Book ~ "Darling Girls" (2024) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls, they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

When Jessica was five, she was fostered by Miss Fairchild, who doted on her. Five years later Miss Fairchild fosters Norah and then Alicia and Jessica doesn't get the same loving attention she used to. But as Miss Fairchild begins to be cruel to the girls and trying to play them off against each other, Jessica, Norah and Alicia bond as sisters. They eventually were able to break free of Miss Fairchild. They age out of foster care and, though each has their own issues, they remain close.

Twenty-five years later, Miss Fairchild has sold her house and when it is being demolished, the body of a child is found. Jessica, Norah and Alicia are contacted by the police and questioned. They remember young children being brought into the house and disappearing when they lived with Miss Fairchild, specifically one named Amy ... is this one of them.

I've read a few books by this author and I thought it was just okay. It's written in first person perspective in the voice of the patient of a psychiatrist (these parts are labeled) and third person perspective as the story unfolds. It was a depressing read and some may find this story upsetting as it deals with child abuse. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Solemate" (2022) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ Picture a lovely cottage on a cliff, with sloping lawns, walking paths and beautiful flowers. It’s Gabe and Pippa Gerard’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Over the past several months, Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge.

Until one day, he doesn’t. When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral. Did the victim jump? Was she pushed? And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate ... lie? As the perfect façade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel. Because sometimes, the most convincing lies are the ones we tell ourselves.

Pippa and Gabe had recently bought a cottage that sits next to a cliff and thought they'd found their dream home for them and their young daughters. Then they realized that people used the cliff as a spot to jump off and commit suicide. So they kept an eye on the cliff. When they would see looking like they are contemplating suicide at the cliff, Gabe would rush out and talk them down. He became famous and respected locally for doing this. One woman wasn't so lucky. Gabe ran out and talked to her and then she was flying over the cliff. The police investigate. Pippa realizes that the woman wasn't a stranger to either of them and starts to wonder if the woman truly jumped or was pushed (and why).

I've read a few books by this author and wasn't all that crazy about it. There was so much going on ... infidelity, money laundering, mental illnesses and more. And with each thing (everything is revealed slowly), it kept getting more unrealistic to me. It's written in first person perspective in Pippa and Amanda's (the dead woman who went over the cliff) voices (the chapters are labeled). As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Family Next Door" (2018) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It's the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours and children play in the street.

Isabelle Heatherington doesn't fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers.

But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange's compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won't let her sweet gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park - and returned home without her.

As their obsession with their new neighbour grows, the secrets of these three women begin to spread - and they'll soon find out that when you look at something too closely, you see things you never wanted to see.

Ange, Fran and Essie are moms with young children who live in the family-oriented suburb of Pleasant Court. Outwardly the mothers are neighbourly but each has issues they are hiding. Then they are distracted when Isabelle moves into the neighbourhood ... why would a single rumored-to-be-a-lesbian rent a house there? Each wants to find out more about her but Essie becomes especially obsessed.

This is the third book I've read by this author ... though I enjoyed the other two, I wasn't crazy about this one. I didn't like Ange, Fran or Essie so didn't care what happened with or to them. The book plodded along and then the twist happened around the 80% mark. I knew something had to be coming ... why else did Isabelle suddenly appear in their neighbourhood? And it was an unrealistic and ridiculous twist and I thought, "Seriously?!" Up until this point, there were no indications so it was a shock and I wasn't buying it. And everything got happily resolved at the end. No way! It's written in third person perspective and as a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Mother-in-Law" (2019) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ From the moment Lucy met her husband's mother, Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite and properly friendly but Lucy knew that she was not what Diana envisioned. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice who helped female refugees assimilate to their new country. Diana was happily married to Tom and lived in wedded bliss for decades. Lucy wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was five years ago.

Now Diana has been found dead, a suicide note near her body. Diana claims that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer.

But the autopsy finds no cancer.

The autopsy does find traces of poison and suffocation.

Who could possibly want Diana dead?

Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her adult children and their spouses?

Lucy's mother had passed away when she was young so when she started dating Ollie, she was looking forward to forming a bond with Diana, his mother. Tom, Ollie's dad, was friendly and welcoming but Diana was cold. Even after Lucy and Ollie got married and started having children, Diana never warmed up to Lucy (or anyone else except for Tom).

When Diana is found of an apparent suicide, everyone is shocked. The police have to investigate and as they do, they discover Diana's death was suspicious. Though a suicide poison was found near her body, she had none in her system. She had told her children she had cancer when it's discovered during the autopsy that she didn't. Her two children assumed they would inherit her vast wealth when she passed away but she had changed her will shortly before she passed away.

I liked this story and the writing style. It's written in first person perspective in Lucy and Diana's voices (the chapters are labeled). The timeline jumps back and forth from the past (from when Diana was a teenager) to present day (the chapters are labeled). If it was murder, there were lots of possibilities of who could have dunnit. As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "The Things We Keep" (2016) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one other resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke. 

When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them.

Anna was a paramedic and in her late 30s when she started having symptoms of early stages of Alzheimer's. Their mother had had Alzheimer's so she knows what's to come. She puts her affairs in her twin brother, Jack's hands and chooses to move into Rosalind House, a seniors assisted living facility. Because it's a seniors facility, everyone is elderly except Anna and Luke, a fella Anna's age with similar symptoms to hers. Anna and Luke are drawn to each other, even while their memories deteriorate.

Eve is a single mother with a young daughter named Clementine whose husband left them with a scandal. They have lost everything and have to start over so Eve gets a job as a cook at Rosalind House. She and Anna become sort of friends (though she has to reintroduce herself to Anna all the time). Jack doesn't approve of Anna's and Luke's friendship/relationship and does what he can to keep them apart. Since Anna and Luke probably don't have a lot of time left mentally and physically, Eve, because she has lost so much, feels they should be able to enjoy what they have while they can and does what she can to ensure they do.

Despite the subject matter, I enjoyed this story. It's written in first person perspective in Anna, Eve and Clementine's voices (the chapters are labeled). I've never known anyone with Alzheimer's so it was interesting to read what it is like both from the mindset of Anna suffering from it (when it was in her voice) and those around her. The timeline jumps around from about a year and a half ago when Anna is first admitted to Rosalind House to present day as the disease has progressed (the chapters are labeled). As a head's up, there is some swearing.