The story is told through the characters of Nell and her sister Macy, and seamlessly switches between the past and the present. Both sisters have been affected by past events. Nell has commitment issues and is seemingly obsessed, whereas Macy is riddled with anxiety issues. Even knowing where they were both coming from and sympathising with them, I found both the sisters incredibly hard to connect to. However, their character development is incredibly intriguing and often made me almost forget about the mysteries that needed solving. These are complex, multi-layered characters that drew me in and kept me immersed throughout. They are being led by local storyteller Cathy Roberts of Literally A Bookshop, who will recite the tale as they go. The trail will begin at 11am. Fiction and storytelling were still a HUGE passion of mine and I continued to write short stories and novels every spare moment that I got. In 2001 I had the idea for The Cupid Effect and my career as a published novelist began. And it's been fantastic. In 2006, third novel, My Best Friend's Girl was published. It was incredibly successful - selling nearly 90,000 copies within its first few weeks on sale. Six weeks later, it was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads Book Club and the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Oh, there I go again, this is meant to be about me, not my novels. Shortly after that Jude disappeared and was never heard from again, and the sisters have to continue with their life, despite the directions the police investigation was going in. The writing is fabulous, I was drawn completely into the story and had my own thoughts as to how it would pan out and I was wrong. I am utterly convinced that Dorothy Koomson gets better and better with every single book, and this is no exception. My only regret is that I read it so soon after getting it so that I now probably have another years wait for another book from this superb author.

New Brighton ahead of busy summer Mermaids come ashore in New Brighton ahead of busy summer

It will be a rare chance to marvel at the real-life mermaids as they join sea turtles, Lulu and Gulliver, in the Day & Night Ocean experience. If you catch their eye, you may even get a mer-mazing greeting! 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. I grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when I went to university. I eventually returned to London to study for my masters degree and stayed put for the following years. I took up various temping jobs and eventually got my big break writing, editing and subbing for various women's magazines and national papers. This is a book told from two viewpoints, Nell and her sister Macy. Both of their lives changed massively in 1993, when Nell and her best friend Jude find a dead body on the beach, who is unidentified but definitely murdered. This will creep its way under your skin and stay there long after you finish the final few gut-twisting chapters. Brilliant’ ( Heat)Jude and I were so similar, so close, and so very different, too. She made me laugh, made me angry, made me scared, made me jealous when she got something I didn’t. And then she vanished.” I wrote my first novel called There's A Thin Line Between Love And Hate when I was 13. I used to write a chapter every night then pass it around to my fellow convent school pupils every morning, and they seemed to love it. I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of The Brighton Mermaid, a stand alone novel set in Brighton. Gostei de A Sereia de Brighton, especialmente pela expetativa que criou desde o início, aquele mistério todo em volta do cadáver da que ficou conhecida como a Sereia de Brighton, uma mulher jovem assassinada que Nell e Jude encontraram quando tinham apenas 14 anos. A própria Jude desaparece pouco depois, sem deixar rasto e esse é outro mistério que ia deixando uma linha aqui, outra acolá, de mistério e me mantinha presa.

Mermaid Trail Mermaid Trail

Koomson is the queen of the big reveal, and takes her time slowly building the tension in this truly gripping read’ ( The Sun) The narrative is fast-paced and kept me wanting to read on, and I love the element of mystery interwoven with topics around family, friendship and secrets. There's a mix of emotions, with some quite disturbing themes cropping up alongside slightly more light-hearted parts. I loved the sense of time and place that Koomson always creates so well - I may only have been a very small child at the time this was set but I could picture myself there, in the early 1990's, right there with Jude and Nell as they made their horrifying discovery.An exciting new tourist trail celebrating a New Brighton legend is set to become the resort’s latest visitor attraction - just in time for summer. The Mermaid Trail is a set of six identical Mermaid statues situated in key locations across New Brighton. They have each been individually decorated, four of them by local schools, one by a community group and one by the local artist who designed and sculpted the statues, Barry Canning-Eaton. Both the design and decoration have been kept a closely guarded secret in the lead up to the unveilings. It's a great thriller- you know about the crimes, a spate of similar girls found. But we have no idea who is killing them or why. Shortly afterwards Nell's friend disappears and she then dedicates trying to find her and help find out who the Brighton Mermaid was. I loved the dna evidence- I hadn't realised that there was such a development in tracing family trees.

Mermaid | Beauty Salon in Seven Dials, Brighton and Hove Mermaid | Beauty Salon in Seven Dials, Brighton and Hove

It is hoped that local residents and visitors to New Brighton will also take part in the launch by joining the Mayor of Wirral at the end of the trail on the 7 th June at 2.45pm at Victoria Road, near to The Olive Tree restaurant.

I absolutely enjoyed every moment my time reading, The Brighton Mermaid. It was hard to put it down. Trust me, it’s a MUST read this summer. Be sure to l let me know what you think, if you do. This book crosses the genres of thriller/drama/domestic noir/crime/contemporary fiction and I think would appeal to a wide audience because of this. Written from the perspectives of two sisters you see a dark, twisted tale unfold as a terrible event rips a family apart and the far-reaching consequences this has for all involved. Follow the trail around New Brighton and read the story of the legend as told by local storyteller Cathy Roberts of Literally A Bookshop. With restrictions just about to lift, SEA LIFE Brighton is bringing us even more to look forward to this summer!