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A review by kathywadolowski
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Sorry to say that this book was BORING.
Sometimes parallel timelines work really well in stories like this.... but here, I groaned every time we jumped back into the dreariness of the past. Once all three of the titular darling girls arrived at Miss Fairchild's house, we just kind of suffered along with them. The abuse was of course tense and uncomfortable to read, and also became quite redundant. I thought about skipping through these chapters just to move past them more quickly, as they didn't really seem to move the plot forward after a while anyway.
The current timeline featuring Jessica, Norah, and Alicia was much more interesting. I honestly found myself wishing that the entire book was set in the present with us just learning details about their pasts as we went, and spending our time delving deeper into their adult problems and the messy ways in which they did and didn't handle them. Maybe that wouldn't have given enough depth to their relationships and dependence on each other... but the past pov really made the book a drag.
And now for the most important part: the final reveal(s). Unfortunately, the end kind of fell flat for me. I've seen a lot of readers expressing shock at the final chapter, but in my opinion the story just kind of sputtered to a close after we found out thatthe body they'd discovered was not foster child Amy. Because we'd been in Miss Fairchild's head as well during her therapy sessions, it was pretty obvious before we reached the end that she was a liar and a manipulator; so at the revelation that she'd made up her own abuse and actually been the one to murder her sister (NOT her daughter), I just kind of shrugged? Like we knew not to sympathize with Miss Fairchild, so I didn't?!?! So then when her final deception was revealed I wasn't taken aback at all. So I don't know, even though I didn't piece everything together perfectly, it felt quite obvious that Miss Fairchild's story was not the actual reveal it was made out to be.
It's not the worst thriller I've read, but I think it could've been a better story with higher stakes if it focused more on the present timeline.
Sometimes parallel timelines work really well in stories like this.... but here, I groaned every time we jumped back into the dreariness of the past. Once all three of the titular darling girls arrived at Miss Fairchild's house, we just kind of suffered along with them. The abuse was of course tense and uncomfortable to read, and also became quite redundant. I thought about skipping through these chapters just to move past them more quickly, as they didn't really seem to move the plot forward after a while anyway.
The current timeline featuring Jessica, Norah, and Alicia was much more interesting. I honestly found myself wishing that the entire book was set in the present with us just learning details about their pasts as we went, and spending our time delving deeper into their adult problems and the messy ways in which they did and didn't handle them. Maybe that wouldn't have given enough depth to their relationships and dependence on each other... but the past pov really made the book a drag.
And now for the most important part: the final reveal(s). Unfortunately, the end kind of fell flat for me. I've seen a lot of readers expressing shock at the final chapter, but in my opinion the story just kind of sputtered to a close after we found out that
It's not the worst thriller I've read, but I think it could've been a better story with higher stakes if it focused more on the present timeline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Drug abuse