My main reason for picking this book was the beautiful cover (at the time I hadn't read Dorothy Koomson's previous book, The Friend). I also liked the idea of a woman so obsessed by a twenty-five year old murder she's determined to solve it herself.
Nell and her friend Jude found the body of a young woman on Brighton beach when they were teenagers and from that moment their lives were changed irrevocably. No spoilers, so I'll just say that every member of Nell's family felt the pond-ripple effect of her discovery.
Twenty-five years later and the mystery of who killed the woman who became known as 'The Brighton Mermaid' is no nearer to being solved. Although Nell now works as the deputy manager in a supermarket, she has developed a sideline in helping people find long-lost relatives using family trees and DNA testing. (She has an ulterior motive with the DNA!) The story starts as Nell takes a year's break from work to use these skills to finally discover the Brighton Mermaid's real identity - she's hoping this will lead to the woman's killer.
Twenty-five years later and the mystery of who killed the woman who became known as 'The Brighton Mermaid' is no nearer to being solved. Although Nell now works as the deputy manager in a supermarket, she has developed a sideline in helping people find long-lost relatives using family trees and DNA testing. (She has an ulterior motive with the DNA!) The story starts as Nell takes a year's break from work to use these skills to finally discover the Brighton Mermaid's real identity - she's hoping this will lead to the woman's killer.
I absolutely loved this book! It has all the ingredients I adore - an old mystery, believable but flawed characters, a fabulous heroine, a dysfunctional family, a bit of a romance - and lots of twists! I liked that everything wasn't wrapped up neatly at the end and that I didn't guess the identity of the murderer. I thought the plot was clever and twisty, and it caught me out more than once. I also loved the thoroughly nasty villain. I can't say much more, because of spoilers, but this was one of my favourite reads this year. Recommended, especially for fans of family/domestic murder mysteries and authors such as Lisa Jewell and Harlan Coben.
Thank you to Dorothy Koomson, Cornerstone Digital, and NetGalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.
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