Staff Pick
Graham Norton (an incredibly charming and hilarious UK comedian) turns out a mystery set in a tiny Irish town where tempers are not as mild as you might think. When a skeleton is unearthed from a local farm, gossip rages, accusations fly, and a few hearts break. Guarda PJ (a somewhat bumbling and socially awkward loner) is trying to unravel this mystery, and while he's not thrilled about it, he's not completely unhappy either; is this his big break? After years on his cushy small-town job, PJ is now definitely on the hot seat, treading blindly through decades of lies, rivalries, and contention. Norton's characters are fully fleshed and their inner lives are vivid. Wonderfully done, Holding is a great, quick, fun read. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From Graham Norton, the BAFTA-award-winning Irish television host and author of the "sparkling and impish" (Daily Mail) memoirs The Life and Loves of a He Devil and So Me, comes a charming debut novel set in an idyllic Irish village where a bumbling investigator has to sort through decades of gossip and secrets to solve a mysterious crime.
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama but when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke--a former lover of two different inhabitants--the village's dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated sergeant PJ Collins struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community's worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.
In this darkly comic, touching, and at times heartbreaking novel, perfect for fans of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore--with searing honesty--the complexities and contradictions that make us human.