Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are as close as biological sisters. Twenty-five years ago, they shared a foster home with the seemingly perfect Miss Fairchild. From the outside, their life as Miss Fairchild’s Darling Girlslooked happy. However, behind her public facade, Miss Fairchild was a narcissist with a mean streak. The trauma of those times is just beginning to dissipate when a decayed body is found buried under their old foster home. Can Jessica, Norah and Alicia shed some light on the bones? Was Miss Fairchild responsible? Or was one of the sisters at fault?
I just couldn’t stop reading this book! It is the ultimate compulsive thriller. Though I did see the end coming, I still wanted to read all the details leading up to the shocking twist at the conclusion. Plus, I wanted to find out how the sisters reacted. Darling Girls provided all of the answers, which is great. I hate it when a book leaves threads hanging. This book, luckily, knits up all the plot points into a tidy scarf.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a compelling thriller with a great mystery at its heart. It does have quite a few trigger warnings though so be cautious if you have lived through a troubled childhood. Having worked in child protection for several years, stories like this are distressingly familiar. Unfortunately, foster care money sometimes entices the wrong type of people to apply. That being said, few foster parents are as bad as Miss Fairchild.
With an unputdownable plot, well-fleshed out characters, and two mysteries at its heart, Darling Girls receives 5 stars from me!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.