The Flower Girls

Well I certainly agree, You will Never Forget the Flower Girls!

Why would a child would murder a toddler? What does rehabilitation mean for a young child who commits a crime?

20 years ago two young girls, Laurel and Primrose hit the headlines. Laurel is convicted of murder and Rosie, who denies involvement, is not charged. At 6 years old she is deemed to be too young to be held responsible for such a crime.

Now going by her new name, Hazel’s life has moved on. She is in a stable relationship managing to keep her past in the past. When a young girl goes missing from the hotel Hazel is staying, events spiral out of her control and it soon leads to her identity being uncovered, and press interest begins once again.

Laurel has been in prison for 18 years, after being denied parole on two separate occasions she is appealing the latest decision.

With flashbacks to the childhood of Laurel and Primrose before,during and after the murder and brief coverage of Laurel`s trial you begin to see event through their eyes.

It is a fairly taboo subject to write and read about but this is sensitively written and is a great unforgettable read with an ending I honestly didn’t see coming!

What a way to end a book, I really really hope there will be a continuation of The Flower Girls story, I would love to know what happens next! It’s almost impossible to read this book without giving some thought to things such as morality, forgiveness, justice and punishment in today’s society but it is in no way pushed down the readers necks.

It really is a brilliantly crafted novel you will never forget. This book should be at the top of everyone’s To Be Read pile! 📚

The Flower Girls will be published in the UK on 21 Jan 2019 in e-book format and 24th Jan 2019 in hardback.

Thank’s go to Alice Clark-Platts, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.

Oh,Wow,just Wow. There isn't enough superlatives in the English language to describe how much I loved this book.It's the mesmerising,thought-provoking,chilling story of two sisters Laurel (10) and Primrose (Rosie) (6) who tortured and murdered two year old Kirstie Swann on a warm summer's day in 1997. Dubbed The Flower Girls by the press,Laurel was convicted whilst Rosie who couldn't be held accountable due to her young age was given a new identity and a new life.

On New Years Eve,nineteen years later at a motel on the Devon Cliffs,a five year old girl goes missing. When it is discovered that Hazel (Rosie) is staying at the hotel,The Flower Girls are about to hit the headlines all over again

This riveting,page turner features a number of vivid characters including Hazel,laurel,Max (the ex journalist) DC Lorna Hillier and Joanna Denton (Kirstie`s aunt). Throughout the book the reader is taken back in time to 1997 where we learn about Laural and Rosie`s childhood before,during and after the murder and there is also brief coverage of Laurel`s trial.The murder of poor little Kirstie is frighteningly similar to the torture and murder of poor little Jamie Bulger in 1993 and the question of accountability and wether criminals can be rehabilitated is raised throughout the story. Should someone who has committed and been convicted of a serious crime be released back into society? Should suspected and convicted criminals be given new identities and new lives? Why would a child even consider killing another child? are children born evil or can their actions be linked to unfavourable environmental factors? The author covers these highly moral issues with sensitivity and without being overly moralistic.

I love a book that plays with my emotions,I want to feel something about the characters and that is definitely what happened whilst I was reading this character driven thriller. There was characters I liked,disliked,annoyed me,frustrated me,sympathised with,changed my mind about and just plain gave me the creeps. Once I started reading this book,I didn't want to put it down,I was 100% hooked in from the first page right through to the spine chilling,shocking conclusion. The ending gives me chills everytime I think about it and is going to play on my mind for a very long time. I would love to watch a tv adaptation of this book and think it is worth far more than five stars.Very very highly recommended by little old me.

Oh my! I was gripped by this book. It’s incredible
Laurel and Rosie are just kids themselves when toddler Kirstie is sadistacally murdered. Shockingly one of the girls is convicted and at ten years old is sent to prison. 18 years later, Rosie has a new identity and is in a hotel at New Year when a five year old goes missing. Did she do it? Could she have done it? She’s says, emphatically, no. But her life unravels as her real identity is exposed

Interspersed with flashbacks and different perspectives this book grips you from start to finish. It’s not a horror story, rather, the writer has captured humanity in all its guises and describes wonderfully what’s going on in their lives, their heads, their families. You will not want to put it down. And the twist in the tale? Well read it and find out
A truly incredible book.

This book made me positively shiver ! Not an easy job in a summer as hot as we have been having it lately but it genuinely was a chillingly good book.
Not having read any of Alice Clark-Platt's books before I didn't know what to expect but after reading 'The Flower Girls' I will definitely be reading more by her.

The story is about a coastal hotel, a snowstorm, and a missing child. 5 year old Georgie has gone missing, the parents are not being as helpful as they could be, there is a suspiciously acting chef, a race against time as the elements reduce the risk of finding her alive oh and the possibility of a child killer amongst the guests...

With a strong sense of justice without being overly moralistic, this echoes back to the Mary Bell and Jamie Bulger cases-the 'Flower Girls' of the titles are Primrose and Laurel, two girls accused of abducting and killing a little girl. One was locked away for life, the other was too young to be held accountable for her part at the time.
The one who 'got away' was reassigned a new identity, a new life and has tried to put it behind her(as far as that is even possible) but being stuck in a hotel whilst a frantic search for Georgie continues risks everything she has built up to distance herself from being a Flower Girl. And someone at the hotel may have worked out who she is....

This is just the beginning of a story that twists and turns like nothing else I have read lately. It demands you read it till the end and then you have that wonderful shivers down the backbone feeling and a need to re-read it from the start to work out what you may have missed the first time.
I absolutely loved it and the nuanced debate about the nature of evil , many thanks to the publishers, Raven Books and Netgalley for letting me read this in return for an honest review.

Wow! This book is incredible and will stay with you for a long time.

What a story that is so very true of our times sadly. Two sisters take very different paths in life after a 2 year old child is mutilated and murdered. The storyline had me gripped and it was really good having the flashbacks over their lives and the effect it had on everyone involved which is a side that you don't see too often because stories normally focus on the criminal.

It took me a very short time to read this book because I could not put it down and there are so many twists and turns and the ending is very powerful and also frightening really. A great book which I thoroughly recommend. It is simply an incredible read.

I've spent the last day trying to figure out how to properly explain how much i loved this book. I read it in one morning because i couldn't put my phone down, i had to know what was going to happen. Hazel is such an intriguing complex character i had no idea how the mystery surrounding her was going to turn out. The flashbacks were so vivid and well written, i felt i was watching the sisters in my mind. I absolutely loved this story.

It's true. You'll never forget THE FLOWER GIRLS.
This book is bound to stay in your memory for a long time. It's emotional and provocative, and it makes you question things you would otherwise choose not to because they're not the kind of questions that have good, satisfactory answers anyway. Sometimes it's just life. Or a good story.

This book is absolutely perfect for thriller fans who prefer a solid plot to a PR hype. It's a guessing game with a proper, and yet shocking, ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Having a fascination (if that’s the right word!) with child killers this book was definitely something I knew I would like. I found it hard to put down and impossible to forget. About a taboo subject with shocking events I still cared about what would happen to the characters.

It was one of those books where you dread finishing and I don’t quite know what to do with myself now. I won’t forget this book in a hurry,a truly exceptional read. Grateful thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

One of the best books that I’ve read recently and it’s a story that will certainly stay with me. I usually shy away from any books that include dead children but for some reason this synopsis lured me in and wow, am i pleased it did!
The book jumped from the present day to flashbacks to the past - the story steadily unravels and it took me in directions I never imagined. The ending was quite shocking really - a twist I certainly had not considered. I am still unsure of how I feel about the 2 sisters in this story - my emotions were all over the place with every chapter.
I would fully recommend this book - it feels so much more genuine than many other plot thrillers out there and is up there in my top 5 books with a “twist”.