Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
352 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Foster Care, Adoption, Child Abuse, Mystery, Australia
There are several main characters in the book.
Jessica: home organizer, OCD and drug addiction, abandonment issues
Norah: uses sex for favors and has anger issues
Alicia: social worker with self-esteem issues
Miss Fairchild: caretaker, foster mother
Jessica is the owner of a well-known home organization company but comes under scrutiny when prescription medications begin to go missing. Her mother died when she was four years old, and she was put into the foster care system. Miss Fairchild took her in and raised her.
Norah goes on dates with the hopes of getting something from the guy. This could be anything from handyman services to money for bills and rent. She is under an order that if she commits another act of violence, she will go to jail.
Alicia is a social worker. She takes care of Norah when she gets into trouble. She puts the foster children’s needs above all else. She loves Meera, an attorney, but does not feel she deserves to be loved.
Miss Fairchild takes in children to support her farm. At first, it was just her and Jessica but once Jessica turned ten, Miss Fairchild realized she needed more income. She took in Norah and Alicia when they were about ten and then began taking in respite babies.
The story has a steady pace, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view with first person point of view in the psychiatrist’s office. Sally Hepworth is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with this book. There are twists and quirky characters to go around. I was hooked from the beginning. If you like a good drama with twists, you may enjoy reading this book.
