Review: DARLING GIRLS, Sally Hepworth

• 
  Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Australia (26 September 2023)
  
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1761262165
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761262166

Synopsis (publisher)

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth's new novel has it all.

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? 

My Take

As always, this novel by Sally Hepworth has an unusual plot with unusual twists, and, as always, gives the reader something to sink their teeth into.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah came to Miss Fairchild as young girls in need of compassion. But there was another side to Miss Fairchild and the girls were very lucky to survive. 

I loved the construction of this novel and there is mystery to work on right from the beginning.

My rating: 4.8 

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 
• 4.7, THE SOULMATE,