This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Saffron is a woman on the verge of a meltdown. It has been eighteen months since her husband was murdered and she and her daughter decided to keep the murderer's identity a secret for some unknown reason. Some shocking news about her 14-year-old daughter begins to shatter the walls Saffron has spent so long building around her and when the murderer starts to write her threatening letters, she is forced to deal with everything she has spent the last eighteen months ignoring.
It is a brave author who chooses to write a story which jumps back and forth through time more than even Doctor Who manages. Many readers may find the lack of chronology in these types of books jarring and confusing. However, in the hands of Koomson, there is nothing to worry about. It is easy to trust that the truth will be revealed when she is good and ready to reveal it. Reading The Flavours of Love is like putting a puzzle together piece by piece, with each piece giving you just a bit more information and willing you on to complete the puzzle.
There are so many layers to this very complex, interwoven plot and the surprises never seem to stop coming. Saffron attempts to finish the recipe book her late husband began in an attempt to be closer to him but this is only one small part of the importance of cookery in this family's drama.
The Flavours of Love is Saffron's story and it is a far more sinister one than I originally thought. The letters from the murderer are chilling and there is a sick sort of fascination in wanting to know just why Saffron isn't going straight to the police about it and what it is she and her daughter know but aren't saying. Add in a meddling and hilarious aunt who just won't leave, a friend who wants more and a son who is all but ignored and this murder mystery meets family drama makes for a compelling read from start to finish.
9/10