The Brighton Mermaid

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An exciting new tourist trail celebrating a New Brighton legend is set to become the resort’s latest visitor attraction - just in time for summer. The story is told through the characters of Nell and her sister Macy, and seamlessly switches between the past and the present. Both sisters have been affected by past events. Nell has commitment issues and is seemingly obsessed, whereas Macy is riddled with anxiety issues. Even knowing where they were both coming from and sympathising with them, I found both the sisters incredibly hard to connect to. However, their character development is incredibly intriguing and often made me almost forget about the mysteries that needed solving. These are complex, multi-layered characters that drew me in and kept me immersed throughout. Danger seems to be around every corner- it's very tense at points , keeping you on the edge of your seat. Dark secrets are being kept and we wonder when skeletons are going to come tumbling about- and where! Starting from Kings Parade, the first statue – the ‘Ebb & Flow Mermaid’ - is situated next to the Championship Adventure Golf and is decorated by children and young people engaged with Ebb & Flow Community Interest Company, with its decoration inspired by natural wonders in and around New Brighton. Caroline and other members of the New Brighton Coastal Community Team, will be joined by the artist, Barry Canning-Eaton, Lee Rollason from funders DONG Energy, those who decorated the statues and other local people on a walkabout of the trail to mark the official launch on Wednesday 7 th June.

The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson - The Tiger Tales

The Mermaid Trail is a set of six identical Mermaid statues situated in key locations across New Brighton. They have each been individually decorated, four of them by local schools, one by a community group and one by the local artist who designed and sculpted the statues, Barry Canning-Eaton. Both the design and decoration have been kept a closely guarded secret in the lead up to the unveilings. 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. 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. Dorothy doesn’t usually linger on the race of her characters. She allows the reader to get to know their personality traits first. However, in The Brighton Mermaid were are told earlier than usual because race is imperative to the characters’ experiences I think. It is a riveting book that any thriller aficionado will enjoy but I think it may resonate deeper with anyone who has ever experience prejudice. Vale Park, looking out onto the promenade, is where visitors will find the fourth mermaid, decorated by young people who attend Wirral Hospitals’ School. Entitled, ‘Paxtonea – the Soothing Siren’, its decoration tells the story of the legend in a way that provokes awareness of the sensory needs of people with anxiety and on the autistic spectrum.

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But as Nell edges closer to the truth, dangerous things start to happen. Someone seems to be watching her every move, and soon she starts to wonder who in her life she can actually trust… Hello, my name's Dorothy Koomson and I'll try to make this bit that's all about me as interesting as possible. The six ‘life size’ identical statues were designed and sculpted by local artist, Barry Canning-Eaton, and five decorated by local schools and an arts based community interest organisation. The Trail starts by the Championship Adventure Golf and weaves its way through the resort past some of New Brighton’s history and heritage, including great places to eat, drink, shop and have fun.

New Brighton Mermaid Trail New Brighton Mermaid Trail

The book follows the fallout from a tragic event in 2 sisters childhood. Nell and her best friend Jude found the body of The Brighton Mermaid, after they had crept out for a night out. Nell's dad comes to collect them from the police station and tries to stop the policeman in charge 'bullying' the girls. He has his own nightmare following this event and eventually moves to a more remote village where Macy has troubles of her own. This will creep its way under your skin and stay there long after you finish the final few gut-twisting chapters. Brilliant’ ( Heat) With restrictions just about to lift, SEA LIFE Brighton is bringing us even more to look forward to this summer! Jude and I were so similar, so close, and so very different, too. She made me laugh, made me angry, made me scared, made me jealous when she got something I didn’t. And then she vanished.”The story begins twenty-five years ago; it’s 1993 in Brighton Beach and Nell and Jude are teenagers. They’ve sneaked out without their parents knowledge to go to a party thrown by a local boy. They are making their way home in the early hours when they discover a body laying on the sand. The identity of this young woman is never discovered and she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell and Jude’s lives change overnight and whilst Nell struggles to understand why the police are convinced that she and her family have something to do with the body, Jude disappears. They are being led by local storyteller Cathy Roberts of Literally A Bookshop, who will recite the tale as they go. The trail will begin at 11am. This is a book told from two viewpoints, Nell and her sister Macy. Both of their lives changed massively in 1993, when Nell and her best friend Jude find a dead body on the beach, who is unidentified but definitely murdered.