⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Overall Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Audiobook Narrator

Ugh, I just love Sally Hepworth. She’s one of the few thriller authors I always want to read right when they release a new book. Darling Girls felt similar in terms of formatting to her previous books, but the foster care story was something very different than her usual domestic storylines. Sally is so good at making a fast-paced thriller that’s easy to read and keeps you entertained the whole way through.

Publication date: April 23rd, 2024
Page count: 368
Audio length: 9 hours 6 minutes
Genre: psychological thriller
Setting: Port Agatha, Australia

Jessica, Norah and Alicia all ended up in Holly Fairchild’s Wild Meadows foster home. 25 years the home was demolished and bones were found under the home. Law enforcement reaches out to Jessica, Norah and Alicia and we learn about the childhood of the girls- the secrets from 25 years ago are revealed.

This intricately woven mystery kept me engaged, with layered character development as the twists and turns of the mystery unfold.

I will definitely continue to read books by this author!

Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

The audio was well done. I was pulled into the story and the mystery of the “Darling Girls”! I’m a fan of Sally’s books but I can’t say this is my favorite. She is a great storyteller and her plots are always compelling!

The only thing that didn’t work for me was just I feel like I was missing a bit of a shock value that I went in expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ALC!

Sally has done it again 😮 I really enjoyed this book! It might be one of my favorites by Sally. It was so clever and that last chapter? Amazing.

I enjoyed the dual POV and timeline, Sally made it easy to follow and the story flowed so well. I really enjoyed the narrator too!

A dual timeline mystery that explores the dark side of foster care told from the POVs of three foster sisters. While this wasn't my favorite by Sally Hepworth, it was still well written (lots of reviewers have given it 5 stars). It was more of a 3.5 star read for me personally, with the extra point going for the jaw-dropping final ending!! Sally is the Queen of great endings. There is a lot of child abuse in this book so it may not be for everyone, as well as a suicide attempt and drug addiction (read with care if these are triggering topics for you). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I wouldn't call this a thriller, but rather a dark, heartbreaking tale about the dark side of the foster care system and how humans develop mechanisms to protect themselves. Definitely not a light read (so much child abuse) but really well-written and the bond between the sisters despite all they went through was a beacon of light in the darkest moments.

Premise - three foster sisters are reunited when human bones are found under their old foster home. Told through their alternating perspectives, and a fourth unnamed perspective (though it's pretty obvious pretty early on who it is), the story goes back and forth between the modern day police investigation and the past horrors of their shared childhood.

I thought this was going to be a 5 star read the whole way through, but the ending really didn't work for me. After what was a really well-written story of the dark side of the foster care system (I dare you to read this and not wish you could rescue all the foster kids in unkind placements) the ending flopped into popcorn thriller villainy. I love a good popcorn thriller (I'll 5 star a Freida McFadden without a second thought) but this book spends the first 80% as not a thriller at all, and certainly not a popcorn one. It just didn't fit tonally and left me with a bad taste and more than a little disappointment.

📚 Characters: 5/5
📚 Writing: 5/5
📚 Plot: 4/5
📚 Pacing: 4/5
📚 Unputdownability: 4/5
📚 Enjoyment: 4/5
📚 Book Cover: 4/5

Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat)
1,274 reviews
175 followers
November 12, 2023
Darling Girls is a slow burn suspense that follows three “sisters” who grew up in foster care together. When the remains of a body are found underneath their childhood home, they are brought back to the scene of the crime curious as to what can be found.

This was a quick read that kept me glued to the pages. Though, I will admit, the subject matter was darker than usual so definitely look up any TWs beforehand. I loved how we got chapters from each girl’s perspective in the past and present as well as chapters from a mysterious POV recounting her childhood abuse with a psychologist. This set up made for some great twists as the storylines weaved together. Hepworth also did a great job showing how in the present, these girls’ lives were heavily influenced by their childhood trauma and how despite their own issues and mess ups, they would do anything for each other. This depiction made these humanely flawed characters feel realistic and easy to emphasize with. My favorite part was how the story ended! A great listen too!

Read if you like:
-Slow burn suspense
-Character driven stories
-Themes of fostering, childhood trauma, and sisterhood
-Dual and alternating timelines
-Flawed but likable characters