Just finished "Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth and picked up "Mad Mabel" this afternoon which I have been awaiting anxiously. Another to add to my new "obsession" with Sally H. What a great read. Have to admit I had to read the summary as I was a bit confused about one of the twists. Oh, boy!

This is *Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth* - New York Times bestselling author of _The Soulmate_ and the book you just had, _Mad Mabel_.

Published *April 2024*, winner of the *Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel 2024*.

Here is a summary in English:

*Tagline:* _Revenge is sweet..._

*The Setting:*

*Wild Meadows Farm* in the small town of *Port Agatha, Australia*. From the outside it looks idyllic - a lovely farmhouse, lovely grounds, a swimming pool.

*The Three Sisters - Not by Blood, but by Trauma:*

*Jessica, Norah, and Alicia* are foster sisters. They were all rescued from family tragedies as little girls and placed with foster mother *Miss Holly Fairchild*.

Miss Fairchild presents to the world, and to social workers, as a loving, saintly woman who saves girls.

Behind closed doors, she is monstrous. She is domineering, unpredictable, cruel. She starves them, forces them to work, uses psychological punishments, and enforces a terrifying cleaning schedule. The farm is a prison.