I received a digital ARC copy of Sally's Hepworth's newest Darling Girls. This book had me from the very beginning. At first, I was concerned there would be too many perspectives to keep up with on audio, but the story flowed so well together and the pace on point that it did not take me more than a few chapters to be fully immersed in this thriller. Readers are taken on a roller coaster of intrigue as we go back and forth between the present and past of three girls in the foster care system who were raised by a woman that was not what she seemed on the outside. As the three girls grew up, they endured the abuse and hardships put on them by their foster mother. As adults, each one has dealt with it differently, and soon an investigation begins on something found at their old foster home that has the reader going between timelines, trying to solve whodunit - were the girls really enduring the horrible living conditions they claimed to be in? Was their foster mother really a bad person? Who is telling the lie, and who is the criminal?

The audio of this book was perfectly done. The narrator's voice was clear and offered good inflections to bring readers further into the story. I normally reserve my thrillers and mysteries for physical copies so I can keep myself on track with the story, but I couldn't resist trying Hepworth's latest and I am so glad I did! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me the opportunity to read and review this title!

{audiobook}

Darling Girls is a dark & emotional story of 3 women- brought together from a shared history at a foster home that has come back to haunt them.

• alternating POVs & timelines
• the three ‘sisters’ have very defined characteristics and personalities which are supported by their backstories
• short chapters = quick read
• twists I wasn’t expecting but weren’t too far fetched/further leading the plot and not distracting

⚠️ child abuse/neglect ⚠️

Thank you #NetGalley for the audio ARC of #DarlingGirls !

Sally Hepworth is an auto buy author for me. Her latest novel Darling Girls is another great read! A contemporary fiction that explores the themes of friendship, motherhood, and secrets. The narrative revolves around three kindred spirits who form an unbreakable bond under the roof of the same foster care home, united in their efforts to shield themselves from the clutches of their malevolent foster mother, Holly Fairchild. Holly employs cunning manipulations to subject the girls to a series of psychological games, leaving scars that linger long after they escape her clutches. This book explores the past and present timelines of Jessica, Norah and Alicia. Through short, succinct chapters, we see how each girl evolved during and after their shared trauma.

If you're interested in stories that delve into complex relationships and the intricacies of female friendship, you should check this one out! Available April 23rd.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book takes us on an absolutely wild ride following 3 foster sisters, who all share an insanely close bond. A story comes out about their childhood foster home. Something has happened and the cops want to figure out what happened, why did it happen and who did it?

This book has multiple points of view and fast chapters making listening to it so much fun.

A lot of twist and turns - many that left me speechless/didn't see coming.

The narrator did an awesome job keeping me engaged and wrapped into this story.

TW: Childhood abuse + trauma.

If you're a lover of twisty, turny thrillers, I feel like you'd really love this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for this early listen.
North American Publishing Date is April 23rd

Three sisters are forced back to their traumatic childhood when a body is found on the property of their foster home. They each have their own stressful situations going on but come together to support one another. While not biologically sisters, they remind us that family is what you make it.

The foster mom is a horrible person that manipulates the girls and the foster care system. Throughout the book we get individual POV for each sister as well as someone in a therapy session. The author did a great job of telling three timelines at once. With a less skilled writer that could have become very confusing. I had my suspicions of the twist as I was reading but I still enjoyed the journey!

Jessica Clarke does an amazing job portraying all the characters without being too distracting or disruptive to the story.

If you are looking for a slightly twisted thriller, I highly recommend Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Sally Hepworth for the opportunity. I have written this review voluntarily.

I loved that we got a POV from multiple characters and I always enjoy a past/present timeline. This book read more like a family drama with a mystery than a thriller. It was a fast paced story that definitely kept my attention. I was afraid we weren’t going to get that shocking twist that I need out of a mystery/thriller, but the last 3 pages were worth the wait!

I did read the first half and then listened to the second half and the audio for this one is fantastic. The narrator really brought the story to life and I would highly recommend reading it this way!

As this story unfolds, you really feel for these young girls, children, orphans, who are sent to live with a foster mother. All is not as it seems to be, well, except for the psychological torturing these girls suffer at the hands of their foster mom. The three of them form an inseparable bond because of it. We meed Jessica, Norah, and Alicia as adults when the remains of a human are found under the home they grew up in. What exactly happened at their home, Wild Meadows, who belongs to the body that was found, are the girls involved? As the story evolves and the way these girls were punished comes to the surface, is it any wonder they turned out the way they did? This one is a slow burn and keeps you rivited to the end. The narration is well done.

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! The twists and turns kept me on my toes the entire time. And the ending?! I didn’t expect that at all!!! Such a great read. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Sally Hepworth has once again created an intriguing and suspenseful thriller. Three women who were fostered together as girls learn that a body has been found under the house they stayed in. An investigation and much chaos ensue as the women try to come to terms with their difficult pasts. This has multiple time periods and lots of layers, which all come together for an unpredictable conclusion. The characters are very raw and real and it’s interesting to see them develop through the book. Fans of Liane Moriarty and B.A. Paris will enjoy this.

LOVED Darling Girls! This was the psychological thriller I needed from my TBR. Just the right amount of slow burn without an overly complicated plot to follow.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters in every way that matters except blood. Bound together by trauma, each sister is grappling with current issues when they receive a phone call dredging up their past.

The remains of a young child have been found under their old foster care home. As the police bring the women in for questioning, each relive the abuse they experienced under the care of their foster mother Miss Fairchild. They also struggle with current relationships and missteps that are keeping them from moving beyond their past.

The plot builds slowly, but hold on it picks up quickly. The ending has a very Silent Patient vibe that I did foresee and yet it was incredibly well executed. The audio production was fantastic and I quite enjoyed the Aussie accents.

This is the second book I read by Sally Hepworth, so needless to say, I had very high expectations. The content is heavy and I had a hard time reading it. I’m giving it three stars out of five because I enjoy Hepworth’s writing, but it was hard to stomach certain things.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A strong 3.5 for this page turner. It was hard to put down and I do so enjoy stories about sisters.
I've read several of Hepworth's books and she leans hard into the unreliable narrator. Or in this case multiple unreliable narrators.
In Darling Girls we meet three adult women called back to the foster home they once inhabited, after a body is discovered beneath it. The women are somewhat resistant to return. The story toggles between four perspectives some of them "then" and others "now".
Hepworth builds the story well. We meet each of the women in their present day lives and slowly their childhood stories are told. I found Hepworth somewhat uneven-handed in telling Jessica's story more fully than the others. Each woman has some residual demons from the traumas of their childhood. It makes them all the more interesting, but also begins to feel heavy as the book progresses.
Hepworth did a good job keeping the story moving forward, I didn't find it lulled at any point.
I found the ending both satisfying and unsatisfying. While we have answers to some of the most important questions, the reader is left to wonder.
Overall, though Hepworth borrows some familiar tropes, the story is both interesting and engaging. I wasn't prepared for all the twists and turns and that made it all the more interesting.

Narration: I enjoyed the narrator. My only complaint is occasionally the narrator took heavy breaths between sentences. I find that off-putting.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley, for letting me get an early preview of "Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth on audiobook. The audiobook was well done. I have read Sally Hepworth novels before and she is a solid suspense writer. This story kept my attention and I got through it pretty quickly. The book follows three women who used to be foster kids and lived at the same house during their adolescent years. They form a bond and become "sisters" and are brought back to the house they were fostered in when a body is discovered on the property. The book bounces back between the present time during the police investigation and the time they were at the house. The format was well done and I enjoyed this overall, but I have read and listened to better suspense novels by this author and others, so I can't see this one sticking with me long.

WOW. The mysteries of this book lasted until the literal last page. I couldn’t get enough of the main characters, three sisters, and the traumas that surrounded their lives. The twists in this were absolutely shocking. This is will be a top book of 2024. Sally Hepworth does it again.

This was a fast paced story about a foster mother and her relationship with her three adoptive daughters. They’re reunited and their story unfolds when the bones of a child are discovered buried under their old foster home. The relationship between these three girls who become sisters through their foster placements is well developed. The characters are likable and well fleshed out and as the villain is exposed we learn their backstory as well. Excellent writing and narration. A very easy audio to listen too! Highly recommend.

What a fun read! I loved the sisterhood and the twists and turns this story takes you on. I thought I had it figured out multiple times - I did not!

OMG! This was SO good, like a good mystery/thriller/suspense novel should be with all the twists, turns, and unfounded predictions! Nope, I never guessed what happened until the last chapter! I am so in love with this book and how the author unfolded the entire story of the 3 sisters: Jessica, Alicia, and Norah. They were raised by a foster mom named Holly Fairchild, who was anything but what anyone would want a foster parent to be. The sisters had a horrific upbringing. Then when they were adults and living various lifestyles with different job careers, one day they find out that the police need to talk to all three because they'd found buried bones at Wild Meadows, the foster home they grew up in.

The journey these girls went on took me on a wild goose chase of a journey and I loved it! Kudos to Ms. Hepworth whose books I'll be looking into and reading more of her work!

I was able to get both an eARC and an audio version from NetGalley, so I was able to read and listen at the same time which enhanced my enjoyment. The narrator, Ms, Clarke, most definitely added to the intensity of the plotline and believability of the characters. I will be looking for her as a narrator again for sure.

I loved this book from the first to the last sentence. Sally Hepworth kept me entertained throughout this entire story. I loved each of her characters and how they developed throughout the book. Even with chapters changing timelines as well as perspectives, the story was easy to follow.

Twists and turns throughout the book had trying to figure out what really happened to the girls during their childhood as well as the real story behind Amy. Ultimately, I figured out the twists, but that didn't make the book any less enjoyable. I found this book to be clever, unique, and well written.

The narrator for Jessica Clarke did a phenomenal job narrating this book. She was so animated throughout that it felt as if I was listening to a movie or play. She kept me captivated throughout the entire listening experience. She definitely elevated the story.

I will definitely look forward to future publications from Sally Hepworth as well as narrations by Jessica Clarke. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy to listen to and review.

4.5-4.75⭐️

I had the audiobook of this women’s fiction read by Jessica Clarke. I didn’t find that there was a big distinction between the sisters voices, but it didn’t stop me managing to follow the story as the chapters were identified to whose POV it is.

Alicia, Jessica and Norah regard themselves as sisters after their stay together in foster care in the care of Miss Fairchild. They are carrying emotional baggage from that time of their lives.

It’s written in a light chatty humorous tone, don’t be fooled as the storyline is deliciously dark.

It alternates between the present police investigation and the past, the time frames work really well to disclose the story. There’s some great twists and turns.

This is one of my favourites by this author, it’s one that’s well worth reading

This book had me guessing up until the very last minute. I thought I had figured it out and guessed what was happening then BAM nope…was so wrong! Loved listening to this book and the voices narrating were excellent.
Thank you Netgally and Macmillan audio for the advanced copy!