Blurb; Let the dead stay dead.
Clara Marsh is an undertaker. She spends her solitary life among the dead and bids them farewell with a bouquet from her own garden. But Clara’s carefully structured life shifts when she discovers a neglected little girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlour, desperate for a friend.
It changes even more when Detective Mike Sullivan starts questioning her again about a body she prepared three years ago, an unidentified girl found murdered in a nearby strip of woods. Unclaimed by family, the community christened her Precious Doe. When Clara and Mike learn that Trecie may be involved with the same people who killed Precious Doe, Clara must choose between her solitary but steadfast existence and the perils of binding one’s life to another.
Clara’s search for the girl pulls her into a spiralling series of events that threaten to endanger the few people Clara has grown to love – and finally brings her own tragic and long-buried past to the surface.
My Review; Let me start by saying what a brilliant debut. You couldn’t even tell! I loved it. I have so many questions I could ask after reading this story… Has it messed with my mind? Did I understand the outcome correctly? What just happened??
Brilliantly written. I expect this is not an easy read for some readers due to what actually happens within the book and it containing children. However, I felt the author wrote about it brilliantly and not going into too much depth about it.
Clara is a wonderful main character even if she does have a hidden past and her own personal problems to deal with. She takes pride in her job and always does the best she can. Not a job I would do (Undertaker). Mike was a split character throughout you either got his business, police side or the caring, loving man side.
I haven’t read many books that are mainly set within a funeral palour but this worked well for this story. I must mention I learnt a lot about flowers from this book and there hidden meanings, interesting. I enjoyed reading this one with a most unexpected, dark outcome to finish with. I awarded four stars and would highly recommend.
Between The Pages Book Club 