⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Stars
Happy pub month to Sally Hepworth and Darling Girls! Thank you to Sally Hepworth, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this book for an honest review. Additionally, thank you to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book for an honest review!

📅 Tuesday, April 23, 2024 is the pub date for Darling Girls. 📅

Darling Girls is a twisty adventure…part mystery, part thriller, and everything psychological. The book opens with multiple phone calls to several young women from a detective stating that an investigation has been opened to look into the excavation of human remains. For Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, trauma from their childhood resurfaces because they are asked to return to the estate and hometown in which they spent many unhappy years under the care of Holly Fairchild.

Ms. Fairchild was known in the foster care system as a reliable and loving caregiver with strong maternal instincts. She owned a spacious home that accommodated several young girls for various amounts of time over the years. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia became sisters that would literally do anything to protect each other and although their idea of love is a bit skewed, they prove time and time again that they love each other dearly.

Will being reunited again unveil more than the hidden memories of the past? Could one of sisters kill someone without the others knowing? Are they all covering for one another? Will seeing Ms. Fairchild again break the glue that has kept them strong over the years?

If you’ve read books by Sally Hepworth in the past, you’ll enjoy her newest book! It will keep you guessing. When you think you’re on the right track, additional information will be shared that throws you off the trail. Sally wrote a story with a compelling plot and characters but the ending fell flat for me. Some portions of the ending seemed a tad forced and far fetched. It wasn’t as congruent as I would have liked to the rest of the storyline.

⚠️Trigger Warning: Child abuse. Verbal, physical and emotional. Resurfacing of childhood trauma.

4.5 ⭐ rounded up- thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio/ St. Martin's Press for the audiobook and e-book arcs of this novel. This was such a fun psychological thriller to read- I definitely did not want to put it down. Short chapters and multiple character perspectives are my favorites! I also enjoyed getting the multiple different timelines. I loved the bond that the sisters had from growing up in a foster home together while still each having their own personalities. This book took some wild turns and definitely kept me guessing. I didn't want to put it down! I only wish we might have had different narrators for the sisters in the audio version.

This book was a great mix of intrigue and mystery with relatable characters. The story telling with multiple perspectives and timelines was enjoyable but at times a little hard to follow. I can see it being a great mini series though!

While initially I found the ending unsatisfying, once I got to the very end I felt it was a lot more satisfying

I was not expecting that ending!!! OMG?! This book does not disappoint. I was gripped from the beginning. A must recommend. Thanks the net galley for the early read.

This was given to me by NetGalley to listen to and I really enjoyed it. It started a bit slow but got really good fast! Three girls went to live with a foster mother that wasn’t the best person to care for them. When they grew up, they found out some things about this home and the people involved and it is shocking.

This book follows three former foster sisters who grew up in an abusive foster home. They've all done their best to try and forget about their childhoods and move on. But they're forced to remember when they're contacted by police about human bones found at their former foster home.

This was an emotional, psychological thriller. Sally Hepworth consistently writes 4 star reads/listens in my opinion. If you've liked her previous books you will love this one too.

Thank you netgalley and Macmillan audio for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. (

I would like to thank Netgalley for this AudioBook

I unfortunatly had to DNF this book at about 55% not because the book or the Narrators are bad but because I found myself having a hard time keeping up with the story via Audio and kept having to rewind to previous chapters. I will be picking this book up to start again on kindle so that I can actually read it since I was enjoying it and the story was very interesting.

Darling Girls is a captivating page turner about a three sisters made family by tragic circumstances, and brought back together as adults to face their traumatic childhoods head-on. Very well written and twisty.

This was exactly what I was expecting/looking for. Good, but not great. Sally Hepworth's books are always quick and easy to follow on audio. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, dual timelines, and sisterhood aspect of the story. I was hoping for a better execution as it was a bit underwhelming and had a lot of potential.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this alc!

Thank you to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, & @macmillan.audio for the advanced reading and listening copies!

Oh. My. God. I’m not entirely sure what I read but what I do know is that everyone else should also read this (& I mean this in the best way possible).

But let’s start from the beginning. The story is about Jessica, Alicia, and Norah. 3 girls within the foster care system that wind up at Fair Meadows under the care of Miss Fairchild. In this story we’re given the present day where the 3 girls have gone back to Port Agatha because a body has been found under Wild Meadows. The other part is “before,” where we’re given a look at the childhoods of the girls while at Wild Meadows. This story had everything - from the psychological workings of sisterhood, found family, the foster care system, and the meaning behind nature vs. nurture. I found myself getting emotional towards the end as I felt truly attached to all 3 girls. In college I minored in Psychology and I found this book brought me back to why I loved it in the first place. I don’t want to give anymore away because everyone just needs to pick this up TODAY. Just know that the ending blew my mind and I promise it won’t let you down.

Thanks to @macmillan.audio, I was able to continue listening while commuting to work. Narrated by Jessica Clarke (whose accent is phenomenal), I found myself entranced by her voice as it portrayed the story and location in a way I didn’t think possible.

this book was such a wild ride! great read and was very entertaining. I would definitely recommend you read this if you love a domestic thriller!

Oh my gosh! I absolutely LOVE Sally Hepworth’s writing! Even though there are different parts to the book (different POV, then/now, and then even a mysterious person meeting with a therapist) Hepworth knows how to make it flow so seamlessly and not be confusing. I loved all the different characters and how we are able to see the past events of their childhood and what made them who they are today. And the twist 🤯 one that I definitely wasn’t expecting!! I absolutely loved the narrator! I felt like she kept me engaged throughout the chapters and definitely helped make the book more enjoyable! Overall, she is definitely an autobuy author from me and one that I will always recommend!

This story is told in third person with multiple narrators in a dual timeline format. It follows three foster sisters and an anonymous woman in therapy in an additional ambiguous timeline. The three foster sisters come together in the present timeline when a body is discovered during an excavation at the site of their former foster home known as Wild Meadows. The story alternates between the present as the sisters travel to be questioned about this discovery and “before” revealing their history with the foster home and how each individual ended up there. The audiobook was narrated by Jessica Clarke who did a fantastic job distinguishing all of the various personalities of the sisters and other characters.

All three foster sisters have very different backgrounds and histories with their foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild. I really enjoyed their present storyline which reflected the bonds that the three women have held onto from their childhood experiences. However, the “before” storylines were filled with physical and emotional abuses that I didn’t enjoy reading. The focus on the story was more on the emotional bonds of these sisters and how they were built and less about the mystery of the body.

I think a lot of readers will enjoy this story more than I did. I’m more of a mystery reader and was more interested in the investigation than the foster story. I found the foster mother to be irrationally cruel. Some of the girls’ reactions to her abuses did not resonate with me. I was also annoyed with the ambiguous therapy storyline. There were a couple of twists that I did enjoy but overall, the themes here were just not for me.

Recommended for the sisterly bonds and overcoming of childhood abuse and trauma.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.

4.5 🌟 rounded to 5!

Every year I manage to get my hands on the latest Sally Hepworth book, and every year, for whatever reason, it stays on my TBR shelf—until NOW!

If DARLING GIRLS is any indication of how good her books are, then I seriously can’t wait to finally read her backlist.

Simply put, I loved this book—but it also seriously shattered my mama heart into a million pieces. Reading about child abuse isn’t ever easy, but it’s even harder when you have two littles of your own who depend on you for every single thing in life. If you have kids of your own or are sensitive to such topics, I’d definitely read some more reviews before picking this up, as I had NO idea that child abuse was such a key topic. Swipe to read the synopsis.

NOW, to get to the story itself. Again, I LOVED IT. Jessica, Norah and Alicia are not sisters by blood, but by a bond strengthened by the trauma of their childhood. These girls depend on one another and it’s clear that they would do anything and everything for each other—even if that means going back to the house of horrors they grew up in when a body is discovered underneath it. The story alternates between the past and present of their lives, each chapter slowly revealing more and more of what it was like to live in a house with their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. I could not get enough of the story and I was dying to see how it would all tie together.

ALSO, the last chapter is EVERYTHING 👀 Seriously, my jaw was on the floor. It *makes* the book.

I definitely recommend this one even though it broke my heart.

**** I’d also like to add that I listened to the audio for the majority of the read, but I kind of wish that I hadn’t. It was good—but I think that it kind of skewed my perception of some of the characters (a little bit?). I’d like to have imagined them talking in their own ways for this one because of how heavy the topic of child abuse is. I tried to not let the audio impact my review and am reviewing the story itself.

Thank you to Raincoast and St. Martins Press for the review copies.

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I really enjoyed it! The audio version was great! I enjoyed the narrator very much! This book kept me guessing all the way through and the plot twists were fantastic! I also loved the relationship between the sisters!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

“Darling Girls” by Sally Hepworth dives into the lives of 3 girls who were all placed in the foster care system. The girls feel as close as sisters but years later when a mysterious set of bones are found under the home they were brought up in their bond will be tested. Things aren’t always as they seem when secrets are kept. This book will have you dying for more.

This was my first Hepworth novel and I loved it! It was twisty and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I liked the different perspectives and the ending was kinda nuts!

WOW! Sally Hepworth does it again! This was a wild ride and Miss Fairchild is a serious piece of work, a liar, and a terrible person! This was a great read and I was hooked from the beginning! I can't wait to read her next book!

Mystery, murder, and drama will keep readers turning the pages of Sally Hepworth’s suspenseful new book, Darling Girls.

After individual tragedies occur when they are children, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sent to live with a ruthless foster care mother named Miss Fairchild. Due to poor treatment and fear, the “sisters” flee their foster care home. Years later a body is found under the foster care home and the police contact the sisters to question them.

What’s to love:
💕 Dual timelines
💕 Multiple POVs
💕 Found family
💕 Secrets about to be revealed and what people are willing to do to prevent it

Thank you to @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I have read almost all of Sally Hepworth's books now and I loved Darling Girls!! This book had me guessing until the end with twists I never saw coming.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters by circumstance. They were all rescued from the dire circumstances of their biological families and raised by their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. But the upbringing they experienced was unlike what everyone thought it was. They are now traveling back to the home where they were raised because a body has been discovered.