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. Jude leaves Nell down on the beach while she goes to call the police. Both girls are nervous about talking to the police because they shouldn’t have been out at the party.

This is not a particularly fast moving read but it is quite gripping as a slow burner. Nell is still obsessed 25 years later with finding Jude and identifying Brighton Mermaid, so called because of where she was found and the intricate tattoo of a mermaid on her arm. Recent developments which are initially hidden from the reader and the upcoming 25th anniversary of the discovery have accelerated her investigation. Nell uses a mixture of genealogy, names and DNA in her hunt - I can't explain it more as the science went a bit over my head (it's not very technical I'm just a science duffer) but it seems to work for all the people she helps except herself and her quest.

What Pope had done had sliced away pieces of my father’s soul, leaving him diminished. He was still him – he had the same stature and deep, commanding voice. But he was also fretful in quiet moments, distant where before he had been engaged.” 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. It's a great thriller- you know about the crimes, a spate of similar girls found. But we have no idea who is killing them or why. Shortly afterwards Nell's friend disappears and she then dedicates trying to find her and help find out who the Brighton Mermaid was. I loved the dna evidence- I hadn't realised that there was such a development in tracing family trees. Hello, my name's Dorothy Koomson and I'll try to make this bit that's all about me as interesting as possible.

In 1993 Nell and Jude were suspected of involvement in the murder and questioned ruthlessly without an adult present. The lead policemen was named Pope and his style of questioning was particularly aggressive and made Jude cry. This made Nell determined not to cry because although Jude was the strong one Nell was the stubborn one.Teenagers Nell and Jude find the body of a young woman and when no one comes to claim her, she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell is still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.