I was delighted to get the chance to read the highly intriguing, latest Sally Hepworth release because I loved both The Younger Wife and The Soulmate. I have to say, I think it was the darkest, most chilling yet and I just couldn’t stop reading it.

As children, Jessica, Norah and Alicia were so lucky to be plucked from tragic family situations and placed in the care of Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows. At least, they were told that they were lucky. In reality, their time with Miss Fairchild was full of abuse and instability. Now, 25 years later, the girls are brought back to Wild Meadows because a body has been found in the foundations and they appear to be the key to identifying whose it is and what happened.

Jessica is the first to be fostered by Miss Fairchild and we see her controlling, manipulative behaviour almost immediately. It amplifies as the foster family grows and I was completely hooked on hating her and her getting her comeuppance. This was almost certainly one of the reasons I kept turning the pages.

We see the effects that Miss Fairchild’s treatment of Jessica, who has become a very highly-strung, anxious adult. She also still craves approval from her abuser, which was heartbreaking to see but I felt it was such an authentic portrayal of someone craving love and acceptance.

Alicia has become a foster mother herself and she does an amazing job of reassuring her wards that they deserve real love. It is sad when you realise that it comes from a place of knowing what it feels like to not have that love and stability. As she’s telling this lost, scared teenager that he deserves a stable home, you can sense Alicia telling herself and her sisters that they also deserve the same.

Obviously, there is a very strong sense of sisterhood. These women have been through a lot of darkness together and they’ve emerged incredibly strong. It is beautiful to watch and there is a sense that they can get through anything as long as they have each other. They bring out the best in each other and the bond they share is truly unbreakable.

Darling Girls is a twisty, addictive thriller that I thought about a lot while I wasn’t reading. I kept wanting to get back to it and get to the bottom of the mysteries that cropped up. I was really rooting for the heroines too, which made it even more exciting. I thoroughly recommend it for getting you out of a reading slump!

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

Disappointing. There wasn't much tension, there was not much thrilling about this and honestly the plot didn't even keep me guessing. The book felt more like just literary fiction to be honest.

What an ending! The last chapter sealed the 5 star rating for me. Loved Jessica, Norah, and Alicia - particularly Norah. Haven't had a book I couldn't put down for a while and this was a real page turner. I'll definitely look for more by Sally Hepworth. It's quite dark in places so I recommend checking the trigger warnings, especially if you’ve ever been in the foster care.

Due to health issues cannot write a proper review now even if I enjoyed this book. as it's well plotted, gripping, and surprising
A more extensive review will follow
Recommended.Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Another DNF added to my list. Just couldn't connect with the characters despite a promising storyline. Thanks to |NetGalley for the review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC! I really enjoyed Sally Hepworth’s last novel and when I read the premise of this one it instantly became a five star prediction. I was correct!

Whattttt was that last chapter? Sally why’d you do this to me!? My jaw hit the floor and that rarely happens. I didn’t see any of the twists coming, I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t put the book down because I needed to see what was going to happen next. I needed answers! I love a dual timeline thriller as we all know, pair that with a small town and characters having to go back to said small town after something shocking is discovered there? Perfection.

Norah is an absolute queen. She is hands down my favourite character. She’s so complex with this icy and sarcastic exterior that actually conceals a lot of self doubt and trauma. She was also absolutely hilarious. I loved Alicia and Meera as well, their relationship was so heartwarming and I was rooting for Alicia to find peace and accept kindness. Jessica was also a very interesting character with lots of flaws mainly created from trying to escape her trauma. I really appreciated the author’s depiction of how trauma can affect different people in different ways even when they experience the same or similar events. These three girls all grew up in the same house with an absolute monster but the trauma they faced affected them differently, especially their coping mechanisms.

This book was incredibly difficult to read at times so I really encourage you to check trigger warnings especially if you’ve ever been in the foster care system. I definitely recommend this if you don’t mind a darker mystery/thriller. I loved the themes of sisterhood and found family. This was released on 25th April so you can read it now!

Ever since reading the good sister, I’ve been a fan of Hepworth and read all her books. The Darling girls for me sadly wasn’t one of her best.

It started well (although slow) but I felt became a bit silly and unbelievable. I also felt the last chapter was unnecessary. It was ok but not one I’d be recommending.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters who grew up with same foster mother, Miss Fairchild. They are not sisters by blood, but they are as close as any sisters can be. Then the police summon all 3 sisters after human bones are found underneath the house they grew up in.

This story is told from the past and the current timeline, so we see how the girls were treated. We also read various parts of an unknown person talking to Dr Warren, who is a psychiatrist. The story was fairly well written, but does feature child abuse heavily. The story was very much a slow burn, but the pace stepped up about three quarters of the way in. The ending was a great surprise. The characters were well written, especially the three girls. Well worth it.

“Darling Girls” by author Sally Hepworth is a gripping psychological thriller that I couldn’t put down. A story of three foster sisters, Jessica, Norah and Alicia who share a dark past f their shared past and the dark shadows cast by their mysterious foster mother, Miss Fairchild.

The girls were raised on a picturesque farm that drew no comparison with the reality they faced growing up. Raised by an unpredictable Miss Fairchild, forced to follow the strict rules that resulted in an atmosphere of unease and tension. Their childhood bore no resemblance to the surroundings.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are very good characters, well developed, interesting and all with their own individual personality and way of dealing with their dark past. A body is discovered buried at their childhood home which forces the sisters to confront their painful memories. Sally Hepworth builds the tension and suspense up throughout the novel as well as throwing in twists to keeps the reader off the trail. Are the sisters witnesses or prime suspects.

I enjoyed this novel a lot more than I first anticipated and would highly recommend it to other readers of psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars
I would say, don't judge a book by its cover, as this looks like it might be women's fiction when it fact it's a great thriller.
I really enjoyed the short, snappy chapters and alternating POVs.
I was hooked the whole way through.
While it was difficult to read at times, this is a definite page turner and I loved how developed each of the main characters were.
There are plenty of great twists too, with the ending being a real surprise to me.
I can't wait to read more from Sally Hepworth in the future and will be seeking out some of her back catalogue immediately.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Pan in exchange for a free and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book with its twists and turns. This book follows four protagonists: Norah, Alicia, Jessica and a patient receiving therapy. Norah, Alicia and Jessica are foster sisters that meet at Wild Meadows, they are connected through shared traumatic experience in foster care. The story bounces between them in the past and the future as they recount events after the discovery of a body at their old foster home. The patient receiving therapy is working through her traumatic experiences in her childhood and early adulthood. I liked the relationship between the sisters and their strong bond, the discussion of parents with serious mental disorders raising children and the need to understand foster children situations in order to provide them with appropriate care. In addition, I enjoyed learning about the Australian foster care system as it was new to me. A good and quick read. I would recommend.

4.5 stars

With Darling Girls, Sally Hepworth has done it again, delivering another seductively compelling domestic drama, with relatable female characters, a gripping storyline, and a sucker punch of a final twist. A few shades darker than her usual fare, it’s a cracker of a read.

The story revolves around foster sisters, Jessica, Norah and Alicia, who forged an unbreakable bond as children under the care of the manipulative, abusive Miss Fairchild.

Now adults, the women are closer than ever, though clearly still carrying the scars of their traumatic childhood, when out of the blue, the past they’ve tried so hard to forget comes crashing into their present. A body is found under the home they grew up in, placing them at the heart of a murder investigation.

Told over two, skilfully woven timelines and multiple POVs, Hepworth’s storytelling is compelling and chilling, giving us insight into the deeply flawed characters of the three women and the twisted mind of Miss Fairchild.

The pacing is slow, but necessarily so, to allow the reader to fully absorb the details of the women’s tragic early years and their subsequent abuse at the hands of their foster mother. And also to demonstrate the enduring impact of such experiences into adulthood and how this shared trauma has manifested itself differently in each ‘sister’.

It’s a gentle but irresistible unraveling, the mystery of the identity of the body a constant inducement to keep turning the pages. The truth, when it comes, does so in a sudden volley of twists with what I’d describe as a mild shock factor.

I though at this point that it was all over and admit I may have felt a tiny bit wanting. Silly me! Sneaky Hepworth had kept her best card until last, removing it from her sleeve and laying it down with a triumphant “Gotcha”!

A superbly plotted story of sisterhood and triumph over adversity. I loved it!

I locked the door and let in some light in my room at night after reading 18% of this book.

The fear and anticipation in every little situation Jessica, Norah and Alicia went through both in their past and in the present, really got to me.
I enjoyed reading the twists, the mutual and individual problems each one of the sisters was going through and how everything started to pile up but specially how they remained together throughout this whole process of self discovery and grief. This book kept my heart rate up and i would stay up at night just to know what was about to be uncovered. I felt seen, impotent, sad, happy angry, and hopeful while reading Darling Girls and i most definitely cried.

First Sally Hepworth book i read and definitely not the last one. Thank you.

OMG what a book! Sally Hepworth never disappoints but I think she may have outdone herself with Darling Girls.

Told through multi POV and a dual timeline, it spins the tale of awful Miss Fairchild who fostered Jessica, Norah, and Alicia as they were growing up. Their worlds collide again when human remains are found under the foster home in the present day.

I absolutely could not put this down from the get go. And the ending!!! Buy this book and put it to the top of your TBR!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Darling Girls was my first Sally Hepworth book, but I'm sure it won't be my last! The cover is a little misleading, given it looks more like chick lit, but
despite my expectations I found myself transfixed by the mystery and twisting lives at the heart of the book.

Hepworth's strength is in her vivid cast of complex female characters and one of the most hateable villains I think I've ever read.

Overall a really enjoyable read. Had the possibility of being amazing, but I felt the main characters lacked a bit of depth. However this had me hooked from the start and the multi timeline kept it interesting throughout and had me guessing as I read.

I am a huge SH fan but unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I couldn't get into the plot and I didn't find any of the characters compelling enough to really care about what happened to them. I didn't finish this one which was a real shame.

This book had me hooked from start to end, I didn’t want to put it down. I devoured half of it in one sitting.

The blurb was simple and didn’t give much away, so you are able to go into this book blind and get lost in it. I loved how Hepworth created contrasting and compelling personalities for Jessica, Alicia and Norah. No sister is the same, but each is flawed and loveable. The only commonality they share is their deep trauma from living at Wild Meadows with foster mam Ms. Fairchild.

Jessica is clever, organised but scarred from her relationship with Ms. Fairchild. Norah is impulsive, strong minded, and never warmed to Ms. Fairchild. Alicia is caring, calm and loved by Grammy, which made her unlovable to Ms. Fairchild.

The story is told from multiple POVs, and over 3 different timeframes. We hear from Jessica, Norah and Alicia, both in the present and during their time at Wild Meadows. We also hear from a not named patient of Dr. Warren, the psychiatrist. As the story develops we learn about everything the girls went through, how it brought them together, and how the anonymous patient cannot be trusted.

Sally Hepworth is amazing…the queen of the thriller.

Darling Girls is an awesome read. I was hooked from page 1 and flew through this book. Told from 3 POVs of three foster children, as well as from sessions with one character with a psychiatrist. The story follow then 3 women as they learn about a body being uncovered at their old foster home.

Brilliantly written, the characters leapt off the page and had me laughing and crying. The plot is gripping and the twists keep coming right to the end when everything finally makes sense.

Fabulous!