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.

A Keeper by Graham Norton

The big draw for me was the Irish setting, an old house and a mystery about a past life.  The book is divided by chapters titled Now and Then.  We start off in present with Elizabeth Keane returning to her childhood home in Ireland.  Her mother has died and Elizabeth must clear out the house and make a decision regarding selling.

Elizabeth was never extremely close to her mother Patricia, often wishing she had a father figure in her life.  Whenever she asked questions about her father Patricia would always say he was a kind man and he died shortly after they were married.  After college she moved to New York and started her own life, marrying, divorcing and ending up with a son named Zach.

Now she is back in Ireland to see the home she inherited, trying to avoid her nosy cousins, anxious to return home.  Now that wouldn't be me!  I would love to have a home in Ireland and spend half the year there. Anyway, as she's cleaning out a wardrobe she comes across a package of handwritten letters, love letters from her father Edward Foley.

We drift into the Then chapters and see what Patricia was like fifty years ago. As you read the backstory about Edward and Patricia, get to know the horror of Edward's mother (I mean truly) the story that unfolds takes such a neck braking twist that I couldn't out it down.  Trust me, you'll be surprised.

Elizabeth's son Zach and ex-husband have minor roles; mostly they could have been left out in my opinion but it adds slightly to the story.  If you'd like to armchair travel to West Cork Ireland (past and present) and enjoy a mystery you will enjoy this book.

When I requested this book I didn't know the author was the Graham Norton, the Irish television host.  Impressive - I will certainly look for more by Mr. Norton.