More of a slow burn domestic drama than a thriller but I loved these characters and hearing their story. The wrap up at the end was near perfection.

I also applaud SH for how well and accurately she writes parental abuse.

⭐️4.5 stars⭐️

I know that foster care can be rough for kids but WOW, this was haunting. It is hard to believe that people can have such twisted minds and treat kids so terribly.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia formed an inseparable bond through it all. They knew their sisters would be there for them when no one else would. I was really touched by their love for one another.

This story was hard to get through at times (check your trigger warnings) but it was entertaining and had me hooked. And I didn’t see the ending coming, which is always a win!

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to and review this audiobook.

Sally Hepworth always writes the most gripping psychological mysteries and I love all of them! Darling Girls is no exception…I was instantly hooked, and that ending?! So good! Every character was so well developed and fascinating and I loved the flow of the plot. It’s always heartbreaking reading about the bad homes in the foster system or child abuse that occurs, and I feel like Hepworth brought attention to that important issue, while also handling it really respectfully. And I loved this audiobook!

Sally Hepworth never disappoints! I love her writing and this book didn't disappoint!!!

Everytime Sally writes another book I want to read it right away. When I first started rhe book I thought it was similar to herothet books but the foster care aspect was very different which makes this unlike her other books!

The books is fast paced and makes it easy to read and keeps you engaged to keep reading.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

This is a suspenseful tale of three foster sisters (Jessica, Norah, and Alicia) and their complicated relationship with their foster mother. The girls remain “sisters” into adulthood but none of them have a relationship (or happy memories) with their foster mother, Ms. Fairchild. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia return to their foster home as adults when summoned by detectives after human remains were found buried under the house.

This story was told in a dual timeline with multiple points of view. The dual timeline was tastefully done and came together well at the end. In addition, the story slowly unfolded in a suspenseful/keep you hooked type of way. With every chapter we learned more and more. There were a few twists along the way, but the best/biggest was at the end. I think the final twist is what really bumped this book up to 5 stars for me. I actually want to go back and reread the story now that I know the ending to look for any hints/clues because I was SHOCKED. I thought I had it all figured out but NOPE.

Sally Hepworth is so talented and I wish I could live in her head for a day!

Super compelling and readable. This was my first Sally Hepworth and it gave me major Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty vibes in the way it explored family dynamics within the context of a dark past. The subtle insidiousness of the abuse was hard to stomach at times, but it was balanced with the tenderness of the bound the three sisters shared. I think the pacing would have been stronger if we spent more time in the present, as the flashbacks got a bit repetitive and I wanted to go deeper into the characters' struggles/relationships as adults. Maybe wrapped up a little too cleanly, but a great little epilogue twist I didn't see coming even though it made perfect sense in hindsight. I'll definitely be adding Hepworth into my psychological thriller rotation.

I received an eARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 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