‘Every love story has a dangerous twist. Tamia Challey is horrified when her husband, Scott, is accused of something terrible - but when she discovers who his accuser is, everything goes into freefall.
Backed into a corner and unsure what to think, Tamia is forced to choose who she instinctively believes. But this choice has dire consequences for all concerned, especially when matters take a tragic turn.
Then a stranger arrives in town to sprinkle rose petals in the sea in memory of her lost loved one. This stranger carries with her shocking truths that will change the lives of everyone she meets, and will once again force Tamia to make some devastating choices…’
‘The Rose Petal Beach’ is the story of many love stories - an exploration of lust and infidelity, a searching into the depths of maternal love, and a questioning of the sustainability of pure love. Although the plot is complicated (yet deftly controlled), the writing appears effortless, it is easy to read.
‘The Rose Petal Beach’ opens with us meeting Tamia Challey. She’s a wife, a mother and a friend. Immediately, the reader is thrown into Tamia’s chaos as her world is devastated with the arresting of her husband on suspicion of sexual assault. Later, the reader discovers that the accusation comes from Tamia’s best friend, and as the story unravels we hear the arguments given to Tamia by her best friend, by the police and by her husband. The reader is thrown into a sickening ‘what would I do in this situation?’. I felt uncomfortable, anxious, unsettled. Away from the story it haunted me. I sat for hours thinking about who I’d believe, the father of my children or my best friend? Then I’d return to the novel and as the story twisted I’d change my opinion, I’d grow cross with myself for not believing the female character, for doubting her, then I’d grow angry at the female character for telling lies. The evidence was stacking up, the narrative was unravelling, I felt uncomfortable with the inevitability of the truth and, then, another unexpected (and VERY clever) twist was thrown in. I won’t spoil this for you. But it is soon clear that this novel possesses many secrets that need to be told.
Each chapter of ‘The Rose Petal Beach’ is told in first person narrative, all female, each link together. The characterisation is complex. Characters all have dark and light, good and bad, the reader is urged to seek the goodness. The reader can’t help but like parts of each of the characters (even, later, Scott). Characters find redemption in some form, there is growth, reactions are authentic and I especially loved that the characters had dimensions. They felt real, I like that my first impressions of each of the characters altered.
‘The Rose Petal Beach’ is pacey, with short chapters and plot twists that shock. I like short chapters, they’re ideal for the bath and for snatched moments on school runs. But this is no tiny book that can fit in your pocket, at 549 pages of gorgeous hardback, ‘The Rose Petal Beach’ is close to the size of two standard novels. I loved that this was a meaty read, devoured over a couple of weeks, I invested time and I was rewarded for that investment. I didn’t, at all, predict the conclusion.
Within ‘The Rose Petal Beach’ the compelling plots unravel and show how blurred lines mark friendship, love, lust and loyalty. Nothing is quite as it seems, the twists are unexpected and never clichéd and this thriller (with a heart) lifts Dorothy Koomson onto yet another high level and shows her utter skill as a writer. I admire Dorothy, she never patronises her audience or takes us for granted, each novel is better and bolder and, really, very fabulous. I highly and absolutely recommend ‘The Rose Petal Beach’ to you. It’s an ideal read, an emotional thriller for these wet autumn nights, and the hardback edition is truly stunning (to hold and stroke).
