The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson

The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson
UK Publication: 2018
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Random House UK  (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

What could possibly go wrong on the beach….

Synopsis from Goodreads: Brighton Beach, 1993

Teenagers Nell and Jude find the body of a young woman and when no one comes to claim her, she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell is still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.

Twenty-five years on, Nell is forced to quit her job to find out who the Brighton Mermaid really was – and what happened to her best friend that summer.

But as Nell edges closer to the truth, dangerous things start to happen. Someone seems to be watching her every move, and soon she starts to wonder who in her life she can actually trust

My Thoughts:  Firstly you may be able to tell from the publication dates that I am catching up on my old Netgalley books. I apologies to the author and publisher for the time it has taken to provide this review all I can say is…life.

Onto the book I really enjoyed this murder mystery, I loved the setting of Brighton and I love both Nell and Macy. I appreciate the way that both girls are damaged by what happened when they were younger and the contrast with the ways they both deal with that. This book features a lot of damaged characters and that was a great change from the usual gung-ho heroes you often find in books and who are just slightly too together to feel real.

It was interesting to see the impact of racism as well as assumptions made about young women/girls by those who should be above drawing conclusions based on such flimsy evidence and how these assumptions have lasting consequences.

Who would like this? If like me you have yet to read this book, what are you waiting for? I would recommend it to those who enjoy murder mysteries that are fast paced but not too graphic and who enjoy interesting family dynamics and flawed characters.

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?