The Ice Cream Girls

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson is a psychological thriller that should definitely not be judged by its cover of two girls against a pastel colored summer setting.

This is the story of Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe and how they fell under the spells of teacher Marcus Halnsley. When Marcus is found stabbed to death one night, both Serena and Poppy are tried for murder. Serena is found innocent but Poppy is sentenced to a lifetime in prison. Years later when she is out of jail, Poppy is determined to clear her name of the crime she did not commit. She calls upon Serena who wants nothing to do with her. She has moved on and built a life for herself - a life that she would like to hide her past from.

Koomson does a great job of switching back and forth between the past and the present. Much of the story takes place during the present when Poppy is released from prison, but it also switches back to the 1980s when the girls met Marcus. The flashbacks gave background to what the girls went through with this man and how the night of his murder came to be. This was a hard book to put down, I had to know what really happened on the night of Marcus' death! I'm looking forward to reading more from Koomson, this novel was fantastic!