This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

This was a good story, but for me, it didn't live quite up to the expectations I had of it. But I'm sure others may disagree!

My Review:
What a fantastic read this was!!!!! This is not my first rodeo with this author and it certainly will not be my last. I’ve read most of her books and loved them all. I do have to say that this one was not my favorite book by this author but this was also the first book she ever written so that didn’t surprise me. It was a bit slow at the beginning which made it hard to get into at first. But I do want to say that it really picked up by the middle and I loved it after that. Once it picked up I really got into the story line along with all the characters. I felt like I was right there with all the characters living this nightmare with them. That ending was a heart attack waiting to happen. It almost shocked me to death. I could’ve believe it and was so happy that it was not me in that nightmare of a situation. I will definitely be reading more of this authors books.

Lastly, the characters, plot, and the ending of this book made this an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend this book and happily give it 4 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is a great read and a well-detailed plot that kept me engaged from the very start. I really liked the well-thought-out characters and found them to be believable. I cannot wait to read what the author publishes next.

This book was a little too straightforward for me. It seemed very slow to get started then a bit too predictable throughout.

A book that is part of #busting my backlist.

I was really looking forward to this. The premise sounded ‘right up my street’. Alas, it didn’t meet my expectations of a thriller.
It was interesting, well written, fair plot but it really didn’t move an emotion one way or another.

Each girl had an Orchid on her arm relating to a promise they made some time ago.

Because I liked the style of the writing I’d certainly give this author another try.

EXCERPT: I rip the takeaway menus off the cork noticeboard on the wall to make space for a Grace collage. The dark images from outside her flat and the light ones from the brightly lit department store. There's room for plenty more.

I wonder what she'll think of my photos. But my collection isn't ready yet. I want to win her over first before I surprise her with my work and she sees how good it is. I thought she might be in touch after seeing me this morning, but my phone stays silent. I'll give her a bit more time and if I don't hear from her I'll send another photo to stop her forgetting me. The photo board looks good on the wall, makes the flat look more like home. Grace's eyes follow me around the room, warming me inside. The adult Grace has taken over from the teenager who used to live in my head, whose face I was afraid of forgetting. My favourite photo is the one where she looked up and saw me this morning. When our eyes met across the room. I've captured the haunted look that flitted across her face.

I won't stop haunting her until she gives me what I want.

ABOUT 'THE ORCHID GIRLS': They called them the Orchid Girls.

Grace. Charlotte. Molly.

One of them is in love.

One of them is a liar.

One of them is dead.

One day, three became two – and no one knows the truth. What really happened that summer?

MY THOUGHTS: This is not the 'breathless, gripping and twisty story of love, obsession and dark secrets' that the promotional blurb promises, at least not for me. Initially I felt that there was a more palpable air of menace present than in this author's most recent book, The Birthday Weekend, which I read last week. But the story quickly becomes slower and quite repetitive. There is a distinct lack of suspense, and at times the writing appears quite disordered.

The plot holds great promise, and had the author been able to inject some suspense into her writing, and organize her thoughts a little better, this could have been a really good read. There are certainly some interesting concepts that could have been better developed.

The story is told over two timelines, 2002, and the current day from the points of view of Molly and Grace. This is interspersed with extracts from the diaries of all three girls, and newspaper reports.

I honestly didn't feel that the diary extracts added much, if any value, to the story. They felt like filler. The newspaper reports were far more informative.

(view spoiler)

I loved The Woman at 46 Heath Street, but the other books I have read by this author have failed to live up to it. I hate to say it, but I think that my reading relationship with this author may be at an end.

⭐⭐⭐.2

THE AUTHOR: Lesley attended the Curtis Brown Creative 6 month novel writing course in 2015/6, and in 2017 The Orchid Girls (then On The Edge) was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Orchid Girls by Lesley Sanderson for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Charlotte, Molly, and Grace live in Dorset and one day they go out to the cliffs where at that point something happens and Charlotte is never seen again. Even though they were cleared of wrongdoing people still believed that they knew more. As the blurb states there is a photo that if uncovered, would change the outcome of the story. One of the girls is a liar and neither want to tell the truth. I have to agree with other reviewers here. The premise was great but it fell short of the psychological thriller I was looking for. It was a little too predictable and I was able to figure it out very quick. Overall, the characters were well written and received and I did enjoy the storyline.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one as much as I was hoping to. I liked the idea behind it and the storyline, but it fell flat for me. I can see why some people love this one, but it just wasn’t for me.

An easy read, but too predictable. I was fine with the premise, but didn't see much excitement in the outcome.

This is a good modern thriller. I enjoyed the story with all the twists and turns. It kept me entertained right through to the end. It was an enjoyable read. A great psychological thriller.

I would like to thank Bookouture Publishing and the Netgalley website for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted to the cover of this book, you see two girls from behind. A catchphrase at the top of the cover says a lot about this book: "Only Grace and Molly know what happened that summer."

We learn that Grace, Molly and Charlotte were called orchids. One is in love, the other a liar and the other unfortunately has passed away. Everything happens on a cliff where Charlotte's body is recovered. Fifteen years later Grace and Molly live in separate worlds, one with a brilliant career and loved by her husband, the other unemployed and alone. They have turned the page on this unfortunate accident except that a compromising photo could resurface.

A well written thriller as I like them: addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with very engaging characters. This thriller deserves to be translated.

The Orchid Girls is a novel full of different points of view. The problem is we don't necessarily know who is telling the truth. I actually really enjoyed this book as i thought it was going a certain way and then it twisted things around, pleasantly surprising me. I also liked seeing a prim and proper character dissolve into anxiety ridden paranoia and her facade slip as she worried her perfect life would implode.
Really interesting novel and premise - recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a digital arc of #TheOrchidGirls from #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good character driven story rather than one with lots of twists and turns. The suspense built slowly as little by little things are revealed about the girls' past. I was surprised by the end - it wasn't something I had foreseen initially, although the closer it got to the end, I did begin to wonder if that would be the outcome. Great plot line with interesting characters developed over time. Would recommend.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this intriguing book. The book deals with the disappearance of a young girl, and her friends are left behind. Her body is found and years later these two girls are dragged back to their past in an intriguing manner. Entertaining read, and recommended.

The Orchid Girls is basically the story of three girls who are best friends, Charlotte, Molly & Grace. Fifteen years ago when they all lived together in Dorset three went out and only 2 came home. Charlotte turns up dead and Grace and Molly are the last to see her alive, though cleared of her murder secrets have been buried and are about to surface.

I thought this was a slow burner to be honest but enjoyable. It didn’t have me totally gripped but it was a page turner and I liked the ending, a few twists but not the usual major one I expected.

In all a good read.

This is a good enough modern thriller. I enjoyed the storyline with all the twists and turns. It was an enjoyable read.

I will not be posting a review on goodreads because I was unable to enjoy this book and do not feel comfortable leaving a negative review.

The Orchid Girls – Lesley Sanderson

This is my first Lesley Sanderson novel and she has delivered us a decent book, I enjoyed it. I will say that the storyline had the potential to become a full on thriller but at just past fifty percent I was hoping that the pace would pick up just a little. I did finish it though, more a Magnus Magnusson thing ‘I’ve started so I’ll finish’.

Three teenage lassies Charlotte, Grace and Molly spend a summer together hanging out doing the stuff that most teenage girls get up to then one day one of them doesn’t come home, she’s found drowned at the bottom of the Dorset cliffs. From that day forward the girls no longer have contact of any form with each other. Christened the ‘Orchid Girls’ by the press because of the small orchid tattoos on their wrists, we learn that two of the girls were acquitted in court of pre-meditated murder.

Fast-forward to now and the two surviving girls lives couldn’t be any more different. One is a successful businesswoman about to have a book publisher and a social media queen of clean all healthy food etc and to top it off her husband is about to be elected mayor; the other is a hopeless alcoholic in a pretty bad relationship. The disappearance of a young girl with more than a few similarities to the girls past reawakens public interest in the girls causing them both to keep it together enough to keep their secrets.

This is a dark tale of deceit, jealousy, love and manipulation told to us in the past and the present with some diary excerpts from the girls as teenagers. I like the fact that the author delves into alcoholism, bullying and homophobia without reeling out all the usual stereotypes.


Read for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture

Really enjoyed this book. It's more a character driven thriller than a breakneck speed one and the suspense builds more slowly as a result. I found both Grace and Molly fascinating in their own ways. There isn't a huge amount of twists and turns but I was enthralled right to the end. Will definitely be looking out for more from Lesley Sanderson. Highly recommended!