Maja (The Nocturnal Library)'s Reviews > Black Flowers, White Lies

With its intriguing title and gorgeous cover, Black Flowers, White Lies immediately draws our attention and promises to be a great paranormal story, a frightening psychological thriller and a thorough exploration of loss and grief, all rolled into one. It is a pretty tall order for a relatively small book, so feeling mildly disappointed in the end doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Black Flowers, White Lies could have been a much better work, but it fell a bit short in execution and characterization.

Ella’s mother is getting married in a few days, but Ella struggles to let go of her father. He died before she was born, but she’s been thinking about him and visiting his grave her entire life. Ella is convinced that her father watches her and protects her, even though no one else understands her obsession. As a ghost story, Black Flowers merely scratches the surface and doesn’t give us nearly enough to justify describing it as such. Ella’s father could really be watching over her, or it could just be a figment of her imagination. There aren’t any definitive answers, which leaves us to wonder why this particular plot line was introduced in the first place.

The book fares slightly better in the psychological thriller department, where it at least makes a half-decent effort. The psychological mystery is thought through and developed, albeit with several plot holes, but the conclusion we work towards never actually comes. The person who works against Ella is painfully obvious from the start, and even though the red herrings draw our attention for a minute or two, we never really wander all that far. The biggest problem, however, is sheer lack of characterization for the villain. We never quite understand the person’s motives, and, without a final confrontation, we are left with a whole string of violent, manipulative actions that make very little sense. Motives are crucial for a good psychological thriller and leaving us without answers pretty much guarantees disappointment.

Nevertheless, Black Flowers, White Lies shows some potential and leaves things open for a (hopefully more focused) sequel, which has yet to be announced.