I listened to the audiobook version of this book loaned using Borrowbox through my local library #supportyourlocallibrary
Dates read: 29/12/2021 to 13/12/2022
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Word to describe: Thrilling
Genre: Psychological Fiction
The Flower Girls tells you stories simultaneously, flashbacks into the childhood of ten-year-old Laurel and six-year-old Rosie and modern-day where Laurel spends her days in prison for the murder of a toddler and Rosie, now named Hazel roams free. Another young girl goes missing and all eyes fall on The Flower Girls when Hazel's true identity is revealed. When I first started this book I was apprehensive. I didn't know if I would enjoy it, the topic is dark and books about missing children have never particularly appealed to me. They tend to sound like the most depressing storylines to ever grace my bookshelf. That being said, once I started listening I couldn't stop. The storyline was so captivating that I spent every spare moment I had with my eyes closed and completely absorbed by the characters and plot.
The flashbacks give sparing details each time and add to the mystery with each new chapter. Rosie and Laurel's connection to the disappearance and later murder of the young girl is horrific yet compelling. Each flashback leaves you eager to find out what happened next. You get intrigued by the sisters and the psychology behind the games they play and what makes them the villains they are. The modern portrayal of Rosie and Laurel is even more thrilling to read. Laurel's blatant disregard for the past throughout the book, she is unashamed by her past actions and has little care for whether she stays in prison or not. Rosie (Hazel) on the other hand, is traumatized by the past and adamantly claims to have no part in the murder of that girl in 1997.
The two sisters could not be more different from each other. Rosie (Hazel) presents as an anxious, careful young woman with a delicate manner and soft-spoken voice. Laurel is the opposite, sharp acidic personality and an anger level to make Gordon Ramsey in Kitchen Nightmares jealous. The juxtaposition between these two characters is striking and adds to the compelling nature of the narration. The additional characters in this book, Detective Hillier, for example, are a perfect complement to these two main characters. They add more mystery to the story, the detective's urgency to solve the case of missing Georgie, Max's desperation to write the best-selling novel based on Rosie's past, and all the other characters in the mix add a fresh narration and truly keep the story engaging.
The storyline in this book is thrilling, compelling, and overall a fantastic plot. Despite being fairly long and written in three parts, there wasn't a single part in this book where I felt bored and lacked the motivation to keep reading. As aforementioned, I was instantly glued to the story the second the audio started playing and I could not have enjoyed the story more. There are very few books that leave me utterly speechless at the end yet after finishing this one I was lost for words and needed almost an hour to recover from the ending.
Overall, this book deserves every star I have given it! A true masterpiece.
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