THE THIRD STAND-ALONE STORY IN THE GRITTY VALLEY PARK SERIES
When Vivien Young wins the contract to redevelop the Valley Park estate in Newcastle, she is faced with a fierce adversary: a woman who would rather die than leave her crumbling home on the estate. With her company in trouble, Vivien must find a way to persuade the woman to sell up. If she doesn’t, she could not only lose her business, but also the beloved home she shares with her die-hard, hippy father: the Flower House.
The Flower House stands in the shadow of the Valley Park estate. It was passed to Vivien’s father Jeff after his parents’ death in the 1960s, and now he has entrusted it to Vivien.
But within its walls lie painful memories for the father Vivien adores, and a past full of secrets. Secrets that could destroy everything Vivien Young holds dear.
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS FOR THE MOST GRIPPING STORY IN THE VALLEY PARK SERIES YET
What did I think?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! It's SO good I just had to shout about how much I loved it. I have loved every book in The Valley Park Series so far but I think The Flower House is the best one yet.
Set in Newcastle upon Tyne, there's a completely gripping dual timeline in The Flower House but there's also a sharp contrast between people's lives on either side of the Valley Park estate's boundary. Vivien wants to develop the estate and create new homes and amenities but Binty wants to hold on to her home and refuses to sell.
The Flower House is almost a character in its own right as it holds so many secrets within its walls. Jeff and his sister lost their parents at a young age but they inherited the family home. Their naivety is exploited and before they know it, there's a bunch of strangers living in the house and flowers are being painted on the walls.
I was incredibly intrigued by Binty and couldn't read the book fast enough to discover all of her secrets (and there's a lot of them). I had so many questions as I was reading, and they all get answered absolutely brilliantly. If it was a play, I'd have given it a round of applause and a standing ovation. As they say up here in Geordieland, it's pure belter like.
Riveting, compelling and simply brilliant, The Flower House is as impossible to put down as it is to predict. It's a cracking read and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. An easy five stars!
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
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About the author:
Nicky Black writes gritty, North East fiction, full of drama, twists and turns. Geordie criminals divide and rule their territories with a mixture of fear, threats and violence.
The Prodigal and The Rave are the result of a collaboration between two writers, Nicky and Julie. Julie's TV and movie scripts have provided the blueprint for Nicky's creation of these two novels, both set on the fictional Valley Park estate in Newcastle upon Tyne. Both Nicky and Julie have had careers working at the heart of disadvantaged communities in the North East of England, where they experienced the real grit and struggle of peoples' every-day lives, as well as their humour and determination to lead a happy existence, whatever that meant to them.
Nicky was born and brought up in Alnwick in Northumberland and now lives in North Tyneside. Julie is a born and bred Geordie and still lives in the Toon.
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