The Dipping by D.T. Murphy

 

Publisher: BooksGoSocial

On Sale Date: Jan 8 2026

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

Cliona is a young woman who has faced many issues in her young life. Her abusive stepfather, living in a council estate, drug abuse. She runs away from home and lands in London, where she meet another girl who is also running from her past, Rosie, and after a short stay in a hostel, they become roommates. They both have different jobs here and there, but her drug use and stealing habits at her work become problematic for Cliona. She lands a job in a restaurant kitchen, and because she makes everybody laugh with her funny jokes, she is asked to do a standup comedy show for once. She is a succes, and a talent agency wants to represent her, and now she is a professional stand up comedian with a good income. Because of this work, she becomes involved with someone who tells her about work for refugees from the war in Yugoslavia. The war tha other protagonist Leon and his family's live changes forever. He works at a biologist at a company, and has a wife and young daughter. But work is difficult and the war in Yugoslavia is growing more and more dangerous, especially when he joins the military service. The war lands him in a refugee camp, the camp wher Cliona works as a circus clown that are on a charity tour in orphanages and refugees camps in Eastern Europe. This is where the two of them meet and this meeting changes makes an unexpected turn in the story.

The Dipping is a well-written story about two people who don't know each other untill the end, who deal with different difficulties in their lives. The storyline is more about the journey of the two separate main characters, then I thought at firsthand. The part where their lives cross is not untill the last parts of the book, and I somehow wondered if the book would be better if they met earlier in the story. The journey the two make individually was entertaining to read though, altough sometimes Cliona didn't make the wisest choices, and the war Leon finds himself in was very sad to read about. Overall I found this a good read and I wonder what more book this author has in store for us readers!