There are several mysteries in Sally Hepworth’s new novel, “Darling Girls.” The first, and the vehicle she uses to bring the main characters back to their childhood foster home of nightmares, is the bones found buried under the large farmhouse where they lived. Holly Fairchild, Miss Fairchild to the three sisters, took in foster children. It was decades later, when she sold the home and it was demolished, that the bones were found.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are the three foster children who return to the site of the house together. Because while there are no blood ties between the girls, women now, they are as close as—or even closer than—real sisters because of the shared trauma they endured. Miss Fairchild seemed a lovely lady, pretty, charming, and openly affectionate on the rare occasions there were others present. But once they were alone, the “pretty” mask came off, and what was underneath was the stuff of nightmares.

Jessica suffered the most from the abuse and cruelty because at first Miss Fairchild was loving and kind. She insisted Jessica call her Mummy. She spoiled Jessica, who slept with her and didn’t leave her side at all. But when Jessica started school and made friends, Miss Fairchild changed. She turned into a monster, not allowing Jessica to do anything outside of school, withholding food, demanding that Jessica clean the already immaculate house. She controlled every moment of Jessica’s time.

When first one girl, then another arrived, Miss Fairchild was treated to additional girls to torture. Her methods were diabolically clever, and the details sound rather benign. But the manner in which Hepworth describes them are chilling. The only bright spot was that they had each other—they weren’t alone. When they finally join forces to free themselves from Miss Fairchild’s cruelty, their lives have already been changed by the cruelty that was inflicted on them by their monstrous foster mother.

Now, while they are outwardly successful, each of the women has a personality flaw that inhibits the three of them from seeking happiness and contentment. While they work and support themselves, they are living half-lives. Jessica is married, but her relationship with her sisters takes precedence over her marriage to a very nice man, and their marriage suffers. Norah still has huge anger management problems and has been arrested multiple times for assault. Alicia is unable to think that she is worthy of love, so she lives alone.

As we expect from Hepworth, the novel is perfectly plotted and we learn about the women from chapters labeled with the sister from whose point of view that chapter is told, both in the past and present. But there are also mysterious conversations that someone—we don’t know who—is having with a therapist. Through those cryptic conversations, we learn more about the motives and background of Miss Fairchild and Wild Meadows Farm, the place where the story is mostly set.

But even as we think we understand what has happened, and why, Hepworth is not done with the surprises as she deftly flips the rug over to show us that what we thought we were seeing is not the truth at all, but a cleverly constructed tale to entertain. It’s really a brilliant ending, but only because of the superb plotting and pacing of the whole of the book that precedes it.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.