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Dorothy Koomson Books in Order

Browse Dorothy Koomson's books in order, with quick summaries, series overviews and guidance on the best place to start her emotional, twisty fiction.

Last updated: December 26, 2025

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25 books

Give Him to Me

by Dorothy Koomson

2025

As a child, Robyn "Avril" Managa watched her abusive father murder her mother before he vanished into witness protection. Now, years later, profiler Kez Lanyon is pulled into a chilling case when victims connected to that day start dying with one message pinned to them: give him to me.

Beach Hut 512

by Dorothy Koomson

2025

Still recovering from surviving a serial killer, Sims is horrified when vandals break open her locked Brighton beach hut and reveal a corpse inside. With no clear evidence of how the body got there, she races to uncover the truth before the past catches up with her again.

Every Smile You Fake

by Dorothy Koomson

2024

Profiler and therapist Kez Lanyon is stunned to find a baby abandoned on the back seat of her car with a note begging her to look after him. Believing the mother is a troubled influencer who once lived in her house, Kez must decide how far she'll go to find her.

My Other Husband

by Dorothy Koomson

2022

Cleo Forsum, creator of hit show The Baking Detective, is ready to quit television and leave her marriage behind. When people close to her start dying in ways that mirror her scripts, she becomes the prime suspect and must hide a devastating secret about her past to stay free.

I Know What You've Done

by Dorothy Koomson

2021

When an injured neighbour presses a diary into her hands, a woman discovers it contains detailed notes on everyone who lives in their small block of flats. As the writer fights for life, she must decide whether to hand the book to police or investigate the dangerous secrets herself.

That Day You Left

by Dorothy Koomson

2020

A year and a half after her husband Joel was killed, Saffron Mackleroy is writing the cookbook he began, pretending she has made peace with the past. When her daughter confesses something devastating and Joel's killer reaches out, Saffron's carefully ordered world begins to unravel.

All My Lies Are True

by Dorothy Koomson

2020

Decades after the Ice Cream Girls trial, Serena Gorringe and Poppy Carlisle are still hiding what really happened to their teacher. When Serena's daughter Verity falls for Poppy's brother Logan, a web of secrets, coercive control and revenge builds toward a shocking act of violence.

Tell Me Your Secret

by Dorothy Koomson

2019

Ten years after surviving two terrifying days with a serial attacker known as the Blindfolder, journalist Pieta has never told anyone what he did to her. When he starts targeting his surviving victims, detective Jody feels compelled to use Pieta's secret to finally bring him down.

Wildflowers

by Dorothy Koomson

2018

In this short story, Zillah is startled when the mother of her lost love arrives on her doorstep and refuses to leave. Their tense conversation forces Zillah to revisit a relationship she thought was buried and to face what loving someone truly cost her.

The Day She Saved the Doctor

by Jenny Colgan

2018

This Doctor Who collection brings together four adventures told from the companions' point of view, as Rose, Sarah Jane, Clara and Bill each face a crisis where they must save the Doctor. Dorothy Koomson pens Bill's story, blending character insight with fast paced science fiction peril.

The Brighton Mermaid

by Dorothy Koomson

2018

As teenagers on Brighton Beach, Nell and Jude discover the body of an unidentified young woman, soon nicknamed the Brighton Mermaid. When Jude vanishes weeks later, Nell is left with questions that haunt her until, twenty five years on, she risks everything to uncover the truth.

The Beach Wedding

by Dorothy Koomson

2018

Tessa Dannall is thrilled to host her daughter Nia's wedding at their family beach resort, but the setting dredges up the worst day of her own past. As the ceremony approaches, Tessa must finally confront what happened on that shore before it wrecks Nia's future.

The Friend

by Dorothy Koomson

2017

Cece Solarin hopes Brighton will offer her family a fresh start, until she learns a popular mother was brutally attacked at her children's new school. Welcomed by three friendly mums, Cece slowly realises police suspect one of them, and that her new friendships might be deadly.

When I Was Invisible

by Dorothy Koomson

2016

In 1988, two eight year old girls with almost identical names and a shared love of ballet promise to grow up onstage together. Years later, after cruel twists push them into very different lives, they must face whether disappearing from each other ever really made them safe.

That Girl From Nowhere

by Dorothy Koomson

2015

Adopted as a baby, Clemency "Smitty" Smittson's only link to her birth mother is a butterfly decorated box kept since childhood. When she moves to Brighton and meets people who seem to recognise it, long hidden truths about her origins and family loyalties begin to surface.

From There to Here

by Dorothy Koomson

2015

This short prequel to That Girl From Nowhere follows Clemency "Smitty" Smittson in Leeds as work, love and restlessness push her to rethink everything. It charts the choices that send her south to Brighton in search of a past she barely remembers.

The Flavours of Love

by Dorothy Koomson

2013

Eighteen months after her husband Joel was murdered, Saffron Mackleroy is finishing the cookbook he began, pretending she is coping. When her teenage daughter confesses a devastating secret and Joel's killer starts writing to her, Saffron must choose between exposing the truth and protecting her family.

The Rose Petal Beach

by Dorothy Koomson

2012

Tamia Challey's comfortable life shatters when police arrest her husband in front of their children, accused of something terrible by a woman Tamia trusts. As loyalties fracture and the investigation turns, Tamia finds herself at the center of a crime she may or may not have committed.

The Woman He Loved Before

by Dorothy Koomson

2011

Libby thought marrying Jack meant a fresh start by the sea, until a near fatal car accident raises disturbing questions about the death of his first wife, Eve. Driven by fear and curiosity, Libby begins reading Eve's hidden diaries and uncovers secrets that could destroy them both.

The Ice Cream Girls

by Dorothy Koomson

2010

As teenagers, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a shocking crime and were branded the "Ice Cream Girls" by the press. Decades later, one is out of prison and desperate to clear her name while the other will do anything to keep the past buried.

Goodnight, Beautiful

by Dorothy Koomson

2008

Years after agreeing to carry a baby for her closest friend Mal and his wife, Nova Kumalisi is raising their son alone and barely speaking to them. When seven year old Leo becomes critically ill, Nova must reopen old wounds so his father can finally meet him.

Marshmallows for Breakfast

by Dorothy Koomson

2007

Kendra Tamale comes home from Australia determined to start over, renting a room from single dad Kyle and trying to keep her distance. But his twins quickly claim her as family, and when a buried secret returns, Kendra has to face her past to protect them.

My Best Friend's Girl

by Dorothy Koomson

2006

When Kamryn Matika learns her estranged best friend Adele is dying, she is asked to take on a heartbreaking task, adopting Adele's five year old daughter Tegan. Saying yes forces Kamryn to confront betrayal, grief and a crash course in unexpected motherhood.

The Chocolate Run

by Dorothy Koomson

2004

Commitment-phobic Amber Salpone keeps insisting that her nights with best friend Greg are a harmless mistake. As attraction deepens and their secret threatens her oldest friendship, Amber has to decide whether she can finally trust love more than chocolate.

The Cupid Effect

by Dorothy Koomson

2003

Ceri D'Altroy leaves London to lecture in psychology and promises herself she will stop meddling in other people's love lives. Instead, everyone she meets seems to fall into chaos and confession, forcing Ceri to confront the cost of playing Cupid.

Where should I start?

If you want emotionally rich relationship stories: My Best Friend's GirlMarshmallows for BreakfastGoodnight, Beautiful
If you like dark, character driven crime novels: The Ice Cream GirlsAll My Lies Are True
If you prefer twisty psychological thrillers: Tell Me Your SecretI Know What You've DoneMy Other Husband
If you enjoy family secrets and identity quests: That Girl From NowhereWhen I Was InvisibleThe Friend
If you want a shorter introduction to her style: The Beach WeddingWildflowersBeach Hut 512

Author bio

Dorothy Koomson was born in London in 1971 to Ghanaian parents and grew up surrounded by both British and Ghanaian cultures. She spent much of her childhood reading, daydreaming and listening in on conversations that would later feed her stories.

As a teenager she wrote her first full length novel by hand, passed photocopied chapters around her convent school and saw classmates queue up for the next part.

She went on to study psychology and journalism at Leeds University at what was then Trinity and All Saints College, eventually gaining degrees in both subjects. After graduating she worked as a journalist, subeditor and editor for women's magazines and national newspapers while writing fiction in every spare moment.

Her debut novel, The Cupid Effect, was published in 2003 and was quickly followed by The Chocolate Run and My Best Friend's Girl. That third book, about a woman asked to adopt her dying best friend's child, was picked for a major television book club and introduced her warm but bittersweet storytelling to a wide new audience.

In the years that followed she wrote relationship led novels such as Marshmallows for Breakfast and Goodnight, Beautiful, then moved toward darker territory with The Ice Cream Girls, The Woman He Loved Before and The Rose Petal Beach. Readers were drawn to the way she balanced love stories, moral dilemmas and slow building suspense.

More recent novels push even further into psychological thriller and domestic noir, from identity tale That Girl From Nowhere and friendship drama When I Was Invisible to the serial killer story Tell Me Your Secret and neighbour mystery I Know What You've Done. Books such as All My Lies Are True, My Other Husband and Every Smile You Fake keep the focus on ordinary people whose lives are upended by secrets, coercive control and crime.

Across all of her work she returns to themes of friendship, motherhood, race and class, trauma, and the stories families tell themselves in order to survive.

Koomson's novels have been translated into more than thirty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide, and she has been described as one of Britain's best selling Black authors of adult fiction. In 2013 her novel The Ice Cream Girls was adapted into a prime time television drama, bringing her work to viewers who had never picked up the book.

After spending two years living in Sydney, she settled in Brighton on the south coast of England, a city that appears again and again in her fiction. When she is not working on a new book she speaks and writes about representation in publishing, supports other writers, and dreams up fresh stories on long walks beside the sea.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 25 Dorothy Koomson Books in Order (Complete List 2026)