Book Review - Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Title: Darling Girls
Author: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2024
 
Description: 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 given an elusive second change 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?
 
Review: We meet three women, that grew up in a foster home together. Now all grown up, they learn of a body being found under the home they lived in for years, Wild Meadows.
 
Jessica went to Wild Meadows when she was only four years old. She became attached to Miss Fairchild and was disappointed when at thirteen, a new girl arrived. This was Norah. She came to miss Fairchild when she was eleven. Norah had been to many foster homes, being treated badly. The third girl, Alicia, only came to Wild Meadows temporarily. She was in the care of her grandmother, but she fell ill and Alicia needed a home. Twelve year old Alicia is clearly not Miss Fairchild’s favorite.
 
Now as adults, Jessica is married and runs a home organization business. Nora still struggles with her past, which made her very violent. Alicia is now a social worker, taking care of foster children herself.
 
Miss Fairchild is an awful person. She treats the girls poorly, has strange rules and suffers from severe mood swings. But because of their common enemy, the three girls became sisters, and still are in adulthood.
 
The story is being told through alternating timelines, twenty five years apart. And we follow the story from different perspectives as well. This really works for this story. We get to know the girls and meet them again as damaged, traumatized women. The story is compelling and so are the characters.
 
The book has some really strong reveals and twists, but just when you think the story is about to wrap up, Sally Hepworth gives us one final twist. And I loved it! I really can’t fault this book, it’s such a good story. I had read from Hepworth before, and I found that book to be just okay. But this book really blew my mind. It’s definitely a new favorite for me. And now I do want to read more of Hepworth’s books.
 
Rating: 5/ 5