My Other Husband by Dorothy Koomson

 

                                         

Hardback:  419 pages

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Headline 2022

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: 'Cleo Forum Pryce, I am arresting you on the suspicion of attempted murder.'

Review Quote: A richly-crafted psychological thriller, Koomson's clever tale makes for disturbing and compulsive reading ― Woman

My Opinion:  I usually find Dorothy Koomson's writing entertaining from page one. However this time I struggled at first, as it took me quite awhile to get to grips with the somewhat perplexing plot. Once everything clicked into place, it continued as as intriguing read.

The protagonist Cleo's world is a complicated one and the reader is continually thrown new twists and turns to keep them guessing. It appears her life has become very messy and she does not know which way to turn as she tries to extricate herself from a difficult situation.

In the end this turned out to be a compelling thriller which I can recommend to those readers that are fans of the genre.

Previous Review:  I Know What You've Done

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

What if your murderous fantasies start to come true?

Someone is trying to frame me for murder.

They're hurting people in the ways I write about - and making sure I'm the prime suspect.

I think I know why.

But I can't tell the police or even use my rock-solid alibi . . .

Because then I'd have to confess about my other husband.

A series of terrifying murders. A set of complex lies.

And a woman with no way to clear her name.

My Other Husband is the latest gripping thriller from the Queen of The Big Reveal.

Author Profile

Courtesy of Goodreads

Dorothy's Personal Profile can be found at About Me - Dorothy Koomson 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Author Official Website   Dorothy Koomson - Goodreads Profile   Twitter - Dorothy Koomson

Facebook Profile  Instagram - Dorothy Koomson

I know what you've done by Dorothy Koomson

 

Paperback:  385 pages

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Headline 2021

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: I know who is going to do it. That is, I know the person most likely to kill me.

Review Quote: 'An instantly involving psychological thriller' Daily Telegraph

My Opinion:  How well do we know our neighbours? In this tense novel Dorothy Koomson uncovers the secrets of Acacia Villas in Brighton, where all is not as it seems. One of the residents Rae, is convinced of one of the other resident's intentions to murder her.

Excellent characterisation and well presented back stories about the characters, which are all integral to the plot.

A clever and twisting story that I recommend as a great choice for all fans of psychological thrillers.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

When Rae answers her front door one afternoon, her neighbour, Priscilla, thrusts a book into her hands before collapsing.

After Priscilla is rushed to hospital, Rae discovers the book is actually a diary full of all their neighbours' deepest secrets.

Rae knows she should hand the book over to the police investigating Priscilla's attack... but she's spotted her husband's name in the diary and she needs to know what he - and everyone else - has done.

But if someone tried to kill Priscilla to keep their secret, how long before Rae is in danger, too?

Author Profile

Courtesy of Goodreads

Dorothy's Personal Profile can be found at About Me - Dorothy Koomson 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Author Official Website   Dorothy Koomson - Goodreads Profile   Twitter - Dorothy Koomson

Facebook Profile  Instagram - Dorothy Koomson

The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

Hardback: 440 pages

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction.
Publisher: Quercus 2013
Source: Tywyn Public Library.
First Sentence:  Prologue: 'Are you going to tell the police?' she asks
Review Quote: 'Another moving and thought-provoking read, this lives up to expectations' Cosmopolitan.
My Opinion: A psychological thriller of a tale with plenty of twists and turns to keep you thinking.


It was in 2010 that I last read any novels by Dorothy Koomson, I did not rate either of them very highly, probably why I still have some of her titles sitting on my bookshelves unread. Having now read ' The Flavours of Love' I need to look at them again. Yes this was better than anticipated I am glad I decided to give this author another try. After all the ones I read previously were written over ten years ago and writers do change their writing style over the years, like us all they are maturing.  My introduction to her writing had been back in 2006 when I read and enjoyed My Best Friend's Girl, maybe it was a mistake to add her back catalogue to my wishlist at that time. Never mind her writing has taken a change of direction and is now classed as 'emotional thrillers' so she is back on my reading list and The Flavours of Love did not disappoint me. 

The Flavours of Love deals with how the protagonist Saffron copes with becoming a widow after the murder of her husband. It is eighteen months since her husband was murdered and she has decided to finish writing a cookbook that he had been working on when he died. Through past and present we gradually learn what was and in fact still is going on in her family's life life, all is not as it seems. Both she and her daughter are keeping secrets that may well ruin their lives, but of course the truth will come out in the end. How though? That is for me to know and you to find out when you read the novel for yourself.

A psychological thriller of a tale with plenty of twists and turns to keep you thinking. Recommended to fans of this genre, although rather different from Sophie Hannah I think it may well appeal if you enjoy her novels.

This is a great radio interview about the novel with Dorothy Koomson.



I have read three of Dorothy Koomson's earlier novels and reviewed two of them on this blog. 
The Cupid Effect and The Chocolate Run  The first one I read was from 2006 My Best Friends Girl was reviewed on Bookcrossing.


Author Profile

I have taken the liberty of using the authors own words and photo below from her website. The only thing she does not tell us is when she was born although I did discover it was in 1971.

Bio

Posted on April 18, 2012

Hello, my name’s Dorothy Koomson and I’ll try to make this bit that’s all about me as interesting as possible.

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 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.

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.

Okay, back to me. I recently spent two years living in Sydney Australia, and now I’m back in England, living on the south coast and still writing books.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.


Dorothy Koomson - Official Website   Amazon - Author Profile  Goodreads - Author Profile

Facebook Page - Dorothy Koomson    You Tube Interview    Wikipedia Profile   Twitter Profile