Death of a Mermaid
by Lesley Thomson
Freddy left her childhood home in Newhaven twenty-two years ago and swore never to return. But now her parents are dead, and she’s back in her hometown to help her brothers manage the family fishmonger. Nothing here has changed: the stink of fish coming up from the marshes; the shopping trolleys half-buried by muddy tides; the neighbors sniffing for a new piece of gossip.
It’s not what Freddy would have chosen, but at least while she’s here she’ll get to see her childhood best friends, Toni and Pauline. At school, the three of them were inseparable. The teachers called them the Mermaids for their obsession with the sea, and with each other.
Then Pauline goes missing, and Freddy must decide. Go back to her new life, or stay and find her friend?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
A hush fell over the pews. Girls scented trouble. Fights in the convent were supposed to be out of the sight, if not from God, at least from the nuns.
Toni Kemp was watching her. With the twisted perception of a thwarted adolescent, Karen was convinced Toni had engineered her tragedy to worm her way into Mags’s Mermaids.
But the fun of the hidden wore off and hindsight had shown Freddy it was toxic. A love kept secret feels barely true.
My Review:
This was my first exposure to the devious nuanced plotting of Lesley Thomson and I am wondering why I have not noticed her work before as I’ve been missing out. Her word skills are vast with storylines that tangle, mesh, and unravel with cunning and guile. The plot was rather complex and contained several relevant and major social issues from domestic abuse, bullying on several levels, friendship, coming of age, homophobia, dysfunctional family dynamics, mean girls, religious practices and fanaticism, murder, and greed. All the characters, primary, secondary, and even those just briefly passing through, were an interesting mix with unique quirks and odd yet interestingly detailed traits that at times were unexpected and somewhat incongruent while they tickled my gray cells and taunted my curiosity. Such as the detective who had retained the agile shoplifting skills she had honed as a teen for the risky five-finger discount when it came to purchasing chocolates.
The tale was observantly written from multiple POVs with keenly perceptive and insightful glimpses into each prickly character as the story threads slowly built toward a dark and cohesive core. I was holding myself tighter and tighter and nibbling on my cuticles as the tautly written tale built to a climax. And while I had guessed whom the murderer was early on, the rest of my theories and hypothesized motives were incorrect.
In addition to assisting in solving a series of tragic murders, I also gleaned two new additions to my Brit Word List with Roundheads – who were supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War and distinguished by a close-cropped hairstyle; and cottaging – men cruising for or engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory.
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This looks so good. I love mysteries about old friends.
This sounds like an awesome read. Great review!
I enjoy a good mystery and this sounds right up my alley.
Ooh I love the sound of this! Your review has piqued my interest DJ!
I love a good mystery, and the cover is super creepy.
That cover is creepy! But it pulled me in. I don’t read mysteries very often but this one sounds like it would definitely keep me hooked 🙂 Fantastic review!
This plot sounds intriguing! I might try it
You liked it more than I did… I wanted it to go a little faster. Patience is a virtue I no longer have
This sounds like a good book.