Synopsis
'I'm looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you. If I find it, I know you'll come back to me.'
It’s been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I’ve decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I’m coping so well without him – they have no idea what I’ve been hiding or what I do away from prying eyes. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed something so devastating it could destroy our family all over again, and my husband’s killer has started to write to me claiming to be innocent, I know it’s only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I’ve done is revealed to the world.
My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.
Review
Unlike many of Dorothy Koomson's latest titles which portray families captured in an dramatic world of crime, suspicion and secrets with many voices telling and retelling the story, The Flavours of Love features only one main narrative voice. This is refreshing, enabling the reader to focuses sorely on how the chain of events effect the main character, whilst Koomsoon kindly leaves what the other characters are feeling or doing to the reader's imagination.
In this story, our protagonist, Saffron Mackleroy is a middle aged mother of two who loses her husband, Joel Mackleroy, to an unsolved murder 18 months before the book begins. Only herself and her daughter, Phoebe, know who the killer is, but it is too dangerous to inform the police of what they know. This is the main hook of the story, and it was definitely good enough to grab my interest.
In and amongst the main chain of events, as Saffron gives a present and retrospective narrative of her life, there are also other secrets and subplots which DK is always very good at creating and managing. Most of them work to compliment the main storyline, drawing out the strengths and weaknesses in Saffron's character as she works through her bereavement and her new life as a single mother. However, a couple of the other subplots do not add to the story significantly enough.
In the efforts not to give away any spoilers, I will only say that The Flavours of Love also includes some episodes of passion, love, and very tentative budding romance affecting both Saffron and her daughter. There are also other serious issues being tackled in this novel such as severe eating disorders, unexpected pregnancies, and adoption. However, as mentioned already not all of these additional plots add much to the main story... Which is, who is Joel's murderer? Why did she kill him? How is she managing to send passive aggressive and downright threatening letters to Saffron? And when will she be brought to JUSTICE?
What makes me happy about The Flavours of Love, is that all of these questions are answered by the end of the book in a clever and satisfying way that brings a degree of closure to the story, and there seems to be a feel good factor springing from a book which started with so much grief and desperate dwelling in the past.
I won’t say that this is my favourite from DK, however it is definitely an enjoyable read and the writing is intimate, engaging and easy to follow!
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