Darling Girls – Sally Hepworth
SALLY Hepworth’s latest novel, Darling Girls, hits the mark as she delves into the lives of three foster sisters who are caught up in the discovery of a body on the property of the house where they were raised.
Hepworth weaves the story of family, relationships and identity from the perspective of each protagonist, as well as a mystery character in a psychiatrist’s chair.
Each chapter, seen through the eyes of one character, delves into the idiosyncrasies and lives of each foster child when younger and in modern times as adults.
The foster mother, Miss Fairchild, is portrayed through the eyes of the girls, both as the mainstay of their needs as well as the manipulation they endure.
Hepworth is proficient at entwining the past and the present to allow the reader to have a bird’s-eye view of the whole story.
Precise, organised, energetic Jessica was the first to be housed at Wild Meadows.
Jessica’s world turned upside down after her mother died and Miss Fairchild took her in.
She was so lucky!
Daring, rugged, unafraid Norah had been hurled from house to house by the time she arrived in Wild Meadows.
Law did not relate to Jessica, as she moved to the beat of her own drum.
She was happy to protect herself however needed. And finally Alicia arrived at Wild Meadows – just for a short time until her guardian, her grandmother recovered in the hospital. All would be well!
But years down the track, the questions needed to be asked: Who does the body belong to and how did it end up under the house at Wild Meadows?
Could Miss Fairchild be trusted to be as decent as any person willing to house children in need?
And who is the person in the psychiatric chair?
Can the memory of the three girls be trusted to be correct?
This fast-paced thriller will have you turning the pages to discover secrets and hoping for the best for each of the young ladies.
Hepworth has a way of moulding your emotions and keeping you guessing.
Clues come together, but you will be awed by the ending.
Readers will have a keen interest in justice prevailing and the truth to be revealed.
Having read, and thoroughly enjoyed, all of Hepworth’s intriguing novels, I would rate this one 4.5 out of five and recommend it to anyone wanting to be intellectually entertained.
I struggled to put this one down at night and had it read in a few days.
Darling Girls is Hepworth’s ninth novel (with No.10 set to be out next year.) Her books are stand-alone novels that grab the attention of readers from the beginning. Hepworth shares her uncanny sense of wit on her Instagram page at @sallyhepworth.
