Book review: The Flower Girls

By
By Alice Clark-Platts
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing

 Synopsis: 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…

How did this book end up in my hands? I read a 10-part serialisation of this book in January via The Pigeonhole.

Was it a page-turner? OMG, totally. I could have read it in one sitting given the opportunity and – having read the comments written by my fellow readers – I know I am not the only one to think that. This is one of those novels that make you suspect just about every character and change your theories every few chapters!

Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? I knew after reading the tagline - Three children went out to play. Only two came back. – that this was going to be an unsettling book but the reality definitely exceeded my expectations.

Did I like the ending? [no spoilers] I find it weird to say that I loved it because it was one of the most chilling endings I have recently come across in a book but I did, I loved it. What does that say about me?

Three words to describe it. Chilling. Gripping. Unpredictable.

Do I like the cover? Yes, it is the right kind of sinister – simple and elegant.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, and I like to rectify this soon.

Will I be recommending this book? Yes. As I mentioned before, it has a great plot with plenty of twists and suspicious characters. During the online serialisation, the novel sparked many interesting discussions around mental health, parenthood, obsession and more so you can choose to read it at face value – as the incredibly riveting novel it is – or you can delve deeper into its themes to enjoy it even more. Either way, I am fairly confident you won’t be disappointed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booknet: a new platform for authors and readers

By
Image
‘Ooooh, what is Booknet ?’ I hear you ask… Booknet is a popular literary social media network, self-publishing platform, and Bookscription eBook sales model, all of which is being introduced to the UK following rapid growth in Latin America and Eastern Europe since 2015. How does it work? Booknet is both a successful literary self-publishing platform and a social network, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in 2015. Booknet has gained significant traction in countries such as Ukraine, Russia (the Russian division was sold in the spring of 2022 because of the war between Ukraine and Russia), as well as Latin America. The company is now actively investing resources into the development of its English-language version. Authors can either publish their books with free access by readers, or sell them after obtaining commercial status through the platform. Booknet provides free advertising for eBooks sold by their authors on the platform. Booknet’s distinctive features (apart from being a pop...
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike...
Read more

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea...
Read more