Sally Hepworth has turned out another thriller. Her books are fun to read in the story is always compelling. Darling girls was no different. That is both its strength and its weakness.
Pro:
Her characters are well rounded flawed, and still likable
The story is interesting all the way through
The dialogue rings, true

Cons:
The writing is almost formulaic
Well, the story is interesting. It is often contrived.

I've learned to never expect anything less than greatness from Sally Hepworth. Her books are almost always 5 star books for me and Darling Girls was no exception. This book follows 3 girls as they are taken in by a foster mother, Mrs. Fairchild, who they believe is a great woman. But, she has some issues and some rules that they just don't quite understand. She's controlling and doesn't allow the girls to do much. Now, as adults, they learn more about their childhood as a body is found at their old property. It was a bit hard to follow at times, but I think this was done on purpose because everything was cleared up by the end. This book goes back and forth between timelines from their childhood and adulthood. Each girl/woman is represented and we get to know their individual stories. Definitely would recommend.

I was lucky enough to receive both the ebook and audiobook ARC for Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. I wound up mainly listening to this story as the narrator was excellent and helped me continue the story while having a busy schedule. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be in line with my expectations of this author. There were some parts that were fairly predictable but I don’t feel like it detracted from the storyline. The ending however totally got me! I did not see that coming. Overall I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun time.

Darling Girls was a great read about the power of sisters, no matter how different they may be. The girls were raised by their foster mother Miss Fairchild. Everyone believed the girls to be raised well, but deep down she could be a wicked woman. Now the girls are all adults leading lives of their own when a body is discovered under the home they’ were raised in. Whose body is it and are the girls responsible for it being there? Sally Hepworth is a remarkable story teller. My heart broke for these girls, but I was also in awe of their strength. Darling Girls tells a story about women empowerment, mental health awareness, and the resilience of three very different sisters.

I am typically a huge fan of this author’s books. They are edge-of-your seat thrillers with normal day-to-day people. However, this one just didn’t click for me. The child abuse facets just pushed me over the edge and had me cringing while trying to listen to one more page to get to the end. I know there are plenty of positive reviews and I will recommend that you decide for yourself if this appeals to you. And the plot twist at the end just left me feeling angry. Though I did enjoy listening to the narrator with the Australian accent. It was at least one thing that was delightful about the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

As a huge fan of Sally Hepworth, I was excited about her newest release. I have to say, this one isn't my favorite. Dealing with a house where a woman hosts foster children, Darling Girls deals with some of the worst aspects of the foster care system. We primarily follow three girls who have become sisters to each other, creating a found family who can truly rely on each other. They are contacted regarding some human remains found under the house where they met while staying with an abusive foster mother. Told in flashbacks and transcriptions from therapy appointments, this book teases out the story of what happened when they were young, who the remains belong to, and how they got there. I guessed quite a lot of the reveals in this book, and although that isn't a deal breaker for me, the book didn't bring enough emotion and involvement to the table to make up for it. I'll continue to read from this author, but this one is a miss for me.

The tone and voice of the narrator of the audiobook were fine, but there were repeated incorrect pronunciations. I'm not talking about words that may be pronounced differently if spoken with an accent, but incorrect syllable emphasis that made it difficult to know what word was spoken. It seemed like the narrator was reading without really considering the words being spoken, or they'd surely notice that what they said wasn't correct. That aside, I had no issues with the pacing of the read.

I rated this a 3.5 and rounded up, because this wasn't my favorite of her books but i couldn't put a finger on why. The plot felt slow in the middle and the characters were hard to attach yourselves too, which is something big that i look for in books

Throughly enjoyed this book with all its twists and turns. I also enjoyed the different points of view. It kept me entertained and I didn’t want to put it down.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia were lucky to be under the foster care of Miss Fairchild. She had a beautiful home and everything looked as it should and girls were given everything they could have needed. But not everything was as it looked from the outside.
This story has a dual timeline in which you go back in time to discover what really happened within the house. It's a tale of sisterhood, love and secrets. As adults the girls work together to uncover what really happened all those years ago.
A thriller you won't be able to put down.
4 stars
#netgalley #booklovers #thrillerbooks

ARC
PHENOMENAL. As both a book and audiobook, I loved this. Love the distinction between character POVs. The twist was really good, I was sure I'd figured it out, but of course the final twist got me. Love Hepworth's writing. Only reason it's a 4 instead of higher is because a few of the POVs felt dragged in the current timeline

The way I couldn’t put this book down, and ended up binge reading through the night (which I rarely do), switching between the book and audiobook. Sally Hepworth is one of the best when it comes to domestic suspense, and I just love her storytelling writing so much.

I buddy read this with my husband and had a hard time not giving anything away because I ended up finishing before him.

The story features 4 POVs, about three foster siblings with a past/present storyline. When bones are discovered at the home they were raised, everyone comes into question what happened.

With fast chapters and an intriguing storyline, it was the perfect thrill ride that kept me guessing, and would make the best beach or poolside read this Summer.

🎧I loved the audiobook narration by Jessica Clarke, and it was easy to switch between the print and audio formats, keeping me completely immersed into the story.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧
🏠domestic suspense
❤️found family
🔍a story that will keep you guessing
📖multiple POVs

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was DYNAMITE! What an amazing story with superb plot points and dynamic characterizations. I mean.... it blew me away. Not just the story, which was amazing but the writing.... the writing! Very, very clever! This is why Sally Hepworth is an auto-buy author for me! Great audio quality and narrator!

3.5 Solid thriller that kept me guessing. Great character development and written so well that I could easily differentiate between the girls. I have a tendency to get Sally Hepworth, Liane Moriarty and Rachel Hawkins books mixed up, so it’s great for fans of those books.
The story laid out very well, going between past and present as three precious foster girls who grew up in the same foster home find out a body was found under the house they grew up in. Compelling thriller. Fantastic narration. What a great job to be able to differentiate between so many characters!!

Darling Girls is a solid thriller. Well-written, good characters with engaging conversations, with a villain who is fun to hate and her victims who are fun to root for.

Norah, Jessica and Alicia are foster sisters who forge a strong bond, mostly due to the need to support each other and survive their unbalanced narcissistic foster mother.

Timeline bounces from Then and Now, and chapters bounce from each sister’s POV, plus and unknown woman and her therapist.

The mystery was a little weak, and some of the police procedures seemed far-fetched, but I was still there for every moment of the story and was very curious how the mystery would unravel.

Like a slightly ridiculous Law & Order episode that you may have seen already, but you are still completely tuned in.

I would give this 3.5 stars but here, rounded up to 4.

DARLING GIRLS

“Even after all these years, yearning for the love and attention of someone who couldn't give it to her was much more comfortable than actually receiving it.”

3.5/5 💫

Thanks so much to Netgalley for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is an intense novel following the lives of three sisters; Jessica, Norah and Alicia. We see this story unfold from each of their perspectives, and Hepworth does an excellent job of making each perspective clear and compelling.
Although this is a great book for many reasons, I personally found it to not quite hit the mark in others. There is some difficult and upsetting content (I would recommend reading content warnings before picking up).
The last quarter or so of the book felt very rushed, and the twist at the end was not a great fit in my opinion; I felt it left multiple plot holes and just a bit of an icky taste.
Over all, this was a good experience but I think it had many flaws.

Darling Girls is one of the best books I've read this year so far. I absolutely love the characters, specifically our three protagonists Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Sally Hepworth's writing is spectacular, and she seamlessly weaves past and present so we have a strong understanding of and empathy for these three "sisters." While I had predicted one of the major twists, I think that made my reading of the book all the more enjoyable, and the ending was perfect. I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to mystery lovers! The audiobook narration was excellent!

Sally Hepworth has done it again! A twisty story excellently written. The narration was perfect and flowed through the whole book. Definitely recommend Darling Girls, along with any other her books! Many thanks to NetGalley for this opportunity!

This was my second book by Sally Hepworth and I’m just not sure she is for me. This book was just ok for me. I listened to this one and the narration was fine- Australian accents which added to the story since it took place in Australia. I liked the multiple POVS from Jessica, Norah and Alicia and also the dual timeline to see what had happened to them when they were younger. The ending, while I didn’t expect, was very underwhelming to me.

I enjoyed this book, but I don't think it was one that will stick with me, for a few reasons. First, I felt it was a little slow. I didn't necessarily feel compelled to keep reading like I normally do with a thriller. That could have been due to the heavy subject matter, as it was DARK. You should definitely read the trigger warnings if you are affected by heavy subjects involving children and abuse. It was very hard to read at times because of how horrible the story was. It was probably trending as more of a 3-star read for me, but the ending put it over the top to a 4. I know many people loved this book and couldn't put it down, so if it sounds like something you'd be interested in, I would recommend giving it a try!

I enjoyed this book! It wasn't so much thrilling, as a solid mystery with a dark undertones (TW of child abuse). This was definitely a character-driven, bit of a slow-burn story which I personally love. It reminded me a bit of THE SOULMATE in that sense. My favorite part of the book was the relationship between the sisters. while the mystery of the bones took a backseat in terms of engagement. There is also a bit of a mystery of who is speaking with the psychologist, but I believe it became obvious pretty early on. Even still, I enjoyed those chapters until the end. The epilogue has one of my least favorite book tropes/types of reveals, which I won't name due to spoilers, but it did drop my enjoyment of the book a bit. Overall though, this was an enjoyable read and I recommend it for those who enjoy character-driven mysteries. The narrator did a great job and I'm glad I had the audio in addition to my digital copy so I could read the book continuously throughout my day!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my ARC/ALC in exchange for an honest review.