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A review by jessorella
The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts
5.0
THE FLOWER GIRLS by Alice Clark-Platts is a sharp and well-paced thriller built upon the chilling incident of a child murder: a murder not just OF a child, but one committed BY a child. Two sisters were there when the baby died; neither of them ever described what happened, and one went to prison while the other gained a new identity and a life marred by horror. So what happened next, and why has another child disappeared?
The start of this book is beautifully atmospheric, set at a hotel on a snowy clifftop in the midst of a New Year celebration. During these first few chapters - swirled with high emotion and drama - I couldn't help thinking that this was what I would be reading if Daphne du Maurier had written a novel based on the Cluedo board game. It honestly kept me up at night, I was enjoying it so much.
The book moves on past the inciting incident at the clifftop hotel and into the murky developments of the weeks and months to follow. What really happened? Who was to blame? These answers are dangled until the very last, with many characters' motives and actions remaining suspicious throughout. Interspersed with the developments are small, delicate flashbacks to the original child murder - chillingly brutal and unnerving and making you rethink your theories right up to the last page.
This was a great book, nicely paced and with a stunning sense of atmosphere and creepiness. The author has a really lovely turn of phrase - there were many instances where I thought to myself, "Wow - THAT line..." and breathed a blissful sigh.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this exciting book. I'm looking forward to reading more of Alice Clark-Platts' work!
The start of this book is beautifully atmospheric, set at a hotel on a snowy clifftop in the midst of a New Year celebration. During these first few chapters - swirled with high emotion and drama - I couldn't help thinking that this was what I would be reading if Daphne du Maurier had written a novel based on the Cluedo board game. It honestly kept me up at night, I was enjoying it so much.
The book moves on past the inciting incident at the clifftop hotel and into the murky developments of the weeks and months to follow. What really happened? Who was to blame? These answers are dangled until the very last, with many characters' motives and actions remaining suspicious throughout. Interspersed with the developments are small, delicate flashbacks to the original child murder - chillingly brutal and unnerving and making you rethink your theories right up to the last page.
This was a great book, nicely paced and with a stunning sense of atmosphere and creepiness. The author has a really lovely turn of phrase - there were many instances where I thought to myself, "Wow - THAT line..." and breathed a blissful sigh.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this exciting book. I'm looking forward to reading more of Alice Clark-Platts' work!