Alice Clark-Platt’s chilling psychological thriller instantly brings back memories of the notoriously unforgettable 1993 murder of toddler, Jamie Bulger, by two boys. We begin in 1997 when two little girls aged 10 and 6 abduct and kill a two-year old toddler. The Flower Girls was the term that the media instantly adopted as Laurel was sentenced to prison and Rosie was given a new identity as she was under the criminal age of responsibility. Fast forward to the present day and we meet Rosie again – but now she’s Hazel – living a new life with her partner and his daughter, and trying very hard to put the past behind her.

However Hazel is unable to hide who she was for long because another child goes missing from the hotel that she is staying in and quite quickly her identity is revealed as she is catapulted to position of prime suspect.

The book follows Hazel’s life in the present day alongside Laurel’s life in prison and brings the Flower Girls together when Laurel is applying for parole. It’s an extremely well written book, and despite the echoes of previous similar crimes it’s unique in its own right. A human rights lawyer herself, Clark-Platts is able to maintain a non-sensationalist approach throughout the book as she cleverly debates nature and nurture in a sensitive manner.

Publication date: 24th January 2019 by Raven Books