Book Review: Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fifty-five-year-old Francine Thwaite has lived in the family home, Thwaite Manor in Cumbria, England for all of her life. The land her home was built on has been in her family for over five hundred years. Francine is a loner who rarely ventures outside her home and her social interactions are limited to her trips to the nearby town for necessities, visits from her late mother’s close friend and her interactions with lodgers who rent rooms in her home. Her younger and somewhat estranged sister, Madeleine has a life very different from Francine and lives in London. But Francine is content with her quiet life and is averse to modern technology (no phone or computer to be found on the premises), She spends her time tending her garden, reading about the history of the house and the family and in the company of the ghosts of the Manor among whom is a six or seven-year old girl she calls Bree her favorite since her childhood. Francine’s late mother was a believer in the healing and protective power of herbs and flowers and passed the same down to Francine who regularly uses her knowledge to keep evil spirits away. When Madeleine returns home after several years away, she shares some shocking information she has gathered about their family history forcing Francine to question everything she knew about her parents and her childhood. As the narrative progresses, Francine tries to find out the truth behind Madeleine’s revelations and what follows is a journey of catharsis and discovery, recovery of repressed memories of traumatic events from their childhood dating and unraveling of long-buried family secrets from over fifty years ago. Her search is complicated by the presence of an evil apparition that enters her home with harmful intent and it will take all of her knowledge and courage to keep herself, Madeleine, her home and her friendly ghosts safe from harm. 

With its combination of Gothic elements, mystery and family drama, Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan is an absorbing read. The author seamlessly weaves past and present timelines into an engaging narrative. I enjoyed getting to know both Francine and Madeleine and was invested in their stories and liked how their quest brought them closer together. I loved how the author incorporates the language of flowers, which plays such an important role in this story, into the narrative. Initially, the pacing is a tad uneven but picks up as the plot progresses. The narrative does suffer from minor repetitiveness but not so much that it detracts from the overall reading experience. I did think, however, that the romance track felt forced and unnecessary. There are some heartbreaking moments in this story but I am glad that the author chose to end it on a positive and hopeful note. The plot is well structured and the build-up to the final reveal was suspenseful with plenty of surprises along the way.

"There were so many reasons a soul might remain: a debt that needed paying, vengeance, guilt over earthly actions and their subsequent consequences”. This is not a genre I read much, but I enjoyed the spooky, Gothic vibe, the characters (even the "ghosts and ghoulies") and the mystery at the core of the story. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.