The Friend by Dorothy Koomson (Penguin) ISBN 978-1-780-89599-4
I thoroughly enjoyed Dorothy Koomson’s The Ice Cream Girls, so when I saw her novel, The Friend I knew it was a must-read.
Cece Solarin makes the ultimate sacrifice, she gives up the life she has built for herself in London, which includes her friends and her career, to support her husband. When Cece moves to Brighton she doesn’t expect much, she knows it will be a challenge, but she needs to invest more time in her relationship with her husband.
Once there, she makes three new friends, Maxine, Hazel, and Anaya. Although they appear to be great wives and amazing mothers to their children, each woman has a secret and has a lot to lose should anything come out.
Circumstance force her to turn into an impromptu detective as she soon realises that her new found friends probably had something to do with the attack that landed one of their close friends in hospital.
The unexpected ending will leave you questioning your own friends and whatever secrets they might be hiding behind those perfect facades.
Alicia Sibanda
4/5