A really twisted story and one that I did not even consider the outcome. The last paragraph completely blindsided me but brought it all together so well. I loved the descriptions and the characters. Laurel and primrose are two sisters notorious for the murder of a toddler. Laurel is convicted and primrose as a 6 year old is given a new identity (Hazel) to continue to live her life.
This story has very strong links to the Bulger case which made it unsettling in places to read due to the horror of the topic but I have to say that it has been very senstively written. The whole journey is asking questions about the judicial system, especially concerning children and how the dead child's family suffer with their grief.
Fast forward to Hazel now an adult and another child goes missing.
A compelling story about a topic that most authors would not dare to touch.

It all begins in 1997 when a two year old girl, Kristie Swann, is abducted from a local park and later found tortured and murdered nearby. Two sisters, Laurel and Rosie, are found to be responsible. At the ages of 10 and 6 years the case is picked up by the tabloids and the two sisters are soon known as The Flower Girls. Laurel is tried and found guilty but as Rosie is only 6 she is not tried and instead given a new identity and carries on her life in a different part of the country.

Nineteen years later, Laurel is still in prison and Rosie is now known as Hazel. Hazel has a good job and a lovely boyfriend (Jonny), who knows all about her past, and is very much getting on with her life. The couple along with Jonny’s daughter are staying in a hotel on New Years Eve when a five year old girl goes missing from the hotel. The police arrive and Hazel starts to worry that her past is going to be discovered and she will be prime suspect. What has happened to the little girl ? Will she be found ?

The story is told via the past and present day, as we discover what happened to Kirstie Swann all those years ago and the repurcussions of her death on not only her family but also the Flower Girls and their family. Although the story covers a very distressing subject matter it was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are very complex and more about them is gradually revealed throughout the book. A fantastic chilling psychological thriller !!

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

here on earth do I start with the Flower Girls. I guess the beginning is as good a place as any...?

It is Summer 1997, the day is hot and Primrose (Rosie) and Laurel and playing in the park near their house when two year old Kirstie Swann is murdered.

Nineteen years later and Hazel is about to celebrate the New Year with her partner and Step Daughter, when the hotel where they are staying raises the alarm. A five year old girl is missing... and Hazel worries that as soon as her identity is discovered she will be a prime suspect.

Nineteen years earlier under her former identity, Six year old Rosie looked on whilst her Ten year old sister was convicted of Kirstie Swann’s murder. Both were implicated by the press and were quickly dubbed the Flower Girls.

When Hazel’s true identity is discovered, the Flower Girls hit the headlines all over again.

Alternating between the present day (of the novel) and 1997, we learn of Rosie and Laurel’s childhood, the time before, during and after Kirsties murder and Lauren’s conviction. We are constantly forced to query what we think we know and there is a deep sense of unease throughout the novel.

But Hazel/Rosie and Laurel aren’t the only interesting characters in this novel, an ex journalist, determined policewoman, Lauren’s solicitor and Kirstie’s aunt are all fascinating in their own way. And are all asking the questions that we the readers are asking in our heads; should Laurel be released now she has done her time? Does Rosie remember more than she let’s on? Is justice ever really done for a child murder? What kind of child wants to kill or harm another child? Should family members linked to convicted criminals be allowed new identities?

I can’t guarantee that all of these questions will be answered, but I can guarantee that you won’t put this book down until you’ve finished it. And then you’ll probably pick it up again, because you’ll probably need to read that ending twice. Just to be sure.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Hazel, boyfriend Jonny and his daughter Evie had gone to stay in Devon to bring in the New Year. On their first evening in the hotel five year old Georgie Greenstreet went missing during a violent storm.

DC Lorna Hillier was called to organise the search and interview the guests. Although Hazel was innocent she was worried the secret she had held for over nineteen years was about to be revealed.

Hazel then called Primrose AKA Rosie then six, and her sister ten year old Laurel met 2 year old Kirsty Swann in a playground. Laurel and Rosie led Kirsty to a wood where she was tortured and then murdered. The girls were arrested and dubbed The Flower Girls by the press. Laurel was sentenced to prison until she was at least 18, Rosie was not charged because she was under the age of criminal responsibility.

Max an ex journalist turned author was also staying at the hotel. Seeing pound signs he wanted to write a book about Hazel`s side of the story. Meanwhile Laurel had been refused parole multip!e times, her uncle was also her solicitor and was bringing the case to the court of appeal. Kirsty`s aunt had been a tireless campaigner that Laurel should never be freed, and tired to speak to Hazel.

Wow, the plot was dark and left me with a cold chill going down my spine. This story was sadly reminiscent of the case of Jamie Bulger in 1993. You can tell the author had been a human rights lawyer because the story featured forgiveness and plunged into the nature versus nurture debate.

As more of the story unfolded I could not help feeling sorry for Laurel. Laurel had been disowned by her parents once she had been convicted, her only family member was her uncle who has tirelessly tried to get her released. I liked Max and DC Hillard it was a shame they didn't play a larger part in the book.

Although I guessed one of the revelations in the story, I did not see the final twist in the tale. The final twist was shocking but I would of liked it explained further.

I highly recommend this book.

I was really intrigued by the idea of this book. I always enjoy when a story delves into the darkness within people and The Flower Girls absolutely made me think about the nature of good and evil and the question of nurture versus nature. The story follows two women who were part of a horrific crime when they were children. They are the titular flower girls and are both fascinating characters. They are the driving force of this novel.

Despite being about the two flower girls, the author gives us multiple perspectives of them and the way they behave. It was something I loved about this book as I felt these different personal experiences made the question of evil and morality all the more complex and intriguing. The Flower Girls made me consider the prevalent question of whether someone can be born evil and if not, what sort of mentality could lead a child to commit such a violent act. I honestly couldn’t decide who to empathise with most within this story and the way I felt about certain characters was frequently changing as I learnt more and more of the real truth of what happened in the past.

The writing was also particularly good, most of the chapters are quite short and snappy which kept the momentum going all the way to the end. The Flower Girls has an incredibly tense and rather sinister atmosphere to it even when the situation seems amicable, this creepy feeling is ratcheted up as we barrel towards the skilful ending. I actually really didn’t want the book to end as I just wanted to know more and more about these characters.

Overall, I think The Flower Girls is a fantastic, thought-provoking and clever psychological thriller which I enjoyed from start to finish. There were a couple of twists that I did see coming but the execution was so great that this didn’t bother me at all. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys dark atmospheric books.

Laurel and Primrose are little girls who like to play in the woods. Two little girls who take a baby with them into the woods and only two of the three little girls come back out again. The world despises them, the nation spends years hunting them, but only one of them spends time behind bars,

Even after so many years the public believes Laurel and Primrose deserve to be punished until they themselves take their last breath.

Laurel, the elder of the two, is seen as the main perpetrator and locked up. The youngest girl is renamed Rosie and is raised normally in society as if the events had never taken place at all. The public and the family members of the victim keep finding out where she lives, so she feels like a hunted animal.

When another young child goes missing where Rosie happens to be spending the night she becomes an instant suspect, thanks to the help of a writer, who is hungry for a sensational story. She is then forced to reconsider her attitude towards Laurel and whether or not she should help her get parole.

There are definitely parallels that can be drawn between the Bulger case and the fictional Flower Girls, and it invites the reader to ponder and perhaps even debate what happens when a child kills another child. When children commit a heinous crime, it’s perhaps worse than the horror of any adult on child crime, because it is so hard to fathom how a child can do such a terrible thing.

The author goes for the more hard-nosed approach with this plot, so you might think it is going a specific way, but it doesn’t. Clark-Platts allows the story to hover over the dark abyss and takes the reader on the steep decline into the desolate landscape of a cruel and calculated mind.

The Flower Girls is a tense psychological thriller, which takes the reader on a difficult journey of justice and morality. Is there any right or wrong in such tragic circumstances? Then just when you think, as a reader, you have come to a conclusion you feel comfortable with, the author blindsides the reader with the truth. Not a read you should miss.

Hazel Archer is on holiday with her boyfriend, Jonny and his daughter, Evie, when a five-year-old-girl disappears from the hotel. Everyone is concerned, but especially Hazel as her real name is Rosie and she and her sister, Laurel, were involved in the disappearance of another young girl back when they were just six and ten years old respectively. Hazel has worked hard to leave behind "The Flower Girls" as they were known but this latest disappearance brings down unwelcome attention.

Being from the UK, this story stirred memories of the James Bulger case and the two children convicted, although they were males in that case. This is an excellent book about the emotive subject of child murderers and I think it asks some difficult questions about how they are viewed. It kept my attention all the way through, but it lost a star for me with the ending. It was quite abrupt and it just left me feeling rather disappointed compared to the rest of the book, but I would still definitely recommend it to any crime/thriller readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc / Raven Books, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

Two children Laurel and Primrose went out to play. When they came back one was convicted of murder the other had her identity changed and moved on with her life. Nineteen years later another child is missing. The Flower Girls will once again be headline news.

If you want to know more of the plot you will have to buy the book and believe me when you read all the reviews not only mine you will be buying this book.

Review

What a tense , chilling wonderfully descriptive book this was. The descriptive sentences used throughout added to the depth and feeling of the book. One of my favourite sentences was ” The tension in the air crackled like cellophane ” .

The tension that wove its way through the the pages definitely made those pages crackle. Drawing on a heart wrenching plot that grips you to your very soul. The book sees you wanting it all to end well but deep down you know the plot has its own path it’s going to follow. Yet you don’t give up you stay glued to the very end, relishing the beautifully written sentences.

The story draws out the girl whose name was changed as she was near to another child that is missing. As news filters out of who she is the life of the sister behind bars is brought to the forefront in social media. We follow the girls as they cope in their own ways what there past did to them. They author allows us to feel some sympathy for them without losing sight of what they did, after all why do children murder other children? A sensitively written novel that covers a taboo subject without graphic detail.

The ending of the book leaves you closing the book thinking ” did it really just end like that ? ” , leaving you questions you want answers to so let’s hope there is a follow up , but you know what if there isn’t that’s ok too. You will never forget The Flower Girls.

A stunning novel beautifully crafted and well worth taking up anyone’s reading time. A story that will stay with you long after the book is put away.

REVIEW RATING 4 STARS

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The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts held a lot of potential for being an intriguing mystery. Sisters, one in prison and one leading a 'free' life but both complicit in an atrocious murder of a young girl. Rosie, the sister who walked free only to live a life in hiding and Laurel her sister, by circumstance of age, imprisoned after 10 years of life. Now fast forward some years and Rosie (now called Hazel) is holed up in a hotel during a winter white out when a little girl is reported missing. Guests marooned by weather with a potential murderer in their midst is hardly a novel idea but it was probably the highlight of the book.
The writing style was overly descriptive, every sentence over-stuffed. Less can be more if the correct meld of words is used. The secret the sisters shared was implausibly kept, especially considering Laurel's transition from girl to woman at Her Majesty's Pleasure. The final twist was hardly worth the heft of writing the bulk of the novel. Overall, after finishing the book I felt disappointed.

This is how to do a chilling thriller well! The story of The Flower Girls - Laurel and Primrose - is a brutal and gripping tale of 2 young girls and how a shocking incident when they were 10 and 6 has shaped their lives, and the lives of those around them.

A 2 year old girl is found murdered, and The Flower Girls hit the headlines when Laurel, aged 10, is convicted of her murder, and her younger sister Rose is too young to face prosecution but has no recollection of just what happened that day. This book looks back at the story through their eyes, then and now, along with the perspectives of detectives, the family of the murdered young girl, and a writer who is caught up in the latest scandal to hit the headlines. Having these different viewpoints really helped me get a stronger feeling towards this story and the author did a wonderful job of putting doubts in your mind over a number of characters, and to what really happened back then and at the current time when another young girl goes missing from a hotel.

This story has obvious links to the horrific case of poor young Jamie Bulger, and I did find it quite unsettling at times with the similarities, but with this book it turned into a wider look at circumstances, the impact on the family who lost their child so brutally and to question the validity of what was believed to have happened then and now.

There were twists and turns galore throughout this book - I often thought I had events sussed out but then another doubt was raised and my mind was changed once more and that made for a more riveting read.

The Flower Girls are two sisters aged 10 and 6 who abducted and murdered a two year old girl. Laurel the 10 year old has been in custody for over 20 years but her younger sister Rosie was given a new identity and she and her parents were rehomed in a new location. None of the family have ever visited Laurel since which I found quite odd. The younger sister now called Hazel is spending New Year's Eve at a hotel when a 5 year old girl goes missing and suspicion falls on Hazel when she is recognised as one of the Flower Girls. The story then follows Hazel as she tries to come to terms with being in the public eye and Laurel who is hoping to be released from prison. The ending was quite surprising and maybe there will be a sequel to address some unresolved issues. I hope so.

Wow, what a totally absorbing, exciting story! Laurel and Primrose, the flower girls of the title are now L and Hazel, no longer the two little girls who were so vilified but still scarred by their past.

This is first class story telling, moving from the present to the past and back again as the decades are cleverly woven together to show their effect on those involved most directly by the death of a little girl. At first I found the descriptive prose a little over the top but as the story gathered pace I no longer noticed this as the characters took over and I just needed to keep on reading!

I was absolutely sure I had the whole thing worked out but while I got a few things correct the end totally threw me and was brilliantly done. I have a feeling that, even with hindsight, the clues would remain cleverly ambiguous and woven so tightly into the plot as to remain hidden.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and recommend it highly to lovers of psychological whodunits and disturbing family sagas.

Everyone knows them, everyone knows their names. They are the Flower Girls, Lauren and Primrose “Rosie” Bowman and when they were still children, back in 1997, they did something so unforgivable that led one in prison and the other to change her identity, but nobody has ever forgotten or forgiven them.

Twenty-five years old Hazel Archer is spending New Year’s Eve and her birthday in a hotel on the coast of Devon with her boyfriend Jonny and his teenage daughter Evie, when a little girl disappears from the hotel they are staying. With the arrival of the police and the media, Hazel knows that her quiet and normal life will soon be over. Struggling author Max is also staying at that hotel in Devon, spending the Christmas holidays away from his family to finish his book. He knows that Hazel reminds him of someone and when he figures it out, he knows he has to be quick if he wants to write the story everyone wants to read. In the meantime, in London, lawyer Joanna has been fighting for justice for the murder of her niece for almost twenty years and she won’t stop until she gets it.

This is not an easy book to read. Even when it’s fictional, it’s not easy to read about a child being murdered and the author writes it in such a realistic way that it makes an uncomfortable, disturbing and thought-provoking read. The author also addresses other current and interesting themes: what is the right punishment for a crime, the way the public opinion can influence a court decision, the length the media could go to get a story, the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters and between sisters.

I can’t say I really liked any of the characters. I found them too self-absorbed, all with their own agenda, but they are vividly portrayed and well-developed and the female characters are all strong and realistic.

Written by an author I’ve just discovered, but that I plan to read more, and with a chilling and jaw-dropping ending, THE FLOWER GIRLS is a dark, twisty, and riveting novel that kept me completely glued to the page.

Never has a book been better classed by genre; this is a most thrilling read, full of suspense which - ultimately - chilled me to the bone!

Sisters Laurel and Rosie are inseparable. During the long hot summer they play mostly in the garden of their middle-class home, but with their mother's permission they are allowed to go to the nearby play park via the path from their back garden gate. One day in 1997 they return home, as usual, skipping and laughing - but they have left behind them absolute mayhem and a missing toddler.

This is a very skilfully written novel - easy to read and rather enjoyable! Intriguing, mesmerising and astounding - yet totally believable - this story is told both in present time and in the past with events drawing the reader in, making them really care about what happened then and what is happening now. I found myself really invested in all the characters, and I was absolutely certain I had it all worked out. Did I? Will you? Well, you have to read it yourself to find out but I have to admit to feeling more shocked than I have at any other book for a long, long time.

My thanks to publisher Bloomsbury for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

The Flower Girls is a fast and furious read, I enjoyed seeing the mystery come together and the characters were all very interesting. I found the language with it's pretty imagery and over the top similies verging on purple prose, which was really at variance with the subject matter and the frequent references to real life murderers. It felt like these real crimes were being trivialised by comparing them. I wasn't happy with the ending, I didn't understand various motives and unresolved stuff and it felt like I was being forced to take wild imaginative leaps to swallow half the book. I'm left with a lot of hows and whys. Overall, not a bad read if you're looking for something fluffy yet disturbing and probably highly enjoyable if you can suspend your disbelief.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this thought provoking book

was a bit worried about reading this one with the references to the jamie bulger killers and myra hindley and other names associated with kidnapping children with the aim of torturing them

but this story goes beyond that...we have two sisters who take a baby and torture her,they are both arrested and one is charged the other is deemed to young to know what she has done

so this young girl gets a new identity and lives her life until years later another young girl is abducted and from there this story flows...and what a story this author weaves

the last chapter is to die for...what an ending, what you suspect and what actually happens wow....

gonna keep an eye out for more of this authors works

The year is 1997 and sisters Laurel aged 10 and Primrose aged 6, dubbed The Flower Girls, abduct and murder 2 year old Kirstie Swann, one of them is tried and convicted of her murder and the other is given a new identity. Fast forward nineteen years and another child has gone missing, in the same place where one of the Flower Girls is on holiday, is she involved or is it just coincidence?

The story alternates between past and present throughout the book, following the lives of the two girls, what happened on that fateful day back in 1997 and what has happened to them since, the police still don't know the motive for Kirstie's death and are unsure they ever will, so when the second little girl goes missing and they uncover the true identity of Hazel Archer they wonder if history is repeating itself.

I thought this story was very similar to the James Bulger case that occurred in 1993 and is quite harrowing to read but the author told it extremely well and I read it in a couple of days due to the chapters being short and sharp. I couldn't take to any of the characters in this book but that didn't put me off reading it at all and I was intrigued throughout waiting to see how it would pan out.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the approval and I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

This book pulls you in from the beginning and doesn’t let go. I was desperate to know what happened to the little girl that was murdered nearly nineteen years ago, and had to wait until the last few chapters to find out.
Rosie and Laurel we’re both involved in the death of another child but only Laurel got put inside as Rosie was only six.
Laurel has tried to get parole several times but each time is refused due to the public opinion that she is still a danger to society.
We learn about Rosie and her new life as Hazel and begin with her on a break in Devon with her boyfriend and his daughter.
Whilst they’re there a small child goes missing and Hazel panics that the police will think she is involved. She confides in a man she meets and he persuades her to tell the Police about her past, before they find out.
It’s soon leaked to the journalists and her new identity crumbles around her.
I can’t say much more as I don’t want to spoil it but will say, this is a great mystery thriller which will keep you guessing.
Thanks to Raven books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Probably more like a 2.5 stars but ultimately, I didn’t enjoy this novel. It had a whole lot of promise, it just seemed to fail in execution. The synopsis was fascinating and does bring a lot of questions - why was Laurel criminally responsible at 10, but Rosie, at 6, wasnt? What happens if a six year old kills someone without anyone else there? What happens then?

The central mystery that brings Laurel and Rosie back into the public eye was ridiculous, it could have been amazing, but it petered out to just being a reason to bring back the “flower girls” to the present audience.

I didn’t like the characters, none of them were redeemable or likeable with the exception of Hillier, the police officer, who was criminally underused and utterly wasted in this novel.

This one just wasn’t for me.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of this intense psychological thriller.

In 1997 the country is shocked by the abduction and murder of toddler Kirstie Swann. Ten-year old Laurel is charged and convicted of her murder. Her six-year old sister Primrose was also implicated but was considered too young to be held responsible. Rose also has no memory of the events of that fateful afternoon.

The sisters are dubbed by the media as The Flower Girls. During and following Laurel’s trial Rose and her parents are harassed and threatened. They are subsequently given new identities.

Nineteen years later and Hazel Archer (formerly Rose) and her boyfriend are at a hotel in Devon to celebrate New Year. However, when a child goes missing from the hotel it is not long before The Flower Girls are in the headlines again.

The premise of this thriller naturally brings to mind the 1993 abduction and murder of James Bulger. This and other real-life cases are referenced; though in a non-sensationalist fashion. The narrative is mainly set in the present day with flashbacks to the events of 1997/98.

The novel deals with a deeply disturbing topic and I thought that Alice Clark-Platts handled this with insight and sensitivity. Her portrayal of the media feeding frenzy following the Devon case felt particularly accurate.

The characterisation is strong throughout and once started it was almost impossible to put down. I came to feel that in a sense both sisters were incarcerated. While Laurel is in a physical prison, Rosie/Hazel lives in isolation ever wary of being recognised and outed as one of the Flower Girls.

I expect this novel will remain on my mind for some time. I would advise avoiding spoilers as it takes some interesting directions.

I plan to read more of her work.