The Orchid Girls by Lesley Sanderson #bookreview #thriller

Title: The Orchid Girls

Author: Lesley Sanderson

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: November 13, 2018

Page Count: 383

My rating: 3 stars

About the book:

‘Now we are bound forever,’ she says, her eyes determined. ‘I will never tell anyone, I swear. This is between you and me. Now you swear too.’

They called them the Orchid Girls. Grace. Molly. Charlotte.

One of them is in love. One of them is a liar. One of them is dead.

On a jagged Dorset cliff, wind whipping their hair, waves crashing on the rocks below, three friends became two when Charlotte’s body was pulled out of the sea.

Fifteen years later Grace and Molly are worlds apart. Grace has a glittering career and a loving husband. Molly is a lonely, unemployed alcoholic. Grace has everything to lose. Molly has nothing.

They have moved on from the tragic accident that shadowed their childhood. But somewhere lies a photograph waiting to be unearthed – waiting to reveal a secret one of the Orchid Girls is desperate to keep hidden…

The Orchid Girls is a breathless, gripping and twisty story of love, obsession and dark, shocking secrets. Fans of K.L. Slater, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train – read this one with the lights on…

The Orchid Girls by Lesley Sanderson is the story of three friends, Grace, Charlotte and Molly. Fifteen years ago Charlotte had gone missing the Grace and Molly the last to see her alive and when she was found dead they were cleared of the crime burying the secrets of just what happened that day.

Now Grace is on top of the world about to launch her new book with a husband and booming career. Molly however has struggled with the demons of the past and is a struggling alcoholic. With Grace in the media Molly finally tracks down her old friend looking to her for answers and comfort of what happened all those years ago.

The Orchid Girls was a slow burning mystery/thriller read that is told by alternating the point of view between the characters. The story also has flashes back into the past and newspaper articles and journal entries to build what had happened that fateful day long ago.

Now without saying too much I’d like to just mention I appreciate what the author was trying to do with the sign of the times angle of the book. However, to me this one was a pretty straight forward shot at an outcome. Perhaps it’s due to reading hundreds of books each year or others may feel the same but I felt this lacked the twist and turns of a true thrilling read to rate too high but with nice writing I do believe it was an Ok book overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

Lesley attended the Curtis Brown Creative 6 month novel writing course in 2015/6, and in 2017 The Orchid Girls (then On The Edge) was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize.

The Orchid Girls is her first psychological thriller.

Lesley spends her days writing in coffee shops in Kings Cross where she lives and works as a librarian. She loves the atmosphere and eclectic mix of people in the area. Lesley discovered Patricia Highsmith as a teenager and has been hooked on psychological thrillers ever since. She is particularly interested in the psychology of female relationships.