The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
Genre: Drama, Crime
Read: 6th May 2016
Purchase: Amazon
★★★★★ 5 stars
Dorothy Koomson writes at the end that this book's theme is about domestic violence. Overall it is, but it is also more than that. It is about another taboo topic. The grooming and seduction of underage girls, which is another crime in itself. Men who groom and seduce young teenage girls are predators of the worst kind. Not only are they looking for their own interests, but they know how to recognise those who are more vulnerable, more lonely, those who would be flattered by his attention and more susceptible to his attentions. And more willing. To fall into his arms, his bed and his control. What Marcus did to Serena and Poppy was more than domestic violence - it was child grooming and child sexual abuse. And then he used each of the girls against the other. He was a manipulative controlling child abuser...and he damaged both of those girls irreparably for life.
I will not complain about the justice system and how the court case was unrealistic, as others have done, because that is not what this book was about. If that's what was expected then one would read a police/crime procedural novel. This was about two girls and how their lives intertwined and ultimately how they were damaged and affected by their relationship with Marcus. This was their story. Serena and Poppy's. And it was beautifully told.
While this is not a true story in itself, it is certainly one that happens every day all over the world. And while the nature of this book is very dark and emotional, it is also a fantastic read. I had seen the mini series a couple of years ago and loved it, and I enjoyed the book just as much. I will not spoil the outcome as to who did kill Marcus (the ongoing debate between both women who believed the other did it)...that is the climatic twist at the end that adds the perfect touch to the end of the book.
I will not complain about the justice system and how the court case was unrealistic, as others have done, because that is not what this book was about. If that's what was expected then one would read a police/crime procedural novel. This was about two girls and how their lives intertwined and ultimately how they were damaged and affected by their relationship with Marcus. This was their story. Serena and Poppy's. And it was beautifully told.
While this is not a true story in itself, it is certainly one that happens every day all over the world. And while the nature of this book is very dark and emotional, it is also a fantastic read. I had seen the mini series a couple of years ago and loved it, and I enjoyed the book just as much. I will not spoil the outcome as to who did kill Marcus (the ongoing debate between both women who believed the other did it)...that is the climatic twist at the end that adds the perfect touch to the end of the book.
