The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts is a dark, twisted mystery novel which will shock and mesmerise you. The characters are so deeply interconnected and I felt that their treatment was accurate, even though it will make some readers uncomfortable. The plot is one which takes you on a stop-start journey, building the tension slowly in some places then making you race through the next 50 pages all at once. The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts will be published by Bloomsbury Raven on 24th January, 2019 (my birthday)!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child abduction, references to child abuse, torture and real-life child murder cases

The story
The Flower Girls follows two interconnected plot lines. The first is the childhoods of Laurel and Rosie, the young girls arrested for the murder of a toddler. Laurel was charged and sent to prison, while Rosie was too young to stand trial or be convicted. 18 years later, Rosie, now Hazel, is staying at a hotel on New Year's Eve with her partner, Jonny and his daughter, Evie when a little girl goes missing. Hazel is scared that people will find out who she really is, so plans to leave the hotel. When people do find out, it is only a matter of time before her life becomes a nightmare of press hounds and publicity. Will the Greenstreet family ever discover what happened to their daughter?

Why this is a great mystery
The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts is a great novel because it is well-plotted, well paced and has some compelling characters. Clark-Platts knows exactly how to make a reader feel uncomfortable, and this will hit home for anybody who follows real-life murder cases, or has been around long enough to remember cases such as Jon Venables being on the news. I did have to sit down and grind through the first few chapters, as it starts off like any normal detective story. Once the book picks up, however, it is very fast-paced and unputdownable. 
Now, I will say that one reveal was a little predictable, but also makes for a more satisfying read of the character the earlier you figure it out. The second reveal, however was more shocking to me and felt it was a good add-on. Lots of people are commenting that it wasn't explained, but I thought that the explanation of just being evil was good enough, and rather realistic for many child murderers. I really enjoyed Hillier's ending, as I felt that it was akin to how many police feel when a case is 'closed' but something is just not quite right. Will she ever know the truth?
Clark-Platts has obviously researched this book extensively, and I always greatly respect that in any author. I adored all of the real-life case and name drops as it added to the validity of the story and made it feel at times that you were reading a true account in fiction-form.
Overall, The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts is a clever, dark and hypnotising mystery. I felt that the way she started it versus the way she ended this book is pretty genius, and you have to stick with it to understand the whole picture. I would recommend this book to lovers of unique crime fiction, standalone crime novels, true crime, mystery, thriller and serial killer thriller fiction. Thank you Bloomsbury Raven and NetGalley for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

*A quick note to the publishing team: this e-arc had many many typos and errors in it. I nearly stopped reading it a few times, as the lack of capital letters at the start of sentences made me think the sentence was running on. Please be mindful that we bloggers expect a few errors in proof copies, but that we need to be able to enjoy the experience of reading it. I would recommend only making ARCs available when they are ready to be read as a near-finished product.

This is how to do a chilling thriller well! The story of The Flower Girls - Laurel and Primrose - is a brutal and gripping tale of 2 young girls and how a shocking incident when they were 10 and 6 has shaped their lives, and the lives of those around them.

A 2 year old girl is found murdered, and The Flower Girls hit the headlines when Laurel, aged 10, is convicted of her murder, and her younger sister Rose is too young to face prosecution but has no recollection of just what happened that day. This book looks back at the story through their eyes, then and now, along with the perspectives of detectives, the family of the murdered young girl, and a writer who is caught up in the latest scandal to hit the headlines. Having these different viewpoints really helped me get a stronger feeling towards this story and the author did a wonderful job of putting doubts in your mind over a number of characters, and to what really happened back then and at the current time when another young girl goes missing from a hotel.

This story has obvious links to the horrific case of poor young Jamie Bulger, and I did find it quite unsettling at times with the similarities, but with this book it turned into a wider look at circumstances, the impact on the family who lost their child so brutally and to question the validity of what was believed to have happened then and now.

There were twists and turns galore throughout this book - I often thought I had events sussed out but then another doubt was raised and my mind was changed once more and that made for a more riveting read.

The Flower Girls are two sisters aged 10 and 6 who abducted and murdered a two year old girl. Laurel the 10 year old has been in custody for over 20 years but her younger sister Rosie was given a new identity and she and her parents were rehomed in a new location. None of the family have ever visited Laurel since which I found quite odd. The younger sister now called Hazel is spending New Year's Eve at a hotel when a 5 year old girl goes missing and suspicion falls on Hazel when she is recognised as one of the Flower Girls. The story then follows Hazel as she tries to come to terms with being in the public eye and Laurel who is hoping to be released from prison. The ending was quite surprising and maybe there will be a sequel to address some unresolved issues. I hope so.

Wow, what a totally absorbing, exciting story! Laurel and Primrose, the flower girls of the title are now L and Hazel, no longer the two little girls who were so vilified but still scarred by their past.

This is first class story telling, moving from the present to the past and back again as the decades are cleverly woven together to show their effect on those involved most directly by the death of a little girl. At first I found the descriptive prose a little over the top but as the story gathered pace I no longer noticed this as the characters took over and I just needed to keep on reading!

I was absolutely sure I had the whole thing worked out but while I got a few things correct the end totally threw me and was brilliantly done. I have a feeling that, even with hindsight, the clues would remain cleverly ambiguous and woven so tightly into the plot as to remain hidden.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and recommend it highly to lovers of psychological whodunits and disturbing family sagas.

The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts is a dark, disturbing psychological thriller that deals with a difficult subject, child murder.

It tells of the brutal murder of two-year-old Kirstie Swann, that shocked the country, especially as the suspects were only children themselves.

Laurel and Rosie Bowman, names ‘The Flower Girls’ by the media, were only ten and six years old.

Laurel, the elder girl, is put on trial and found guilty of murder, and has remained in prison, but her case is now up for a judicial review.

Rosie who was too young to be prosecuted moved away with her parents and they were given new identities to protect them from the public or media.

Many years later, Hazel (as Rosie is now known) is staying at a Devon hotel with her partner, Jonny and his daughter, Evie, when another young girl, Georgie goes missing. Hazel is so worried she will be blamed due to her past.



The story is told from a few different perspectives and you get a feel for how this case affected all those involved, from the ‘perpetrators’, the victims family and the police.

The police are also investigating the disappearance of Georgie and want to get to the truth before it’s too late. Hillier is a great character and I’d like to read more about her.

Some of this is a difficult read at times due to the sheer horror of the subject matter, but it’s not a ‘sensational’ read, it’s very calmly and sensitively done. It makes you think about the idea of guilt, how responsible a child can be for their actions, and of course retribution and revenge, but then in the story itself Alice Clark-Platts has the tension building slowly, gradually, more and more, until the marvellously, surprising and startling end. I loved this and can thoroughly recommend it....read it now before the spoilers !!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this

Everyone knows them, everyone knows their names. They are the Flower Girls, Lauren and Primrose “Rosie” Bowman and when they were still children, back in 1997, they did something so unforgivable that led one in prison and the other to change her identity, but nobody has ever forgotten or forgiven them.

Twenty-five years old Hazel Archer is spending New Year’s Eve and her birthday in a hotel on the coast of Devon with her boyfriend Jonny and his teenage daughter Evie, when a little girl disappears from the hotel they are staying. With the arrival of the police and the media, Hazel knows that her quiet and normal life will soon be over. Struggling author Max is also staying at that hotel in Devon, spending the Christmas holidays away from his family to finish his book. He knows that Hazel reminds him of someone and when he figures it out, he knows he has to be quick if he wants to write the story everyone wants to read. In the meantime, in London, lawyer Joanna has been fighting for justice for the murder of her niece for almost twenty years and she won’t stop until she gets it.

This is not an easy book to read. Even when it’s fictional, it’s not easy to read about a child being murdered and the author writes it in such a realistic way that it makes an uncomfortable, disturbing and thought-provoking read. The author also addresses other current and interesting themes: what is the right punishment for a crime, the way the public opinion can influence a court decision, the length the media could go to get a story, the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters and between sisters.

I can’t say I really liked any of the characters. I found them too self-absorbed, all with their own agenda, but they are vividly portrayed and well-developed and the female characters are all strong and realistic.

Written by an author I’ve just discovered, but that I plan to read more, and with a chilling and jaw-dropping ending, THE FLOWER GIRLS is a dark, twisty, and riveting novel that kept me completely glued to the page.

Never has a book been better classed by genre; this is a most thrilling read, full of suspense which - ultimately - chilled me to the bone!

Sisters Laurel and Rosie are inseparable. During the long hot summer they play mostly in the garden of their middle-class home, but with their mother's permission they are allowed to go to the nearby play park via the path from their back garden gate. One day in 1997 they return home, as usual, skipping and laughing - but they have left behind them absolute mayhem and a missing toddler.

This is a very skilfully written novel - easy to read and rather enjoyable! Intriguing, mesmerising and astounding - yet totally believable - this story is told both in present time and in the past with events drawing the reader in, making them really care about what happened then and what is happening now. I found myself really invested in all the characters, and I was absolutely certain I had it all worked out. Did I? Will you? Well, you have to read it yourself to find out but I have to admit to feeling more shocked than I have at any other book for a long, long time.

My thanks to publisher Bloomsbury for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

The Flower Girls is a fast and furious read, I enjoyed seeing the mystery come together and the characters were all very interesting. I found the language with it's pretty imagery and over the top similies verging on purple prose, which was really at variance with the subject matter and the frequent references to real life murderers. It felt like these real crimes were being trivialised by comparing them. I wasn't happy with the ending, I didn't understand various motives and unresolved stuff and it felt like I was being forced to take wild imaginative leaps to swallow half the book. I'm left with a lot of hows and whys. Overall, not a bad read if you're looking for something fluffy yet disturbing and probably highly enjoyable if you can suspend your disbelief.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this thought provoking book

was a bit worried about reading this one with the references to the jamie bulger killers and myra hindley and other names associated with kidnapping children with the aim of torturing them

but this story goes beyond that...we have two sisters who take a baby and torture her,they are both arrested and one is charged the other is deemed to young to know what she has done

so this young girl gets a new identity and lives her life until years later another young girl is abducted and from there this story flows...and what a story this author weaves

the last chapter is to die for...what an ending, what you suspect and what actually happens wow....

gonna keep an eye out for more of this authors works

The year is 1997 and sisters Laurel aged 10 and Primrose aged 6, dubbed The Flower Girls, abduct and murder 2 year old Kirstie Swann, one of them is tried and convicted of her murder and the other is given a new identity. Fast forward nineteen years and another child has gone missing, in the same place where one of the Flower Girls is on holiday, is she involved or is it just coincidence?

The story alternates between past and present throughout the book, following the lives of the two girls, what happened on that fateful day back in 1997 and what has happened to them since, the police still don't know the motive for Kirstie's death and are unsure they ever will, so when the second little girl goes missing and they uncover the true identity of Hazel Archer they wonder if history is repeating itself.

I thought this story was very similar to the James Bulger case that occurred in 1993 and is quite harrowing to read but the author told it extremely well and I read it in a couple of days due to the chapters being short and sharp. I couldn't take to any of the characters in this book but that didn't put me off reading it at all and I was intrigued throughout waiting to see how it would pan out.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the approval and I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

This book pulls you in from the beginning and doesn’t let go. I was desperate to know what happened to the little girl that was murdered nearly nineteen years ago, and had to wait until the last few chapters to find out.
Rosie and Laurel we’re both involved in the death of another child but only Laurel got put inside as Rosie was only six.
Laurel has tried to get parole several times but each time is refused due to the public opinion that she is still a danger to society.
We learn about Rosie and her new life as Hazel and begin with her on a break in Devon with her boyfriend and his daughter.
Whilst they’re there a small child goes missing and Hazel panics that the police will think she is involved. She confides in a man she meets and he persuades her to tell the Police about her past, before they find out.
It’s soon leaked to the journalists and her new identity crumbles around her.
I can’t say much more as I don’t want to spoil it but will say, this is a great mystery thriller which will keep you guessing.
Thanks to Raven books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Probably more like a 2.5 stars but ultimately, I didn’t enjoy this novel. It had a whole lot of promise, it just seemed to fail in execution. The synopsis was fascinating and does bring a lot of questions - why was Laurel criminally responsible at 10, but Rosie, at 6, wasnt? What happens if a six year old kills someone without anyone else there? What happens then?

The central mystery that brings Laurel and Rosie back into the public eye was ridiculous, it could have been amazing, but it petered out to just being a reason to bring back the “flower girls” to the present audience.

I didn’t like the characters, none of them were redeemable or likeable with the exception of Hillier, the police officer, who was criminally underused and utterly wasted in this novel.

This one just wasn’t for me.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of this intense psychological thriller.

In 1997 the country is shocked by the abduction and murder of toddler Kirstie Swann. Ten-year old Laurel is charged and convicted of her murder. Her six-year old sister Primrose was also implicated but was considered too young to be held responsible. Rose also has no memory of the events of that fateful afternoon.

The sisters are dubbed by the media as The Flower Girls. During and following Laurel’s trial Rose and her parents are harassed and threatened. They are subsequently given new identities.

Nineteen years later and Hazel Archer (formerly Rose) and her boyfriend are at a hotel in Devon to celebrate New Year. However, when a child goes missing from the hotel it is not long before The Flower Girls are in the headlines again.

The premise of this thriller naturally brings to mind the 1993 abduction and murder of James Bulger. This and other real-life cases are referenced; though in a non-sensationalist fashion. The narrative is mainly set in the present day with flashbacks to the events of 1997/98.

The novel deals with a deeply disturbing topic and I thought that Alice Clark-Platts handled this with insight and sensitivity. Her portrayal of the media feeding frenzy following the Devon case felt particularly accurate.

The characterisation is strong throughout and once started it was almost impossible to put down. I came to feel that in a sense both sisters were incarcerated. While Laurel is in a physical prison, Rosie/Hazel lives in isolation ever wary of being recognised and outed as one of the Flower Girls.

I expect this novel will remain on my mind for some time. I would advise avoiding spoilers as it takes some interesting directions.

I plan to read more of her work.

YOU'LL NEVER FORGET THE FLOWER GIRLS
The Flower Girls. Laurel and Primrose.
One convicted of murder, the other given a new identity.
Now, nineteen years later, another child has gone missing.
And The Flower Girls are about to hit the headlines all over again...
Hazel and her partner have gone away for the weekend to a hotel, when the alarm is raisd as a little girl has gone missing, she immediately begins to panic, as she was Primrose, one of the Flower Girls. What will happen when the police find out? Hazel is terrified that everyone will find out about her secret.
Following Hazel's story had me gripped the whole way through, the story was interwoven with flashbacks to the summer it all happened, just teasers whilst giving you just enough to keep you going. There were some great twists in the story, which I absolutely did not see coming, I love it when a thriller takes me by surprise.

I hate to say this but the book has really disappointed me. It took me a while to get into it as I felt the beginning a bit messy but once I got into it I liked it.
What was the ending all about? I feel let down with such an abrupt ending. It feels unfinished somehow.

I wanted to love this book - as a lot of people have - but truthfully, it just didn't work for me. I think if you really like completely plot based novels, you will love this novel. I can already imagine how great the adaptation could be. But, for me, there wasn't enough of the psychological aspect of the 'thriller' for it to be a real mystery - both of the big reveals I thought were the case at the beginning. When you are unlucky enough to guess the ending of a thriller, it really hampers your enjoyment of it. I also felt like the characterisation hinged too much on references to other famous British murderers - this seemed like a way of not building up characterisation within the novel itself and asking readers to fill in the gaps. Perhaps this will work for some, it will lend an atmosphere of terror to it, but for me it just fell a bit flat. This was a quick read and I read it mainly in one sitting, I just wish I'd been surprised by the ending.

__________
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Laurel and Primrose rise to fame when they abducted and killed a toddler in the 1990s. The story follows Laurel as she attempts parole and Primrose as

I'll start by saying this was an uncomfortable kind of read, with echoes of the Bulger murder. The story itself raises lots of interesting moral questions about the nature of evil and how crime and punishment should work.

This book was fast paced, interesting and you won't want to put it down.

My only criticism is that i wasn't keen on the ending which left me feeling chilled and uneasy.

Good and Evil – two sides of a single coin

When little Georgie Greenstreet goes missing from a hotel in Devon on New Year’s Eve, Hazel Archer is plunged back to a time when she was only six herself, and the world as she knew it disappeared.

Now spending New Year with her fiancé Jonny, she is dressing to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday when the hotel is thrown into an uproar by Georgie's disappearance. The last time she was seen was around three o’clock when she visited the hotel kitchen to play with some abandoned kittens which had been dumped on the beach. It is now dark, and a storm is beginning to rage making it impossible for the police and coastguard to continue searching. Hopes of the child being found alive begin to fade.

Next morning the storm has done its worst, and the hotel is virtually snowed in. Even though Hazel is determined to leave as she fears her past will be exposed and that she will be blamed for hurting Georgie. She is too late; a fellow guest has identified her, and he persuades her to speak to the police.

So, opens Pandora’s box and Hazel is caught like a rabbit in the headlights. Once the guests can leave Hazel returns to her flat in London, but the media are now involved, and her life spirals out of control.

This is a fast-paced crime thriller with just enough psychological tension to make it interesting. As Hazel is forced to confront her past and to re-establish contact with her older sister, Laurel, the suspense builds. This and the determination of Detective Constable Lorna Hillier to discover the truth makes for a gripping read.

I wish I had found the ending more of a surprise, but overall an intriguing and unusual read.


Pashtpaws


Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A great thriller following two sisters who committed a horrific murder when they were small children.
Told from multiple POV and focusing equally on the past murder, the current mystery and the relationship between the two sisters.
This book was full of surprises. The storyline took me to unexpected places, with constant twists and turns.
The writing flowed brilliantly and it was easy to fly through.

A chilling and disturbing read about 2 young sisters who abduct and murder a toddler in 1997, dubbed the flower girls, the older sister Lauren is charged with the murder but the younger one Primrose is too young to be charged and is given a new life with a new identity.

19 yrs later a young girl goes missing at a hotel where the younger sister is staying, when the police discover that Primrose is at the hotel she becomes the main suspect and the sisters hit the headlines again.

This psychological thriller will stay with you long after you’ve finished it, some parts are uncomfortable reading but overall it’s a compelling and thought provoking story.