The Ice Cream Girls
Author: Dorothy Koomson
Published by: Headline Publishing
Pages: 470
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★
Published by: Headline Publishing
Pages: 470
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★
Serena and Poppy were teenagers when they were branded as the Ice Cream Girls.
When they were accused of murder, one of them was sent to prison while the other was set free.
Now, 20 years later, one of them is doing all she can to clear her name and the other is frantically trying to keep her secrets.
Which Ice Cream Girl is desperate enough to kill to get what she wants?
When they were accused of murder, one of them was sent to prison while the other was set free.
Now, 20 years later, one of them is doing all she can to clear her name and the other is frantically trying to keep her secrets.
Which Ice Cream Girl is desperate enough to kill to get what she wants?
My thoughts:
It would be so easy to judge this book by it’s cover and assume that it’s going to be frothy chick-lit, but don’t fall for the cover - this is very much a psychological thriller.
As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.
Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again…
This is a story of two young naïve girls who are reeled in by Marcus, a predator of the first order in this story of seduction, first love, manipulation, control, domestic violence and murder. When Marcus is stabbed to death one night the two girls are tried for murder. Serena is found innocent, but Poppy is sentenced to life imprisonment. Fairly early on in the book, she is released from prison and determined to clear her name.
I loved the first half, and quickly found it hard to put down, as the writing delved from the present day back to the late 1980s. It was gripping and unsettling to see the relationships with Marcus unfold, and gradually become more and more sinister.
On the other hand, as the story developed some moments really didn’t seem realistic at all, in particular the court case itself. In reality, I’m sure the girls would have been dealt with as victims due to their age. The whole court case was handled in a highly improbable manner and felt very unrealistic. I guessed the ending very early on in the story. There was so much I questioned while reading that I think I was hoping for a more realistic and complex twist at the end, when the true identity of the murderer would be revealed. I don’t want to go into too much detail here as it would spoil the book for others.
For the most part, I loved the story and couldn’t put the book down, but there were also parts of the book that I felt dragged a little. I had hoped for a more refined plot, but overall this was a very enjoyable read.
Overall reaction:
It would be so easy to judge this book by it’s cover and assume that it’s going to be frothy chick-lit, but don’t fall for the cover - this is very much a psychological thriller.
As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.
Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again…
This is a story of two young naïve girls who are reeled in by Marcus, a predator of the first order in this story of seduction, first love, manipulation, control, domestic violence and murder. When Marcus is stabbed to death one night the two girls are tried for murder. Serena is found innocent, but Poppy is sentenced to life imprisonment. Fairly early on in the book, she is released from prison and determined to clear her name.
I loved the first half, and quickly found it hard to put down, as the writing delved from the present day back to the late 1980s. It was gripping and unsettling to see the relationships with Marcus unfold, and gradually become more and more sinister.
On the other hand, as the story developed some moments really didn’t seem realistic at all, in particular the court case itself. In reality, I’m sure the girls would have been dealt with as victims due to their age. The whole court case was handled in a highly improbable manner and felt very unrealistic. I guessed the ending very early on in the story. There was so much I questioned while reading that I think I was hoping for a more realistic and complex twist at the end, when the true identity of the murderer would be revealed. I don’t want to go into too much detail here as it would spoil the book for others.
For the most part, I loved the story and couldn’t put the book down, but there were also parts of the book that I felt dragged a little. I had hoped for a more refined plot, but overall this was a very enjoyable read.
Overall reaction:
