The Brighton Mermaid

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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. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to have the life I thought I would live, as best friends with Nell, getting a proper boyfriend, passing my exams, going to university. I didn’t want to leave but if I wasn’t going to go to the police then I had to, because I couldn’t live in a house with my dad and pretend.” 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.

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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. 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. 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. Starting from Kings Parade, the first statue – the ‘Ebb & Flow Mermaid’ - is situated next to the Championship Adventure Golf and is decorated by children and young people engaged with Ebb & Flow Community Interest Company, with its decoration inspired by natural wonders in and around New Brighton.Follow the trail around New Brighton and read the story of the legend as told by local storyteller Cathy Roberts of Literally A Bookshop.

The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson | Waterstones

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! 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… 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.

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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. The six ‘life size’ identical statues were designed and sculpted by local artist, Barry Canning-Eaton, and five decorated by local schools and an arts based community interest organisation. The Trail starts by the Championship Adventure Golf and weaves its way through the resort past some of New Brighton’s history and heritage, including great places to eat, drink, shop and have fun. The Map Guide to accompany the trail includes a bespoke map designed by local illustrator Fat Cat Illustration and is available from venues including: 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.