while navigating current psychological issues as a result of their childhood. Are they key witnesses or prime suspects?

I couldn’t put this book down! Full of twists, complex relationships, and knowing that “nothing is as it seems.”

I’m reviewing this book a week later and the fact that I can recall the plot and remember the characters definitely speaks for itself! This was a quick, easy read but memorable!
I was hooked from the beginning and it got me out of a reading slump. I definitely recommend to the fellow mystery/thriller reader.

The story revolves around three young girls, now grown, and their foster mother Miss Holly Fairchild. Jessica, Norah and Alicia were brought to Wild Meadows as foster children, and to the outside world everything was good. The trio were close in age and looked out for each other. They felt and acted like sisters although they really weren’t related. Now grown the three girls are still close as can be. Wild Meadows has been torn down to make way for a McDonald’s and a body has been discovered.
It’s about the flawed foster care system, the effects of trauma, and chosen family all combined with a murder mystery. What fantastic character development. We get to know each of the women inside and out and that they each have a serious issue that they’re struggling with. Miss Fairchild, the antagonist in this story, is just appalling which makes her the perfect catalyst for this psychological thriller. It’s a riveting story that kept me guessing with a twist I did not see coming. Loved it! 4.5 stars

Darling Girls is full of twists and turns. It’s a physiological mystery read told in third person and two time lines. Jessica, is the first to arrive to Wild Meadows foster home and will do anything to please her foster mom Holly. Alicia and Norah are fostered believing it’s temporary. The three foster girls come from different backgrounds and upbringing. They are fostered under Holly’s abusive hand and neglect. The girls realize in order to survive they need to rely on each other. The young girls bond into the sisterhood that life furnished them. During their time at Wild Meadows, other children (mostly infants) came and went.
Fast forward 25 years later, they are asked to come back to the town because human bones have been found under the house they lived in with Holly.
Upon returning “home” brings back many memories and emotions. Seeing Holly stirs more emotions with detest towards her spell she still has on Jessica. The three women are separated for questioning about their time spent in foster care. All three stories are aligned with one another, however, the detective and sheriff are not convinced it’s the truth. Evidence and other witnesses have other versions of the timeline.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Sally Hepworth is so good at what she does! In a world full of popcorn thrillers, she gets it right. There are no eye rolling, cheesy, holy crap that would never happen moments with her.

In Darling Girls, three girls are placed together into a foster home nightmare. This story has alternating timelines and multiple POV’s all focused on the discovery of a body under the home of their nightmare foster mother. It also focuses on the girls time being emotionally abused by this hellish woman.

I can really struggle with this genre. It needs to feel realistic or I’m out. This never felt too far fetched and kept me interested from the start. I hated the foster mother obviously, but I loved the girls. The best part, the shocking twist was actually shocking (to me anyway, totally didn’t see it coming). Add this one to your list!!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the eARC of Darling Girls in exchange for my honest review!

This book was pretty average for me, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. It’s one of those solid 3 star reads that is a good time filler but didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. I think the premise was SUPER exciting, but the book didn’t end up delivering in the way that I was expecting. If you manage your expectations (this is NOT a thriller/whodunnit), then I think you’ll enjoy this better than I did. Also this ended up being much darker than I thought it would be as well, make sure to check TWs before diving in!

Jessica, Norah, and Amelia are brought to Wild Meadows, a pretty country house to be raised by Miss Fairchild, their foster mother. Not all is as it seems and Miss Fairchild becomes unpredictable and often abusive. The three girls form a tight bond and this angers their foster mother who decides to foster babies, one at a time. One day the older girls break free from her and get away never to see her or their former home Wild Meadows again. Years later the women are called in for questioning by the police when human remains are discovered under the house when it was torn down. The rest of the book follows this mystery through and we go forward and backwards in time to learn more about these foster sisters. I enjoyed this thriller from Sally Hepworth, a favorite author of mine. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for an early copy. Darling Girls is available on April 23.

I have enjoyed many of Sally Hepworth’s previous works, but this one was not for me. The abuse these girls faced from their foster mother was incredibly disturbing. As someone who has adopted multiple children from foster care, my heart couldn’t handle these children being abused on the page. I’m sure many readers who are not sensitive to reading about child abuse will enjoy this thriller overall.

Holy cow! I have been immersed in this book for the past few hours. It was heart-wrenching at times and disturbing at other times. Jessica, Norah and Alicia are not blood sisters, but they are sisters united in the art of survival. Their bond may be even stronger than blood.

These girls grew up in foster care under the care of Miss Fairchild. From the outside looking in everything looks rosy, but the glass we are seeing through is murky. There is some sort of evil residing in this house of the worse kind because she looks perfectly normal to the outside world. After these girls escape from her clutches, they remain close, but the damage has already been done. These poor girls will never be completely healed. Their past abuse has definitely shaped them into the women they are today.

Now they have been contacted by police who found a body underneath the house of horrors they grew up. The police have questions. This story is told from dual points of view of Jessica, Norah and Alicia and it reverts from the present to the past to build the story. I was riveted to the pages right up until the chilling and twisted ending. I felt such empathy for these girls and the horrors they went through when they were young children. The mystery continues to build with an ending you will not see coming.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The "Queen of Domestic Suspense" and master storyteller Sally Hepworth and comedian (a favorite author) returns following The Soulmate with her latest highly anticipated addictive domestic unputdownable thriller, DARLING GIRLS.

No one does dysfunctional families better! I have read every book by Sally since her debut. She is a star! Each book is unique and has the signature Hepworth trademark style, which I love. She knows how to create some devilish characters and puts them through the wringer, but somehow (the good ones) come out stronger on the other side!

Meet Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. They call themselves sisters (not blood-related) but bond through their tragedies and misfortunes. Foster sisters.

As young girls, they are rescued by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They thought this would be a second chance to live a normal life at the lovely Wild Meadows. However, she is anything but—a total nightmare horror show.

When they entered this beautiful farming estate in an idyllic setting, Miss Fairchild put on a different face and personality, making them feel loved and part of the family.

However, soon, her true colors and personality rear its ugly face as a master manipulator, from cruelty, abuse, and gaslighting. She looks for the vulnerabilities and the weaknesses and uses them to her twisted advantage. The pool scene was scary!

Their fairy tales turn into horror. They learned Miss Fairchild was impulsive and highly unpredictable. She was never to be crossed, or you would PAY.

Desperately, the three girls escape, but she is always in the shadows of their minds. The girls have remained close friends, each with their own issues and problems.

Later, the media would call Wild Meadows a House of Horrors, The Secrets Buried Beneath the Wild Meadows, and What's Lurking in the Wild Meadows.

Before the media, a body is discovered under the home of Miss Fairchild in Wild Meadows some twenty-five years later. Now, the girls (women) are in the middle of a crime investigation as key witnesses, OR are they suspects?

The detectives come calling, and now they must relive the horrific past. Whose bones are under the house?

Oh my goodness! What a story. Initially, Miss Fairchild was charming and turned into Dr. Jekell and Hyde. That ending!?! Oh, my, so twisted!

I loved the girls' relationship, bonds, and sisterhood—each with its own struggles, insecurities, and traumas from the past that carry over to the present. The girls depend on one another for ongoing support.

DARLING GIRLS is told through the POVs of the girls, both past and present, infused with chapters from a chilling, unknown voice speaking with a creepy psychologist, Dr. Warren.

As always, Sally blends the dark evil side with the good, and the three strong, lovable girls/young women are resilient, resourceful, witty, and intelligent. I loved the gals!

If you enjoy darky charming, twisted villains, dark secrets, deception, gaslighting, revenge plots, mystery, suspense, and sisterhood mixed with MURDER —give DARLING GIRLS a whirl. Be prepared to be hooked from page one to the explosive, satisfying ending. And you will also be burning the midnight oil. I highly recommend all her books.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the talented Jessica Clarke, for a highly entertaining listening experience. I also read the e-book.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of reading an early ARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: April 23, 2024
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