In the summer of 1995, 22 year old Alice went missing. A quarter of a century later and bones are discovered at the holiday camp where Alice disappeared. Could the bones belong to Alice? If so, how did she die? Someone knows the answer to these questions, but who?

19 year old Will fell in love with Alice that summer and her disappearance has defined the way he has lived his life ever since. Will has always blamed one particular person for what happened to Alice but as he travels back through his memories, he wonders is he the one to blame?

A good storyline with good characters which was an easy and enjoyable read.

Having previously read House by the Sea by Louise Douglas I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review her latest novel. The Scarlet Dress did not disappoint. Taken from the perspective of two main characters who had loved and lost Alice, a vibrant young woman whilst she holidayed at a seaside holiday park in the Gloucester coast.
The grim discovery of bones at the site over a decade later brings both Will and Marnie to begin to uncover and piece together events from the past which led to her demise. The plot offers plenty of red herrings and characters that are tangible and less than perfect which adds a semblance of realism and had me guessing to the end. A thoroughly enjoyable read and highly recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley and Boldwood Books for the chance to read and review this book. At first, I didn't really care for this book. It was very slow with so many details. It did get better as the story went on though.
In 1995, 22 year old Alice Lang rented a caravan at a holiday resort. One night, she disappears and all that is found is her scarlet dress. It is presumed that she drowned, but her body is never found. Now we move to present day. The park is run down and the owners have sold it to a housing development company. While they are digging, they find Alice's bones. Who killed her and why? The answer was a surprise to me. Good mystery, but a little slow in places. Lots of details about the plot and not much conversation. If you like a good mystery, I would recommend you keep going. You will like the ending.

A young girl Alice rents a caravan at the holiday park next to estuary, befriends ten-year-old Marnie, who is the daughter of the park's caretaker. Local boy Will is in love with Alice, and jealous of any one who comes close to Alice. Alice disappeared from the caravan one night. Her scarlet dress was found on the riverbank, cops rule her death as drowning.

Twenty years later, bones were found on the site of a holiday park that has been sold for redevelopment.

This started off good but the pace was very slow. On top of it, the unsystematic format the author chose to reveal the past story didn’t sit well with me. Story was told from Will and Marine’s perspective in the present day and they drift off to the events/days surrounding the night of Alice’s disappearance. I don’t mind if this reminiscing happens in a few chapters but this continued in every chapter until the last one. This jumping of story from present to past frustrated me. It would have been neat and clean if they were separated.

I can sympathize with Marnie. Apart from her, I don’t connect or feel for any of the other characters. Will is possessed by jealousy, hard to believe he still holds a candle for Alice after all these years, appalled at the way he treats his girlfriends. He pushes them away when he wants but at the end goes to his girlfriend. I am outraged when she accepts him again.

The hunch Will gets out of the blue is also unconvincing. It’s unbelievable why the character who revealed the truths waited a long time and lacks compelling reasons to do so now. If the unraveling of truth occurs through the investigation then it would have kept the suspense all along but revealing through a character fell flat.

There are some plot holes or unanswered questions such as how one character knows about their parentage. I couldn’t go on more for the fear of spoiling.

Lot of the story revolves and is repeated many times about that particular night, felt it was dragging in parts. The final twist has surprised me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me ARC in return for my honest opinions.

I am so incredibly fussy about fiction nowadays. The first few pages will usually tell me if I could go through the whole novel or not.

The Scarlet Dress did not grab me. I found the pacing on the slow side and I do not enjoy timelines that go quite haphazardly.

I did go through the whole book though as the storyline is quite interesting and I actually could not guess who the murderer was. The twist towards the end was totally unexpected for me and I feel that it did wrap up well.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception. Great storyline, great characters. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

This was a great book to read, at times I found it a little slow but on the whole I enjoyed it. I always look for books that Richard and Judy endorse as they usually have a great book list. This one was one of them. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

When an old holiday campground, Severn Sands, is sold for redevelopment, workers on the excavation uncover human bones. Could the bones belong to Alice Lang, a young woman who disappeared from the park twenty five years earlier? In 1995, Alice was staying in the park when she met little Marnie, a girl sorely in need of love and companionship. Will, whose mother ran the campground bar, fell head over heels for Alice and was possessive and jealous of anyone that Alice payed attention too. When Alice disappeared, Will was a likely suspect. But all that was ever found was Alice’s red dress, washed up on the riverbank. Now, with Alice’s remains uncovered, Will and Marnie, whose lives were forever changed that summer, will try to find out what really happened to the young woman they both loved. Louise Douglas is such an amazing story teller, her characters are so real they walk right off the page