Born in 1980, Sally Hepworth is a contemporary Australian novelist who specializes in psychological thrillers that often reveal the darker side of family dynamics. Her writing career began in 2014 with her novel The Secrets of Midwives, which follows the troubles of a third-generation midwife who feels compelled to keep the circumstances of her own pregnancy a secret; her predicament echoes events in her grandmother’s life and sparks an exploration of multigenerational trauma.

Over the years, Hepworth’s novels have gained international recognition. The Mother-in-Law was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Mystery & Thriller in 2019. The Good Sister, which became a New York Times bestseller and was named Book of the Month by Apple Books, follows the struggles of two twin sisters, Rose and Fern. When Rose cannot conceive a child, Fern goes to extraordinary lengths to provide her with one. Hepworth’s works have become well-known for creating novel family situations and analyzing darker topics such as abuse and generational trauma. While her popular novel The Mother-in-Law conforms to this pattern and debuted at #1 on the Australian fiction charts, Darling Girls is her most recent novel and focuses on the lives and traumatic pasts of a range of women.