This was my first Sally Hepworth book (yes I live under a rock!) and while it was different than what I expected, I really enjoyed my time reading it!

Although it was difficult to read about their history in foster care, I loved seeing how the relationship between the three main characters grew into a close-knit sisterhood. I felt like this ended up being the main theme of the story and the “mystery/thriller” piece took a backseat to this. Some of the dialogue felt a bit cheesy to me but I was able to move on from it and just enjoy the story as a whole.

The twist at the end was somewhat unexpected but in a book with so many untrustworthy characters, I felt like something must have been coming!

I recommend this one if you’re a sucker for a sister-relationship storyline (🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️) and are looking to be sucked into a whodunnit mystery!

Wow! What a twisted, dark and binge worthy read. There were several different characters that we were introduced to, but fortunately it did not complicate the story. Loved the different POVS, dual timelines, crazy characters and the PLOT TWIST at the end?!!! This story is perfect for fans of the darkness that Lisa Jewell and Liz Nugent spin into their books. Thank you for the arc St. Martins Press and Netgalley. I highly recommend this one, great job Sally! *there are lots of potential triggers in this book*

omg, this book was so good. SO GOOD. it held my attention from beginning to end. It had multiple POVs that went between past and present.
Jessica, Alicia and Norah are all very different but their childhood brings them close that they are basically sisters. When their childhood gets brought up because there are bones found under their foster home, they’re forced to go back to their hometown to find out who those bones belong to and relive their past.

There is always something about the authors books that makes it really hard for me to put them down once I start and this had me hooked quickly. Having read most of her other books I know she goes dark with her subject matter but this went even darker than I was expecting it to. There are some major triggers surrounding child abuse so just fyi there and there are many parts of this that are really disturbing and difficult to read about. This was a slow burn with a crazy ending that was a huge payoff for me even though I really did enjoy the entire thing, but the ending kinda blew me away. I love a story about an old murder coming to light so the mystery surrounding that aspect had me captivated and the way things all came together was really good. Overall another really solid read from a trusted author.

3.5- While this one isn’t my favorite Sally Hepworth book, it still packed a punch! I found the beginning to be a little slow but it didn’t take too long before I was sucked in and had a hard time putting it down. I love a good multi-POV, dual timeline and Sally always does a fantastic job with her writing in that style. She also always does a great job at leaving you guessing and this book is no different. I had no clue what was truly going on until the very end and I’m telling you the gasp I gusped! Definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for a good psychological, domestic thriller!

Thank you Net Galley & St Martin’s Press for the digital copy of this book.

I really liked it, I was intrigued right from the beginning and was continually guessing at the outcome. I enjoyed the twists and turns and I liked each of the characters and their stories. I just really dislike in Hepworth’s stories how the ending feels like it’s a recap of things that happened rather than the story coming together. It felt super rushed in the last 10-15% of the book.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Thriller, mystery. Multiple timelines and POV’s.
Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were always told how lucky they were to be rescued and placed with Miss Fairchild on her family farm. But their childhood wasn’t the fairytale the social workers think. There were strict rules on daily cleaning requirements, specific foods and portion sizes allowed, and punishments based on fears. Then there was the drinking and unpredictable behavior and the babies. Those were their formative years and even though they’ve left the farm, they are still haunted by the past. When a body is found under the home, the foster sisters must return to the area to answer to the police.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook copy and an audiobook. The audiobook is performed by Jessica Clarke who does an amazing job with the story. She has created distinct voices for the three sisters and Miss Fairchild. For me, the best indication were chapter headings and of course, the content as the women each has their own personality and story. I loved the accent of the narrator (Australian, actor) which gave me a completely different location experience from my ebook reading which would be mid-west US. I did listen at 1.5 which is my preferred speed for conversational comfort.

Chilling, intense, and surprising. A compelling read regardless of format. Each of the women has dealt with their perceived trauma in different ways which has molded the lives they are currently living. And it’s all about to change.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio.

This was my second Sally Hepworth book and it did not disappoint. I felt intrigued and hooked from the start. I enjoyed the switch back and forth between childhood to adulthood!

Unfortunately I am not posting any SMP reviews on my platforms due to the boycott, but I’m looking forward to posting about this book if/when it the issues are addressed and resolved.

This is my second Sally Hepworth book, and I don't think she's an author for me. While her previous novel that I read (The Soulmate), left me angry and questioning her ethics, this one just left me going "Yup, that's what I thought." I appreciated her author's note at the end about her research into Foster Care. I felt the subject matter itself was handled better than in her other novel I read. However, Miss Fairchild was a by-the-book narcissist. If you have any experience with narcissists at all, you knew exactly in what direction the end was going in.

I've also noticed that she likes to end her books in pretty packages, often quickly summed up in a couple of chapters. Action seems to be at a steady pace and then BAM, it's solved and we're all going home happy and turning the page to a "6 months later" chapter.

I wish I could find more to say about this book, but I just don't have anything of value to add. I like how different Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were, and how they valued their sisterhood. I liked the portrayal of the cops and the lawyers who were involved. I thought the use of past and present narration was done well. I like how the details came together at the end with the social worker. While I did appreciate that each sister had her own side story, Norah's assault charges with the weirdo and Jessica's drug use seemed...I can't find the words but sudden is the only way I can think to put it. Alicia's story made sense with her reluctance to open up to Meera (I think that was her name) and her want to expand her family by adoption, but I struggled with the leap to drugs and assault for the other two sisters.

Either way, I think this is my last Sally Hepworth journey. They're just not for me.

“Aren’t you a darling girl?”

Wow. This was quite the ride. Ive loved all of this authors books so far and this one wasn’t any different although it was definitely darker than her usual. And just when you thought it was coming to an head, you get hit with a huge twist at the very end.

This book is surrounded by trigger warnings, the biggest one being child abuse.
As a teacher who is constantly with young children, this bothered me so much and at times was difficult to read. I cant comprehend how anyone could hurt a child especially an adult that they love and depend on.

This follows 3 girls who grew up together in a foster home with a nut of a foster mother. I liked how the chapters kept going back and forth from past to present leaving us wanting a little bit more when we left each time period. And it’s so crazy how trauma from when you were a child will follow you into your adult life because you can really never forget and it’s just so sad to think about that. Our childhood is supposed to be filled with warm, loving memories.

Such dark material but written so well and so captivating you cant help but get sucked in.

This comes out the end of April. Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advanced copy on my kindle!

Everyone should be reading Hepworth’s books! They are so good. I sat down planning on reading just a bit & then I read half the book! She wraps you up in a very plausible thriller, yet with some of the most rich character building, each one feels like a real person. I was dying to know where this one was going! The book flips from current times to when the girls were in foster care, slowly & subtly revealing how truly messed up it was there. One thing I really appreciate is that the bad things that happen never felt overly graphic or sensational just for shock value. It’s to weave a sad but compelling story. I loved the ending! This is definitely a recommend, not just for this books but for the author as well.

Rating: 3.5⭐️
Pub Date: April 23, 2024

Synopsis
Jessica, Nora, and Alicia are foster sisters who lived at the mysterious Wild Meadows farmhouse, 25 years ago. All three girls receive a call from a detective, telling them they have found human remains at Wild Meadows, so the girls return to the home that has left them with horrible childhood memories, to find out who the detectives have discovered.

My Thoughts
I didn’t see that ending coming! It did have some twists in there, but in the beginning, it sometimes fell a little flat for me. With multiple point of views, there was a lot to keep up with. I did like the sister dynamic, but it was hard to read some of the book since it dealt with child abuse. This wasn’t my favorite SH book, but it was still good!

❗️Of Note
📝 Child abuse
📝 Foster care

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This is my second book by @Sallyhep and this is my second 5 star book by her. I now have an obsession with Sally Hepworth books.

I’ve been trying to write this review for DAYS. Everything I want to praise would be a spoiler 🙈 It will most likely be in my top books of the year.

𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑹𝑶𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫 𝑴𝒀 𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑳𝑫 👏👏👏

I am STILL thinking about that ending a week after finishing. It’s the type of ending every thriller fan wants. It was jaw-dropping, adrenaline pumping, and down right shocking 😱. It threw my brain into a frenzy and I couldn’t fall asleep!

I haven’t read many plot lines about foster families, and the connection/sisterhood between our main characters totally gripped me from the start. They faced some horrendous things (potential trigger warnings), and I just wanted to jump into the pages and protect them.

I loved the setup of the book. Three main POVs with a past (their time together in the foster home) and present (trying to figure out whose dead body is under the foster house) and short chapters made this a bingeable book. I couldn’t put it down.

So many “little” reveals along the way that had me going “holy &$!#%😱” it was perfection how everything was revealed and when. Soooo many secrets!

Just a fantastic book that I’ll be recommending for the rest of my life.

Short synopsis: 3 Foster sisters returns to their expansive childhood home when bones are found under the house.

My thoughts: I’m going to keep this somewhat vague, because it was so fun to come up with my own assumptions as the book progressed. Were the 3 “sisters” witnesses or suspects in the case to uncover the details of the found bones?

The setting was perfection, Miss Fairchild not quite being who everyone assumes she was, and each of the three sisters having their own struggles and history. There were twists galore, and while I did predict some of them… the final one was completely unexpected and left my head reeling!

This one is definitely darker than any I’ve read by Hepworth, hers are generally more domestic suspense but this definitely had some dark twists! There are triggers (Child abuse, murder, trauma) so be sure to look at those if you’re sensitive.

Read if you love:
- Found family/Foster care
- Multiple POV and multiple timelines
- Sisterly love
- Character growth
- Slow burn thriller

Darling Girls
By Sally Hepworth
Pub Date: April 23, 2024

⭐️: 4/5

Foster sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia formed a close bond during their childhood while they lived with their unpredictable foster mother, Miss Fairchild. Now adults, their traumatic past is brought up again when a body is found under the home they lived in together, and they’re called in as key witnesses, so why do they feel like they’re being treated as suspects?

From the start, I could tell that this one was going to be much better for me than the other books by Hepworth that I’ve previously read. The set up was great at drawing you in, and the switches in point of view and time make this a really quick and engrossing read that’s hard to put down. I’ll be the first to admit that I get fatigued easily by the thriller trope of women or children who are being mistreated and not believed by the authorities, but in this case, it really added something to the suspense and build up of the book, and was done in a good way. I will admit that this read a lot more like a suspenseful drama than a true thriller, but overall the vibes were all there, and there were even some twists and turns that made it an unpredictable read. The plot was definitely pretty sad and dark, which made it more of an emotional read than I was expecting. I’m not sure if it was just me, but the writing seemed to get a little bit sloppy towards the end, and the dialogue seemed to edge into the territory of existing to further the plot rather than being realistic, which is one of my pet peeves when it comes to dialogue, specifically in thrillers. I’m notoriously pretty picky when it comes to thrillers, but overall I enjoyed this read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this free eARC!!

I found myself invested from the beginning. This was definitely a slow burn suspense, but there were enough twists and surprises to keep me interested.

I loved hearing each girl’s perspective and I thought the story did a great job flowing from the past to the present. It gave you a chance to really understand each character.

This might be one of my favorite Sally Hepworth books!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook and for the eARC.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. The characters did not keep my interest at all, and I quickly forgot what I read after, I read it.

I was so excited to receive a galley of Darling Girls. I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth for several years.

"SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth’s new novel has it all."

This book tells the story of 3 sisters, who met in foster care when they were placed in a foster home together as children. The seemingly idyllic foster home was not what it seemed and these sisters grew up with a boatload of traumatic experiences. Many years later, a body is found under the stairs of the home where they used to live. They are brought together and questioned regarding their past experiences and the mysterious body and its not clear if they could be potential suspects. As we move through the book, we learn more about each of the girls' pasts and what landed them in foster care to begin with and we learn more about their years with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother.

This book had a few twists that I was not expecting. The storyline is a bit dark and does focus on child abuse at various times. I was immediately sucked into this story. The small cast of characters made for an easy read. A psychological thriller through and through.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the copy of this book!

When an unidentified body is discovered under the house three foster sisters grew up in, they become key witnesses... or maybe suspects.

When I heard our domestic-suspense-writing Sally went dark, I was SO EXCITED. This follows the story of three sister, and we do get all three POVs, from the past and their traumatic upbringing with their foster mother, to the present, when a body is found under their childhood home. The sister dynamic was good and complex, and there was quite the twist at the end! Recommend this if you normally like Sally's books or if you enjoy a good domestic thriller.

This one was a whirlwind. Following the story of three foster sisters- from past to present- we unravel the secrets of Wild Meadows. While enduring the rath of Miss Fairchild, the three foster sisters grow to be as close as siblings. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia learned to deal with their situation by leaning on one another. But when the situation becomes dire they must put a stop to it.

Fast forward- now the the three girls are adults and have put Wild Meadows behind them. Or so they thought. A body has been found beneath their childhood home. And perhaps they know more than they let on.
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Overall I enjoyed this one. I did find it hard to keep the timelines and different girls straight. I was also a bit confused by the therapist entries within the chapters- although this was explained in the end.