I was excited to get approved for an ARC of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth! This was my fourth book by Sally Hepworth, and while I did not enjoy her last release The Soulmate as much, I was still looking forward to this one.
As always, a huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher to releasing an ARC of this book to me. I am forever grateful I get opportunities like this to review books.
Darling Girls will be available for purchase April 23, 2024!
Basic Info
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Genres: Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
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For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.
But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?
I started reading this on a Sunday night drive to dinner in a town one hour away (while my boyfriend drove of course). Immediately, I was hooked. I read for the entire hour drive there and back before hopping into bed to read some more.
As per usual, this review will be on the shorter side since this is a thriller, and I do not want to spoil any of the plot!
My Thoughts
The overall summary of the book was intriguing, a dead body found at three foster sisters’ old foster home. Throughout the entirety of the book, I enjoyed getting to know the three sisters more. One thing I have always appreciated about Hepworth’s writing is her characters. Even when I have felt her plot falls a little short, her characters make up for it.
The book follows four different perspectives: three foster sisters (Jessica, Norah, and Alicia) and one mystery therapy attendant.
All the narrators felt extremely unreliable to the point where I was questioning every little thing. I am a little picky when it comes to unreliable narrators (and by a little picky, I mean extremely), but I enjoyed the pay off in this one.
My biggest pet peeve is when an unreliable narrator reveals some huge secret that they had no reason to keep, but the reveal of the major plot twists felt justified in this case. Again, Hepworth writes such strong characters that all of their decisions and inner thoughts MADE SENSE.
Hepworth tackles some difficult topics in Darling Girls, including foster systems and the sexual abuse/harassment of children and adults. There were definitely times that I felt uncomfortable, so if this is something that would bother you, I would suggest skipping this one.
While there was definitely an interesting mystery to it all, do not go into this expecting an action-packed thriller. It read more like a mystery to me, especially because of the ending. I never really felt like anything was too at stake, which sadly made me feel a little underwhelmed at the ending. I also felt the organization of the story was a little off. There were some things that were revealed a little too early, lessening the suspense in the story.
Overall Feels
While the ending fell short for me, I am not upset that I decided to request this one. I still had a good time, and I think if I went in with different expectations, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. The pacing and the strong characters are definitely what kept the book in my good graces. I’ll continue to look out for Sally Hepworth’s novels in the future!
I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading family dramas and mysteries.
Final Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Recommend with caution
Those are all of my feelings on Darling Girls. I would love to know your thoughts. Have you read this book? Are you interested?