A Manipulative Psychological Thriller For The Ardent Fans | ARC Review: The Flower Girls by Alice Clark – PLatts

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…

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Physical copy of the book by Bloomsbury India in exchange for an honest review. However, all the thoughts, feelings and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, And Emotional Manipulation.

I am still undecided exactly what I feel about The Flower Girls by Alice Clark – Platts – it is certainly twisted, manipulative and the need to know “why” is what drives the readers to read through the next page until you come right to end.

The Flower Girls is the moniker given to two young girls convicted of the brutal murder and torture of a baby girl while they were 10 (Laurel) and 6 (Rosie). While Laurel was charged to the fullest extent of the law but Rosie wasn’t found to be criminally competent to stand trial, as she was underage.

The book opens up to the present, when 19 years later, another young girl goes missing where Rosie, now Hazel Archer, is to celebrate her 25th birthday with her boyfriend and his teenage daughter. The moment her previous identity becomes known, she becomes the primes suspect in the girl’s missing.

We get multiple POVs including that of Hazel aka Rosie, Laurel, Laurel’s lawyer and uncle Toby and Joanna; aunt of the baby girl whose murder Laurel was convicted of.

I definitely enjoyed this thriller – which is mostly psychological in nature; for it was easy to guess the real culprit almost right from the start – it didn’t stop me from being glued to the book as and when I could be able to read the book.

The author has done a brilliant job of encompassing the dilemma the law has when it comes to child culprits; especially when it comes the violent nature of the crimes committed like the one described in the book and how to handle such cases within the legal and humanitarian boundaries.

I have given the book the rating I did; because as a thriller its engrossing and even though it’s easy enough to guess the plot twists; what I never expected was the ending; now that definitely flummoxed me. And for that, I know I can recommend this book for those cozy weekends that sometimes are just for lazing around.