Description:

Get ready for another twisty domestic thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of THE SOULMATE.

From the outside, Alicia, Jessica and Norah might seem like ordinary women you’d meet on the street any day of the week. Sure, Jessica has a little OCD and Norah has some anger issues. And Alicia has low self-esteem that manifests itself in surprising ways. But these three have a bond that no one can fully understand. It’s a bond that takes them back decades, to when they were girls, and they lived on a farm with a foster mother named Miss Fairchild. 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 they thought they were free. But the reach of someone with such power is long, and even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When bones are discovered buried under the farmhouse of their childhood, they are called in by the police to tell what they know. Against their will, they are brought back to the past, and to Miss Fairchild herself. DARLING GIRLS asks the questions: what are we capable of when in a desperate place? How much can we hide the demons inside us? And can the past ever truly be buried?

Adele’s Review:

Sally Hepworth offers readers another well-written, compelling novel with her newest release, Darling Girls. This is the fourth novel by Hepworth I’ve read for review, and each book has been wholly unique and expertly crafted. Darling Girls delves into the sometimes dark and dangerous home lives of foster children. We meet foster sisters Alicia, Jessica, and Norah and their physically beautiful but emotionally abusive caregiver, Miss Fairchild (the irony of her last name is not lost on us), whose resentment of the bond the girls create is at the heart of the novel. Each girl tells her individual tale in alternating chapters and timelines, but the construction is so well done there’s no interruption to the overarching story. The setting is Hepworth’s Australia but, sadly, could just as easily take place in any number of countries.

Darling Girls is listed as Women’s Fiction but described by the publisher as a twisty domestic thriller. I see the book as domestic suspense. The pacing is virtually the same throughout, with clever plot twists marking the high notes, until the mystery is solved. The story of displaced children is a sad one, yet Hepworth offers her characters hope of finding love and a better life. That hopeful optimism buoys the reader, too.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6065045232

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C2MYN135