The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson @DorothyKoomson @PenguinUKBooks @ed_pr #TheBrightonMermaid

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…

Fast-paced and thrilling, The Brighton Mermaid explores the deadly secrets of those closest to you.

A version of this reviewed was previously published in The Daily Express.


The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson was published by Century/Penguin Books on 17th May 2018.  My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

The story begins twenty-five years ago; it’s 1993 in Brighton Beach and Nell and Jude are teenagers. They’ve sneaked out without their parents knowledge to go to a party thrown by a local boy. They are making their way home in the early hours when they discover a body laying on the sand.

The identity of this young woman is never discovered and she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell and Jude’s lives change overnight and whilst Nell struggles to understand why the police are convinced that she and her family have something to do with the body, Jude disappears.

Moving forward to the present day and Nell is still obsessed with the Brighton Mermaid, and with Jude’s disappearance. She spends every minute that she can spare, online; frantically trying to find people; anyone who may hold a clue to the identity of the mermaid and to Jude’s disappearance. When she gives up her job to carry on this work, she begins to uncover things that certain people really don’t want anyone to know about.

The Brighton Mermaid is a mystery story, a crime thriller and a detailed and fascinating exploration of relationships, and how one event can affect so many lives for such a long time. This author has created characters who are perfectly formed, yet incredibly flawed at the same time. Her insight in the human psyche and the way in which judgements can be altered so quickly is excellently done.

The book simmers with tension throughout, the depth of character and the intricately woven and ever changing relationship add a darkness to what is an excellent story.

Dorothy Koomson is the award-winning author of 14 novels and has been making up stories since she was 13 when she used to share her stories with her convent school friends. Her published titles include: The Friend, When I Was Invisible, That Girl From Nowhere, The Flavours of Love, The Woman He Loved Before, Goodnight, Beautiful and The Chocolate Run. 

Dorothy’s first novel, The Cupid Effect, was published in 2003 (when she was quite a bit older than 13). Her third book, My Best Friend’s Girl, was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads of 2006 and went on to sell over 500,000 copies. While her fourth novel, Marshmallows For Breakfast, has sold in excess of 250,000 copies. Dorothy’s books, The Ice Cream Girls and The Rose Petal Beach were both shortlisted for the popular fiction category of the British Book Awards in 2010 and 2013, respectively. 

Dorothy’s novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and a TV adaptation loosely based on The Ice Cream Girls was shown on ITV1 in 2013. After briefly living in Australia, Dorothy now lives in Brighton. 

For more information on Dorothy Koomson visit www.dorothykoomson.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @DorothyKoomson

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Find her on Instagram @dorothykoomson_author