Review of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Ms. Hepworth is one of my absolute favorite authors and an auto buy for me always. Thankfully, this book did not change that. I really enjoyed it. I think my favorite part of this book were the characters. I really liked all of them, and I thought they were extremely well written. I was firmly invested in their story and rooting for them always. As always the right elements of mystery were perfect in this one.

Synopsis:

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life. 

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

3.5 stars
Set in Australia where three girls are thrown together in the same foster home due to varying circumstances in their young lives, this book tells the story of the girls and what happens when the body of a child is found buried under the foster home they escaped many years before.

I enjoyed this story even though it was not always pulling me back to read it. The sisters were my favorite part. The bond they formed over time as they were put through horrible circumstances and dealt with their childhood trauma was really the most interesting part to me. The mystery was decent, and kept me guessing until the reveal, which I appreciate. The twist at the end was not so surprising for me as it seems like it was for others. Overall, Hepworth hits it out of the park again even if it wasn't my favorite of her books.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

DARLING GIRLS by Sally Hepworth

Publishing date: April 24 2024
Publiisher: St. Martin Press


Jessica, Norah,and Alicia are foster sisters living together in a foster home run by a woman named Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild had very strict rules with dire consequences if you crossed her or the rules. The three girls eventually left there but the shadow of Miss Fairchild was always following them along with a memory they wanted to forget.

Ten years later the police contact them with questions that bring them back together and stir up memories.
Will they be able to help or hinder the police?

I personally loved this book. There never was a dull moment in it. The story had a fantastic story line with another smaller story along side that was very good. There was a great ending and was surprised.


I want to thank Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review..

What a disturbing story that I couldn’t help but turn the pages in anticipation! Sally Hepworth has written an exceptional fictional account of the foster care system (in Australia). Three foster “sisters” endure rough times during their childhood and grow to become adults still building each other up. There is a dual timeline which makes the events more exciting for the reader. I’ve come to put Ms. Hepworth’s books on my must read lists. I highly recommend this twisty entertaining book.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in the care of Miss Fairchild—holding onto secrets and traumas well into adulthood. The discovery of a body brings them back together at this childhood town to face new fears.

Entertaining and fast paced. Multiple character POV and duel timeline keeps it moving forward and has you piecing everything together; linking the past to the future. Decent character development and twist.

Another amazing story by Sally Hepworth! I've had this book on my TBR for months and could not way to jump in.

Darling Girls is a story about 3 young girls who go to live with a foster parent, Miss Fairchild. They've been told they are lucky, but they know better. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, they are brought back to the home they thought they escaped.

Sally Hepworth does an amazing job of building up her characters and giving just enough information to keep the reader on the edge of do we love them or do we hate them. I loved the multi-pov's and how the timeline jumped from the past to the present and we kept adding layers to each character. And the ending!!! It made me audibly gasp. I could not put this one down!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book had me so emotionally invested I couldn’t stop reading. I felt like I was experiencing first hand what Jessica, Norah & Alicia went through. Every character felt compelling to me as to why they were struggling present day.
This book is on the darker side in my opinion, so if you struggle reading about abuse (especially involving children) this might not be the book for you. While I have a daughter of my own, some parts of the book hurt my mama heart to read but I still enjoyed the book overall. I think this book had a very good story with compelling characters.

Sally Hepworth has done it again. She has quickly become one of my auto buy/read authors. This psychological thriller is one not to miss. Sisters Jessica, Alicia & Norah with an h are not biologically related but are bonded through their life experience growing up in the same house in the foster care system. They are at the mercy of Holly Fairchild who has some pretty intense mental issues. She has a strong desire to find someone that will love her and only her. She punishes the girls and treats them poorly which only strengthens their bonds with each other. A body us found under the foster house they grew up in which forces them to go back in time to deal with their ghosts. Five stars as Sally keeps you on a journey until the very last page. Just when you think you have it all figured out you are wrong! Thank you netgalley for this arc

This was quite the page turner. This is a story about three foster girls who become like sisters and what happens to them under the care of the foster mom. Sally keeps you guessing with twists right up until the very end.

This was a page turner! I loved how it gave insight into the experience of foster children. The sisters were super tight knit characters that I grew to love and i was rooting for them the whole time. I think this book is perfect for classic thriller fans.

Wait, what?! 😳😳😳

This is my kind of book; suspenseful and fucked up! It reminded me of Lisa Jewell’s writing because it is full of family secrets and drama. There are no dull chapters. You keep getting more info changing your perspective at every turn. Great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did not like the ending. WHY??? It ruined the book for me. I liked it through out. I was curious who the bones belonged to. But the store is too out there and a little unbelievable.

Wow! Sally Hepworth always delivers. This had some very dark topics so read with care.

I loved each sisters’ POV and was happy to see them get their happy endings. The twist at the end was great, though I did predict it!

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book! It was an interesting story. Not a must read or a favorite. But It was an interesting read and kept my attention.

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐩𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡

WOW! This one was super good! Thanks to @stmartinspress for the ARC & audiobook copy. I both read & listened to this one because I had to find out how it ended! This is also a BOTM choice this month so I definitely recommend checking it out 👏🏼

👍🏼: I loved the alternate POV’s & timelines as three foster sisters are forced to return to their foster home where they experienced lots of trauma to help with an investigation. There were sooo many great twists & turns, especially in the last 20% of the story leading up to the last pages!! These are my favorite type of mystery books, where you are truly surprised up until the end!

👎🏼: I wish I would’ve paid more attention to the side characters, especially when listening on audio. I started to get slightly confused at times with new characters continuing to come in throughout the story.

Overall, such a wild ride! LOTS of TW’s though- so message me! But I was entertained & super surprised by how everything unraveled 👏🏼 I’ve been loving @sallyhepworth & can’t wait to read more by her!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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#darlinggirls #sallyhepworth #aprilbooks #stmartinspress #mysterybooks #mysterybookreview

This is such a hard book for me to rate and review. I think it is a book that many readers will find hard to put down. For me, I really should have read the synopsis before requesting an early copy. I’ve learned my lesson. The content of this book is just not something I enjoy reading about and I something I usually avoid. There is a lot of description in this book of various forms of child abuse. So if that is upsetting to you as a reader I would suggest you skip this book.

Now. On to the actual writing and storytelling. The writing was good. The story kept me guessing (although I was able to guess a few of the twists), and there was decent (but not great) character development. The ending, however, I did not love. It was somewhat cheesy and the final twist made me roll my eyes.

This won’t be my last Sally Hepworth book, but this book is not one that I can confidently recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book.

This book has dual timelines, alternating between the past and the present. It centers around Norah, Alicia, and Jessica: three girls who grew up together in the same foster home with their truly awful foster mother, Holly Fairchild. After enduring constant torment from Miss Fairchild, the girls finally escape. 25 years later they are forced to confront their past when a disturbing discovery turns up at Miss Fairchild's farmhouse.

I had to take many breaks when reading this one because anything involving mistreatment of children is incredibly hard for me to read. A couple things I really liked about this book: I liked reading the Dr. Warren chapters, and I also loved the relationship between the 3 girls. They were bonded through trauma, but always had each others' backs.

I'd definitely recommend this book to thriller lovers!

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💃🏼 Vibes: Chosen family, hold the wholesome, add some creepy, and top with gaslighting.
📕 If you like ______, you’ll like this: Mommie Dearest if it was more mysterious.
📖/🎧 Read Type: E-book/ARC (thank you @netgalley, St. Martin’s Press New York, and @sallyhepworth)
🐶(s): Willow & Finley, darling puppies.

Darling Girls is a psychological mystery that tells the story of three foster turned chosen sisters, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. The girls grew up with a seemingly benevolent foster mother named Holly Fairchild at her farmhouse called Wild Meadows. After a tumultuous removal, they are forced to return when a body is found at the estate some years later. The novel explores the complex relationships between the sisters and their foster mother, as well as the dark secrets that lurk beneath the surface of their seemingly idyllic upbringing at Wild Meadows.

Sally Hepworth novels are a masterclass on psychological thrillers. This was such a page turner and I couldn’t put it down. Hepworth did an incredible job of weaving between past and present, slowly unraveling the dark secrets of Wild Meadows. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the exploration of the foster care system adds an extra layer of depth to the story. While some readers may find the ending a bit predictable, it is still satisfying and leaves a lasting impression. Mark your calendars for its release on April 23!

Hepworth knows how to create a compelling plot, and the same can be said for her latest, Darling Girls. Three kindred spirits - Jessica, Norah and Alicia - find themselves at the mercy of their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. 25 years later, following a police investigation at Miss Fairchild's Wild Meadows, the women find themselves once again facing their maniacal foster mother and the isolation and humiliation they were subjected to all those years ago.

There's something to say about a novel being quickly paced, and Hepworth achieves this by rotating both point-of-view and time: Jessica, Norah and Alicia, then and now; and a mysterious fourth woman, whose story we are told through her therapy sessions with (a creepy psychologist) Dr. Warren. The characters, though, felt flat and predictable. Considering the trauma both before and during their time as Miss Fairchild's foster children, the women's problems aren't surprising. Their unbreakable bond is obvious, although I appreciated them more as characters in the flashbacks than as adults.

As with any thriller, there must be some suspension of reality, although as the fourth unknown woman's story comes to fruition it was easy to put the pieces of what would be the twist together. Overall, I'm pleased with this fast-paced read and, if anything, the resonating power of love and sisterhood exemplified by our heroines.

slow burn mystery/suspense but a very entertaining story
loved the multiple POVs and timelines.

Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.