Sally Hepworth Books: Reading Order, Biography, and ADHD Story

There’s something quietly magnetic about an author who can turn family tensions into page-turners. Sally Hepworth has built a career doing exactly that, blending domestic drama with psychological suspense across nine novels. Her latest, Darling Girls, hit the New York Times bestseller list in 2024 (Goodreads, reader book platform), and her open conversations about living with ADHD have added a fresh layer to how readers understand her work. This guide covers her book order, biography, and the neurodiversity story that shapes her fiction.

Novels Published: 9 ·
New York Times Bestsellers: Multiple ·
Debut Novel: The Secrets of Midwives (2015) ·
Most Recent Book: Darling Girls (2024) ·
Nationality: Australian

Nine novels, one author, and a single thread running through all of them: family secrets with consequences.

What is Sally Hepworth’s most famous book?

Breakthrough Novel: The Secrets of Midwives

• Hepworth’s debut novel, The Secrets of Midwives, was published in February 2015 by St. Martin’s Press (Fantastic Fiction, bibliographic database).
• The book was also published in several European language markets, including France, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia (Fantastic Fiction).

Critical Acclaim and Reader Favorites

• The Good Sister is widely cited as her most popular book, winning the 2021 Davitt Award in the Adult Novel category (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).
• The novel also won the 2021 Booktopia Favourite Australian Book Award (Wikipedia).

The takeaway for readers is clear: award-winning work often aligns with popular reception, making this title a reliable starting point.

Does Sally Hepworth have ADHD?

Hepworth’s ADHD Diagnosis

• Sally Hepworth has publicly discussed her ADHD diagnosis in interviews and on her podcast (Apple Podcasts, podcast platform).
• She credits ADHD with influencing her narrative style — multiple threads and layered character perspectives may stem from a neurodivergent way of thinking.

Impact on Her Writing Career

• Hepworth’s openness about neurodiversity has added a new dimension to how readers interpret her characters’ behaviors and internal conflicts.
• She has spoken about how understanding her ADHD helped her harness her creative process rather than fight it.

The pattern in Hepworth’s openness is a bridge between authorial identity and narrative technique, offering a new lens for long-time readers to appreciate her craft.

In what order should I read Sally Hepworth books?

Publication Order

All of Hepworth’s novels are standalone stories, but reading in publication order reveals how her themes and style evolve.

• The Secrets of Midwives (2015) — Debut novel about three generations of midwives (BookSeriesInOrder, reading order tracker).
• The Things We Keep (2016) — A story about a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
• The Mother’s Promise (2017) — A mother-daughter bond tested by illness.
• The Family Next Door (2018) — Suburban secrets unravel on a single street.
• The Mother-in-Law (2019) — A death reveals decades of family tension.
• The Good Sister (2021) — Twin sisters with a dark dynamic.
• The Younger Wife (2021/2022 — regional variation) — A family gathers for a wedding with secrets.
• The Soulmate (2023) — A couple’s past threatens their present (Goodreads, reader book platform).
• Darling Girls (2024) — Two sisters face the fallout of a shared childhood (Audible, Amazon-owned audiobook platform).
• Mad Mabel (2026, forthcoming) — Already awarded before publication.

Recommended Reading Sequence

For readers who want to start with her strongest work first, begin with The Good Sister (2021) and then follow publication order to watch her craft deepen.

The implication for book clubs is a ready-made journey through the evolution of a significant voice in domestic suspense.

Is Sally Hepworth married?

Husband and Family Life

• Sally Hepworth is married to Mike Hepworth (Fantastic Fiction, bibliographic database).
• The couple has two children and lives in Melbourne, Australia.
• Hepworth has also lived in Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Canada before settling in Melbourne.

The pattern: Hepworth’s international moves — four countries before settling back in Australia — feed directly into the cultural displacement and relational tension that define her domestic thrillers. Her characters often feel like outsiders within their own families.

What is Sally Hepworth’s latest book?

Overview of Darling Girls

• Darling Girls was released in Australia in September 2023 and in North America in April 2024 (Audible, Amazon-owned audiobook platform).
• The novel is a psychological thriller about two sisters confronting their shared history.
• It became a New York Times bestseller.

Reception and Sales

• The book won a Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).
• Her next novel, Mad Mabel, has already won the General Fiction Book of the Year and Audio Book of the Year at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards.

This regional lag is a common frustration for international fans of Australian authors, but the anticipation often builds a stronger reader community.

“I always knew I was different, but I didn’t know why. When I got my ADHD diagnosis, everything clicked — the way I write, the way I think, the way I structure stories.”

— Sally Hepworth, speaking on her Apple Podcasts interview titled “The Moment Sally Hepworth Realised She Had ADHD” (Apple Podcasts, podcast platform)

“The Good Sister won the 2021 Davitt Award in the Adult Novel category, cementing Hepworth’s reputation in Australian crime writing.”

— Wikipedia, community encyclopedia (Wikipedia)

For Australian readers and fans of domestic suspense, the choice is clear: start with The Good Sister for a taste of what won awards, then read forward through publication order for the full arc of an author whose neurodivergent lens makes family secrets feel newly urgent. Ignore the regional release variations — pick whichever edition lands in your hands first.

Frequently asked questions