Cover Image: The Flower Girls

The Flower Girls

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Member Reviews

This was a good missing child story. An original take on an overused concept (twins) and kept me reading. However I felt the ending was a little far fetched for me. It's just my personal preference though.

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An uncomfortable subject matter and the story was somewhat predictable but an addictive read none the less. The ending left me a little stunned.

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Thank you Netgalley for my copy of The Flower Girls by Alice Clark - Platts. This is the very twisted tale of sisters Laurel and Primrose. This is the most chilling book I have read in a long time, it is so cleverly written. In fact this book is an uncomfortable and disturbing read and the author has done a great job of tackling the theme of child abduction.
Back to Laural and Primrose (Rosie) , at he tender age of 10 and 6 they abduct and kill a 2 year old toddler. The elder sister is charged with the crime and the younger sister is given a new identity and able to carry on with her life. As you can imagine this is a completely cruel and unthinkable crime, the media soon pick up the story and the girls are dubbed The Flower Girls. Fast forward 19 years and another young girl goes missing whilst staying at the same hotel as Rosie. Will her true identity be uncovered? The investigation kicks off a chain of events where Rosie wants to see her incarcerated sister who she hasn't seen since childhood. Both of the sisters are very unlikable characters and when you read about them and their actions you get a chill down your spine. The lies start to unfold and pieces of he truth start to fit together about what actually happened all those years ago. Highly recommended read.

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I raced through this book, it did feel like when you’re driving and there’s been an accident you know you shouldn’t look but can’t help yourself.
This had a grisly horrific premise and one that echoed a true story but had such an ending to send shivers down your spine.
Probably not the best in depth character building book, there seemed to be a lot of characters but all quite two dimensional no one to really root for nor truly hate but I found it to be good to read quickly and make you think (of your worst nightmare).
The main police officer felt as though there was potential to have them return in another book but I hope that she becomes a more complex persona with her own story and background.

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This was absolutely chilling. Three girls went out to play and only two came back. Lauren and Primrose commit the unthinkable and take a two year ol'd's life and they were caught, The punishment not the same for both as Lauren (10) was tried as an adult and found guilty of murder, her sister Rosie (6) was too young and given a second chance. A new identity and new life as Hazel. Hazel moves away with her family leaving Laurel behind, refusing to acknowledge she exists.
Twenty years later Laurel is fighting for her chance at a second chance, like the one her sister got. But the victims family are still fighting for their daughter and don't want a monster like Laurel on the street. Meanwhile Hazel is living her gift, her second chance when her and her boyfriend Jonny find themselves on holiday when five year old Georgie goes missing. Things unravel before Hazel's eyes and her past comes back to haunt her as once again she find herself s suspect in another murder. Do people change? Once a monster, always a monster? If she finally got her chance to tell her tale, what exactly would that be?
This stomach churning roller coaster will have you guessing right until the end and even then the author has one last shock for you in store.

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A brilliant read, very cleverly put together and the ending ... chilling!! We get flashbacks from the past alongside the modern day story and this is pitched just right for throwing doubt on what's happening in the present. Loved the fact that the flashbacks weren't always linear, which really added to the suspense. It's definitely one that keeps you guessing right the way through. I can't wait for Alice Clark-Platts to bring something new out on the strength of this!

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Did she or didn't she? The Flower Girls keeps you wondering which of the sisters is actually responsible for the hideous crime that was committed when they were very young. Most of the time Clark-Platts has you convinced the sister who is free could not have murdered the toddler when she was such a young child herself - moreover, why would the imprisoned sister take the blame for all those years if she was innocent?
However the disappearance of another young child many years later brings into doubt the innocence of the sister not in prison as she was in the vicinity. Is she responsible for this disappearance and could it mean her sister was not the original perpetrator after all?
Clark-Platts cleverly plays off the sisters against each other, meaning this is not a straightforward detective mystery but also delves into the characters and psyches of the two main characters and, increasingly, their mother.
Towards the end the reader learns the truth about the first murder but is intriguingly left in some doubt about the second and the outcome for the reader? - Satisfaction in knowing what happened in the past but also a feeling of great frustration.


Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Great book. Totally gripping, would definitely recommend this title and look forward to reading more by this author

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A good read. You just know that the tale is going to be far more twisted than it first appears. The only downside was that I felt sure of the outcome from the beginning

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gripping story, with a great twist at the end. intense psychologic thriller where your emotions and views keep changing theought the book. a real page turner

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Well! This buddy read was a rollercoaster and a half. This book I think I can safely say knocked us for six! And when people say you need to go into a story in the dark you truly do!!

Between us, we had guessed one of the storylines but then we all began to doubt ourselves..could it be..really? And then the rug was pulled so hard out from under my feet I got a bump on my head! I sat there with my jaw dropped for ages! I mean I went straight into our chat and said two. Words Holy F#*k and the response was all the same hell yes!

The Flower Girls, the (not so) innocent girls, Laurel and Primrose aka Rosie, made famous due to the murder of Kristie Swann. Remembrance of the James Bulger horror was felt when reading this, two older children leading away a younger one who didn’t have the logic to understand. It leaves you feeling cold and shocked, it is so harrowing that you can’t believe you are reading it, but you don’t know the whole truth yet. Move forward, Laurel is in prison and Rosie under a new identity with her partner and his daughter are away for her birthday. Then lightning strikes again and a little girl goes missing. We learn the past over a series of chapters throughout the book, while the present day is the main focus.

The tempo in this book is high. With Rosie adjusting to life, being in the limelight. Max, the author, wanting to write her story. Laurel, trying to get by every day in prison. Uncle Toby who is the lawyer representing Laurel, her beacon of hope. Joanna Swann, the aunt to Kristie wanting justice. Finally, Hillier, the cop investigating the missing girl case.

The book wove all the threads of the storylines intrinsically and it leaves you questioning the motives and actions of every single character. It led me down a few different garden paths for sure.

Although I can not tell you the ending, all I will say, it is one of the most chilling endings I have read ever since Do No Harm by LV Hay. It shocked me and it has given me a book hangover. I’ve already started recommending this to everyone. It is the sort of the book that will suck you in and take everything from you until it’s done and will spit you out. Leaving you questioning what the hell just happened!

As a mother, it makes for an uncomfortable read especially when I’m wondering if my little lady can go to the park by herself with friends. It’s only out my back garden but now I’m reconsidering!!

I love a book that can surprise me and keep me on the edge of my seat, desperate to find out what lurks in the dark, and the Flower girls achieve this with bells on!

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Laurel and Primrose were children when Laurel (10) was convicted of the murder of 2-year-old Kirstie Swann, Primrose (6) was given a new identity, and the Flower Girls were born. Nineteen years later, another child has gone missing from the same hotel that Hazel (aka, Primrose) is staying at. Her true identity discovered, Hazel in drawn into an investigation that will turn her life upside down and bring her back into contact with her murderous sister…

I enjoyed the majority of this book immensely. It was intriguing, well-written and very engaging. The story is unsettling and believable… Until the ‘twist’. It was predictable and didn’t really fit with how the characters are presented throughout the rest of the book. It was obvious from the very beginning what the big twist was going to be but, when it finally happened, I found that I didn’t really believe it. It’s as though the author decided what she wanted the plot to be and never properly worked out the kinks to make the climax really fit with the body of the story.

The characters were pretty good. The sisters in particular were quite complex and realistic characters, with both good and obviously bad (they murdered a baby, after all) aspects to their personalities. It was interesting to see in the characterisation how their different treatment after the event effected their lives in such profound ways.

Negative points aside, around 90% of this book was excellent and I was completely hooked. It’s just a shame that the ending was so disappointing.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Alice Clark-Platts: The Flower Girls


Before reading The Flower Girls I had been unaware of Alice Clark-Platts, but I will definitely look out for her now! The Flower Girls has an immensely intriguing plot, and the writing took my breath away.  I enjoyed reading this novel as a buddy read with Zoe, Kerry, Gemma and Robyn and it sparked many discussions as we marvelled at the tension the author has created and tried to answer the numerous questions about what had happened. I wanted to carry on reading at the end of each section instead of waiting until the next day.

The Flower Girls has two timelines. It is set partly in the present day, where learn about the abduction of Georgie Greenstreet, and partly in 1997, where we learn more about the events that earned Laurel and Primrose their infamy. This heightens the already brimming tension and gives the reader two cases to think about.

The ending of The Flower Girls is one of the most unexpected endings to a book I have ever read. I enjoy books that do not tie up the ends neatly and make you think and this is definitely one of those!

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A sinister, haunting story of a murder of a 2 year old child, I was drawn into this book and found it difficult to put down.

Well written, I didn't want to enjoy this book with its difficult subject matter but I was gripped from the start. Very dark and disturbing, with twists and turns throughout and a shocking ending which I didn't see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The story is told through multiple perspectives and across a duel timeline and uses short chapters to keep the pace very brisk to the point where the plot just races by in a flash.

We being the main plot on New Year's eve in a Devonshire hotel.  A little girl, Georgia, is reported missing.  Parents are frantic but cagey, the cook is known to the police and Hazel is one half of a murderous duo (Rosie/Hazel and Laurel) nicknamed The Flower Girls - known for killing a toddler, Kirstie,  when they were aged 10 and 6.  With a new identity, Hazel becomes terrified of being blamed and has to get used to a new life where everyone knows her real identity despite having no memory of what happened. 

Alongside the search for Georgia and Hazel's own perspectives, we get snippets of Laurel's life.  Laurel has been in jail since she was 10 years old as she was old enough to go to trial for the murder of Kirstie and her sister Rosie wasn't.  Laurel has never defended herself or spoke about that day.  

Just as a cliffhanger appears, the timeline changes to that fateful day when baby Kirstie was brutally murdered and each chapter tempts us with tiny morsels of what happened but never enough to fully complete the picture.     

This book times it's perspective and timeline changes so well - leaving you gasping and desperate to read on to find out what happens next.  With every chapter you change your mind about what is going on - looking for any subtle hints throughout the narrative to the point where you start to invent things that aren't necessarily there.  every chapter leaves the reader with a chill but a determination to read on.  The build up to the end is fast and furious and when you get there - it will blow your mind.

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Very unexpected twist that I absolutely did not see coming. I really thought the main characters were completely innocent and fell for it all the way through the book. Clever writing and very interesting reading the story unfurl. Would recommend.

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I really enjoyed this dark thriller, it was a real page turner, I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Alice Clark-Platts for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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The Flower Girls is certainly a book I won’t forget in a hurry, filled with suspense and a few twists that you might not expect, it is a compulsive read and even though its subject matter is difficult and won’t be for everyone I would really recommend it.

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The Flower Girls is a novel that largely centers around Hazel, a woman with a haunting past. Even if she can’t remember anything of it she’ll never be able to leave her past behind. She was only 6 years old when her sister – only 10 herself at the time – murdered a little girl and although Hazel received this new identity there’s always that fear that she might be recognised. And now Georgie, a little girl, is missing and she was in the vicinity… even after almost 20 years she knows it’s only a matter of time before she’ll find herself in the eye of a media storm again.

The plotline mainly highlights the impact of such a crime through the eyes of several people, each with their own personal angle. There’s a writer Max, a policewoman, and also a victim’s rights advocate who also happens to be the aunt of Kirstie, the murdered girl in 1997. The aunt, Joanna, really resonated with me and I enjoyed those entries most of all. She wants her niece’s killer to stay in jail forever, never getting out on parole, she doesn’t believe in rehabilitation.

I enjoyed reading the different angles but I missed hearing from the killer herself for most of the novel, what are her thoughts now, looking back on the events and why did she do it, what did she think then? The novel isn’t really about what happened exactly almost 20 years before, but I still kept wondering about what had happened for 90% of the novel and it’s only in the last pages that I finally received some answers about that eventful day, be it still quite briefly. I wanted to find a way to understand her reasoning or what made her do this in the first place so that I could take my own stand in this but I didn’t get to hear much of her for most of the novel. It didn’t make it any easier to find absolution. I didn’t hear the motive in both cases so I guess I have to assume it’s a matter of nature and of a person born evil. I know a lot of killers are just born bad but it didn’t feel as satisfying as I wanted it to be because I didn’t know all the facts. Of course in real life we don’t always get these answers as an outsider either and only learn what we know from reading the paper. Yet I still wonder if it would change my feelings. If this novel is anything, it’s certainly making you stand still and really think it through.

The Flower Girls definitely felt more psychological than thriller, maybe I’d even go so far as to call it an interesting study. It’s a novel that sets you up to think about accountability at a young age among other things, and how it can mark a person for the rest of their live. It makes you think about the real cases, what sort of lives the child killers lead now and if they’re also still looking over their shoulder.

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I was so engrossed with this book that I devoured it in one sitting. This was chilling as this could have been a true story. Unfortunately children murdering another child has happened in real life!!

When the flower girls Rosie and Laurel were aged 6 and 10, they were playing in the park and take a toddler called Kirstie down to the canal, where they commit a heinous crime.

One sister goes to prison whilst the other one is given a new identity. Hazel is staying at a seaside hotel with her partner Jonny and his teenage daughter Evie when a child goes missing, straight away Hazel is the chief suspect but she has always denied hurting Kirstie. Will she ever be free from her past?

This is a twisted story. I have never really thought about the criminal’s family and how they would be affected and judged by the public and the press. Worse of course as they were children when they committed the crime, where did this evilness come from, nature or nurture?

A fascinating book that’s chilling but very thought provoking, the ending has stayed with me long after finishing this story.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

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