It's not often you feel sorry for the bad guy, but the author has written his story so well that you feel sympathy for him! The chapters go from past to present, and as his story is slowly revealed, you can understand how he ends up the way he is.

I loved that we see into Adam's mind, and how he feels that the girls he's stalking should already know him, as he knows them so well. It's creepy, scary, and completely believable, and sends shivers down your spine. The symbolic connection with flowers is cleverly done, and adds an emotional touch as it was learned from his grandmother, the only woman to ever show Adam some love.

Laura and Mike are great characters too. Laura is struggling to overcome a devastating tragedy, and her transformation from wanting to die to wanting to live at all costs has you rooting for her. Mike is also trying to overcome a tragic loss, while battling personal demons at the same time.

I was on tenterhooks towards the end, as Adam spirals out of control and Laura is unaware of the danger she's in. The book is a roller coaster of emotions that keeps you turning the pages, and has an ending that doesn't disappoint! Highly recommend.

I was really looking forward to reading this one as have enjoyed Barbara's books in the past....so was a little disappointed not to enjoy it more. I found it quite confusing the way the book jumped around in time and person to person without making it clear who it was about and when, and to me this halted my enjoyment of the book.

I did like hearing from Adam's perspective, a bit like "you", but I thought the inclusion of perspectives from so many characters again made it a little confusing. Also probably the first time I have felt sorry for the bad guy.

Not for me I'm afraid, sorry.

Adam Bourne is a serial killer who thinks he is a saviour. He believes he 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.

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…

I was attracted to this book because of it's cover and the premise and I was not disappointed!

The minute I started reading this I was hooked and I couldn't wait to finish it. The book was written in such an amazing way, alternating between the past and present, so as to describe the abuse that Adam suffered leading him to turn into a psychopath.

The main characters were written so well. While most part of the book I got creeped out by Adam, there were times when I actually felt bad for him and wished that he find the girl of his dreams. Laura and Mike were good too and it was interesting to see them both cope with their losses.

The unique feature in this book was that each chapter was named after different flowers along with the meanings and significance of each of them. This was something interesting and knowledgeable.

Overall, an enjoyable and creepy psychological thriller!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I was really looking forward to reading this, have heard some great things about the author. The start was promising and intriguing. Told from several different characters perspectives and timelines. Laura had lost her family in a tragic accident, after that she seems to not want to live her life herself. Adam is abused as a young boy as we see home from 25 years earlier, then in the present as he mutilates women, believing he is doing them a favour, trying to show he loves them.

The problem I found is the characters were just not alive enough, Adam was twisted, was he born that way or was he made that way? I wanted the story to be more creepy, but I think the fact you know who is doing the killing from the start, reduced the tension for me personally, and it just didn’t keep the momentum.

I will be checking out other books by the author. Unfortunately this one just didn’t have the suspense I was looking for.

I would like to thank #netgalley and the publishers for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest fair and unbiased review.

I couldn’t put this book down yet it was incredibly hard to read.

This is the You series on Netflix on steroids. To read of the graphic details of horrific abuse committed against Adam by his mother was just chilling. The wonderful and comforting Gran was sweet and sad. His father was a best indifferent but also unable, and worse, unwilling to understand his shy, sensitive and “feminine” son.

I loved the switch up between past and present and the gradual descriptive process of building this psychopath (sociopath?) that Is Adam. I also loved the flowers! How they tied into the only person that truly loved Adam and their meanings. They gave more insight to his truly twisted way of thinking and character overall.

Mike was a great character as was Laura. They are both trying to recover from great losses. Their paths to healing are touching and felt very real.

I thought this all came together very well. It does have some repetition and slower moment but I was fascinated nonetheless. Second book by this author and I can’t wait for the next!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this ARC. This is not like any other serial killer book I have read. Much of it was from Adam's POV - you really get to see what he's thinking, and why. In some ways it made him a sympathetic character, even though he's a killer. I think that took some brilliant writing! I liked how reason for all of the characters was made clear by the end of the book. One downside for me was that it was pretty graphic at times, so after the first time I got grossed out, I started skipping bits. But that didn't really detract from the book. I'm going to look up other books by this author!

Another new author to me but an excellent read.

In many ways Adam is the ideal boyfriend. Attentive, aware of all Laura's likes and dislikes, buys her flowers, cooks , cleans but Laura has never met Adam. Laura is in a bad place in life generally and has never gotten over the car crash that killed her family. So is further disturbed when strange occurrences happen leaving her feeling more vulnerable. 
The police won't listen to Laura's concerns so she is forced to fight back on her own. 

This is quite a disturbing novel in someways but an interesting read. Adam Bourne is a serial killer who murders women and cuts off their lips. The story is told by going back and forwards to incidents in Adams life and things become clearer to why he is the way he is. A creepy novel that is probably not best read when alone.


I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Flowers for the Dead was a did not finish book for me. The synopsis sounded intriguing but I did not like the writing style. I thought it wooden, short sentences, no emotion. Shame because this book has some crazy good reviews!

DNF - is an automated three stars from me.

3.5

“Some people are just born twisted… and some people are made that way.”

Adam is a real gentleman. All he has ever wanted is to find his true love, to make her happy, to take care of her and tend to her every need. He longs to find someone he can really be with.
Therefore, he is looking for damsels in distress. They are so unhappy and that is why he chooses them. They need someone to look after them. He just wants to make them happy.
No matter what it takes.

Because sometimes bad things happen even when you have the best of intentions.

They say if you love someone, set them free. That is what Adam does.

Her body has been laid out, eyes closed, with her arms across her chest. She looks so at peace. She should be because she is dead. A bunch of daffodils are placed on her and around her body. Her face is bloody. Her lips are gone.

She is not the first victim and she is not going to be the last.

Thanks to the author, Bookouture and the NetGalley for providing me with a copy.

I have read one book before by this author and I was a big fan. This one is another OMG book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was just brilliant.

Children are influenced by so many people when they are growing up. The most important ones are the parents and they are often responsible for their offspring's mental health. When something goes wrong that's when the 'fun' starts. Well, what  some call fun, means a nightmare for others.

Sometimes you hate the killer. Sometimes you feel for them. This time my heart broke...

The author takes us to the past to fill us in on the background story of the killer and to explain why he does what he does. At the same time we are on the front row in the present witnessing every single action. 

I loved it and can't wait for a new book by this writer. 5 stars? Of course!!

Thank you, Barbara Copperthwaite and Bookouture

Laura is unable to stop obsessing over the night her parents and brother died in a car accident. Survivor's guilt and loneliness do not help her situation.

Then we have Adam, a victim of child abuse and loneliness, himself. He is constantly searching for a woman who is "The One". However, is Adam a serial killer? After one strange kill, he stalks Laura with flowers (his favorite calling card). And more...

Perhaps this time Adam may have chosen the wrong person to be his next "The One"...

A gripping thriller.

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a suspenseful and different kind of read.

A car accident wipes out Laura's family and she is struggling with every day life.Unknown to laura she is in the sights of a dangerous stalker called Adam who believes she is the woman of his dreams.5*

While I did enjoy this book I was confused as well. The story started off so great and had me tingling with anticipation just found that the anticipation didn't carry over to the full story for me.

I do believe that this has to do with the fact I had wanted to read this for so long.

This is a great example of the genre: dark, twisty, and gripping.

Adam is almost impossible not to like, akin to Kepnes' Joe, from You/Hidden Bodies. he is articulate, caring (in his own very bizarre way) and has a backstory that illicits, if not sympathy, understanding.

The reality is, he was by far my favourite character. Laura I found to be very two-dimensional and dull. The reality is I couldn't bring myself to care whether she got away from Adam or not. I don't know if you should ever find yourself cheering for the bad guy!

Other than that, I have to commend the idea, the research and the way it was pulled together. A bit slower than I'd like though, but that's me being an impatient reader probably.

Ummm, why did I like Adam? Is there something wrong with me. Maybe it’s not like. But I felt sorry for him. It reminded me of You by Caroline Kepnes in some ways — for the Joe/Adam reason.

Having said that, the author is a genius. Her mind is dark and twisted, but genius. A bit frightening!

I really enjoyed it, though in some parts I felt it dragged and was drawn out too long.

This was an interesting read which had me hooked from the start. Serial killer stories are not unique but this guys MO was totally different to the normal stories I read and was very exciting. If you end up on this guys radar watch out. Although the home help is useful the end result is always the same and not pretty. In this book it’s very hard for the police to even understand what is going on after they find a body with her lips missing and then when a young girl reports someone is breaking into her flat and doing her washing up they are quick to dismiss her. Maybe they should be taking her fears more seriously.

This is the story of a woman outsmarting her stalker. There is no suspense or mystery as both sides of the story are told in the same chapter. The pace is quite slow and the police get to work things out only very late. The narrative feels repetitive. The last 10% of the book is good. I could not connect with this book. I don't like to post negative reviews as any author would have put in a lot of effort into their book. Sorry to the author and the publisher. 2.5 stars

This book is a twisted love story. An unassuming female and her insistent paramour, the issue is she doesn’t know him. Read this thriller that takes obsession to another level.

Laura is struggling with a devastating loss, a car accident that killed her family. She’s having a hard time coping with day to day life and has no idea that she has become the object of a dangerous stalker’s affections. Adam is sure that Laura is the woman of his dreams, and he’s sure he’s the man to make all her dreams come true. Shades of You in this creepy story of obsession, with a bit of a feminist twist

This book was quite the thriller! It was suspenseful and kept me on my toes. It is a bit graphic and terrifying but engaging and intriguing,