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

Book Review - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

Title: The Mother-In-Law
Series: -
Author: Sally Hepworth
 
Description: From the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Diana was exquisitely polite, and properly friendly, but Lucy knew she was not what Diana envisioned. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar to the community, an advocate for social justice who helped female refugees assimilate to their new country. Diana was happily married to Tom, and lived in wedded bliss for decades. Lucy wants so much to please her new mother-in-law.
 
That was five years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, a suicide note near her body. Diana claims that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer. But the autopsy finds no cancer. The autopsy does find traces of poison and suffocation. Who could possibly want Diana dead? Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both her adult children and their spouses?
 
Review: Lucy has one wish since the moment she meets Ollie: to have a nice connection with her mother-in-law. But from her first meeting with Diana, she knows that’s not in the cars. She is somewhat cold towards Lucy. When years later Diana is found dead, the circumstances are very suspicious.
 
First of all, I want to say that this books doesn’t have the correct genre attached to it. It’s marketed as a thriller, but it definitely isn’t one. It’s more of a suspenseful, domestic mystery.
 
It was my first Sally Hepworth novel and I really love the way she writes her characters. You really get to know them, especially Lucy and Diana. We follow the story through their perspectives and it switches in timelines. I always love that with my stories. This book is more character based than it is plot driven. I prefer the latter.
 
When it comes to the story, I expected a more terrible mother-in-law. Diana isn’t that bad of a person. Yes, she is a bit cold towards Lucy, but that’s mainly it. They just have a very complex relationship.
 
The question you want answered is, did Diana really commit suicide or did someone kill her? I was surprised by the reveal, but overall it’s not a very special book. I enjoyed the family drama and trying to figure out what happened to Diana. But it didn’t really excite me. It was just okay.
 
Rating: 3/ 5