Reviews

The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson

helplesswhilstdrying's review

4.0

Plucked off my TBR shelf where it’s sat for way too long. One of my favourite DK books that I’ve read in a while and read 360 out of 430 pages in one sitting on a long flight.

Easy to read, mostly small chapters mostly flipping between two sisters, Nell who discovered a body on the beach known as the Brighton mermaid 25 years ago with her best friend Jude who a few weeks ago went missing shortly after the discovery. And Macy, her sister who seems to have developed ptsd from the events that surrounded her family in the wake of Nell’s discovery.

Nell is likeable, strong character who you are rooting for to get her answers. Macy at times is thoroughly unlikable but her sisters clear love for her sister and appreciation for why she is the way she is, tamed the dislike.

Overall what I enjoyed most in the book was the character and family dynamics, some of the twists I guessed, some of them I didn’t.

Spoiler : whilst I did like the book overall, I didn’t think Jude’s disappearance really felt properly explained in the backstory as to why she felt the need to disappear, it felt loosely implied but not explained and by the point this happened it was all I really cared about

biacurioso's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

alexia_15's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

tallulah85's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

not_asha01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bexcmaynard's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

aina21's review

3.0

It was great

electricele's review

3.0

Not rocking some characters
Good mystery though

jules_writes's review

5.0

I didn’t want to put it down!

I’m so glad I finally got round to picking it up…Dorothy Koomson never fails to deliver a gripping read.

remigves's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0