Darling Girls

February 5, 2024
Australia’s broken foster care system comes into focus through the eyes of three women who’ve endured it in this bleak domestic thriller from bestseller Hepworth (The Soulmate). Jessica Lovat is a professional home organizer with obsessive tendencies; Norah Anderson takes other people’s employment competency tests for money and struggles with anger issues; and social worker Alicia Connelly’s low self-esteem keeps her locked away from the world. Though not blood-related, the trio call themselves “sisters” since living together at Wild Meadows Farm under the watch of their abusive foster mother, Holly Fairchild. Now, 25 years later, Wild Meadows has been sold, leading to the discovery of human remains buried under the farmhouse, and authorities bring Jessica, Norah, and Alicia from Melbourne to the crime scene in Port Agatha for questioning. Hepworth toggles viewpoints and timelines, revealing how each girl was placed at Wild Meadows and showcasing Holly’s erratic—possibly even murderous—behavior. While Hepworth’s vivid prose helps to maintain the plot’s momentum, the unrelenting descriptions of child abuse grow grim and tiresome, and the payoff to the core mystery is deflating. Hepworth has done much better in the past. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative.

May 31, 2024

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia came to Wild Meadows from different backgrounds and for different reasons, but the bond they formed in the foster home would last a lifetime. At the hands of their capricious caretaker, Miss Fairchild, they endured endless emotional and physical abuse, as well as the pressure of protecting the younger girls there. Though they developed different, sometimes destructive ways of coping, they always had each other. Decades later, when a child's body is discovered during excavations at Wild Meadows, they are forced to return and face the fact that secrets aren't the only thing buried there. Hepworth (The Soulmate) presents intricate, intense psychological suspense about unhealthy attachments, addiction, and abuse. Narrator Jessica Clarke gives an expressive performance that will immerse listeners in this eerie Australian novel. Her emotive and engaging presentation, paired with the descriptive, disturbing narrative, will leave listeners shaken. VERDICT This audio will appeal to listeners seeking a riveting suspense teeming with twists, a bleak story of sisterhood, secrets, and survival. Recommended for fans of Lucinda Berry, Lisa Jewell, and Jamie Day.--Lauren Hackert

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