Alice Clark-Platts, Raven Books

The Flower Girls were the tabloid nicknames given to two young sisters who were involved in the kidnapping and killing of a toddler nineteen years ago. The eldest of them was convicted of the murder and is still incarcerated. The youngest meanwhile attempts to get on with her life under a new name: Hazel. Alice Clark-Platts’ latest thriller opens up on New Year’s Eve in a hotel on the Devon coast. The party is just about to click into gear when it’s reported that a young girl has gone missing. The police are called and they tell all guests to remain on the premises as everyone is a suspect, including, yep, Hazel who is there with her boyfriend and his teenager daughter. It’s a nice set up but the story sags in the middle section, particularly when the action switches away from the investigation. And the somewhat abrupt resolution feels unearned.