Review: The Flower Girls

The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


MY REVIEW

The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts is a dark, disturbing psychological thriller that deals with a difficult subject, child murder.

It tells of the brutal murder of two-year-old Kirstie Swann, that shocked the country, especially as the suspects were only children themselves.

Laurel and Rosie (Primrose) Bowman, named ‘The Flower Girls’ by the media, were only ten and six years old.

Laurel, the elder girl, is put on trial and found guilty of murder, and has remained in prison, but her case is now up for a judicial review.

Rosie, who was too young to be prosecuted, moved away with her parents and they were given new identities to protect them from the public or media.

Many years later, Hazel (as Rosie is now known) is staying at a Devon hotel with her partner, Jonny and his daughter, Evie, when another young girl, Georgie goes missing. Hazel is so worried she will be blamed due to her past.

The story is told from a few different perspectives and you get a feel for how this case affected all those involved, from the ‘perpetrators’, the victims family and the police.

The police are also investigating the disappearance of Georgie and want to get to the truth before it’s too late. Hillier is a great character and I’d like to read more about her.

Some of this is a difficult read at times due to the sheer horror of the subject matter, but it’s not a ‘sensational’ read, it’s very calmly and sensitively done. It makes you think about the idea of guilt, how responsible a child can be for their actions, and of course retribution and revenge, but then in the story itself Alice Clark-Platts has the tension building slowly, gradually, more and more, until the marvellously, surprising and startling end. I loved this and can thoroughly recommend it....read it now before the spoilers !!!!!



My thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author, Alice Clark-Platts for the opportunity to read this.






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