Holding by Graham Norton

 I have become a huge fan of Graham Norton's books.  This book was his first but I am just getting to it.  Once I'd read A Keeper I knew I wanted all of his books. 

The setting is a very small Irish village called Dureen.  Everyone knows one another and likely knows everyone else's business.  The major characters are Sgt. P.J. Collins, the only Garda in the town with little in the way of crime to keep his investigative skills sharp.  He is overweight and often laughed at but things will change for him once a murder investigation begins.  Old bones are discovered buried at a former farm and it's suspected to be a young man who disappeared some 30 years ago.

The Ross sisters have their own stories and secrets.  Abigail, Florence and Evelyn are unmarried and live together at their father's farm. Both parents are dead and the back story to their lives is quite sad.

Brid and Anthony are another couple with a complicated storyline, not complicated to read just a matter of when their secrets intersect and the results that follow. Cryptic, I know, but I don't want to give spoilers. 

The characters were well developed and you grow to like almost all of them.  There is enough mystery and dark humor to keep you turning the pages and I hope Mr. Norton has a long and successful writing career.  He can count on me to buy all forthcoming books.

If you like a bit of drama and dark humor, as well as the Irish setting, you will enjoy this book.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.