He sees her. The one. The sunglasses don’t fool anyone, she is clearly upset, her nose and lips swollen from crying. They are two lost souls and he knows his love can help her. After all, she is not the first girl he has followed home…
Adam is the perfect boyfriend. He pays attention, he buys flowers. He knows everything about Laura and looks after her every need. He cooks, he cleans – he even does the dishes without being asked.
But Laura has never met Adam. Still grieving after a devastating car crash that killed her family, she’s forgetful and struggling to pull her life together. She’d be horrified to know the depth of this unsettling fantasy in which she is the star. But there’s no denying the chill she feels every time she finds another elaborate bouquet on her doorstep, or wakes in the night sensing she is not alone.
Adam has been watching her every move, and now it’s time to act. Except, there’s one little detail he’s missed: Laura has been watching him too.
After everything she’s been through, Laura’s ready to fight back and stop being the victim in her own life story. But in Adam’s world, there are no happy endings…
Barbara is the Amazon and USA Today bestselling author of psychological thrillers INVISIBLE, FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD, THE DARKEST LIES, and HER LAST SECRET. Her latest book is THE PERFECT FRIEND.
More importantly, she loves cakes, wildlife photography and, last but definitely not least, her two dogs, Scamp and Buddy (who force her to throw tennis balls for them for hours).
Having spent over twenty years as a national newspaper and magazine journalist, Barbara has interviewed the real victims of crime – and also those who have carried those crimes out. She is fascinated by creating realistic, complex characters, and taking them apart before the readers’ eyes in order to discover just how much it takes to push a person over a line.
When not writing feverishly, she is often found hiding behind a camera, taking wildlife photographs.
My Review:
When I heard that Flowers for the Dead is been republished by Bookouture and they were organising a blogtour, I begged and pleaded the lovely team for a slot on the tour and even re-read the book because I loved the book so much when I read it in 2016, however back then my reviews were “in my opinion” crap.
So, here is my 2020 review for Flowers for the Dead:
Adam Bourne is our narrator, he is also a serial killer which gives the reader an uncomfortable view in the mind of this damaged young man. All he wants is to be loved and love someone back. He grew up believing in fairy tales and that gentlemen should also look after their ladies and it’s these beliefs that escalate Adam from a peeping tom into a full blown stalker/serial killer.
When I read this book back in 2016 it was the first time I had read a story told from the perspective of a serial killer and I actually felt sorry for him and also hoped he would find love and acceptance, however now I’m that much older and wiser – I can safely say Adam Bourne is a sicko – a twisted, depraved, disturbing and very dangerous man whose mental health and troubled upbringing have contributed into creating this monster.
Adam’s latest love interest is Laura Weir, a young women who is still grieving for the loss of her entire family killed in a car crash 4 years previously. Living alone and working in a dead-end job, she is going through the motions of life without actually living it. Adam decides he will save her and sets about to become her ideal boyfriend, sending her flowers, cooking and cleaning her flat, buying her presents and watching over her whilst she sleeps… EXCEPT Laura doesn’t know Adam at all – she has no idea he is stalking her and is beginning to freak out about these strange occurrences which are leaving her more confused and vulnerable. Even the police won’t listen to her so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
If you love sick, twisted serial killer thrillers then you will love Flowers For The Dead. This story does include some very uncomfortable subject matters which may upset readers including child abuse, sexual child abuse and stalking which are integral to the story line, but are very upsetting to read.
