"Surprisingly Good"
Blurb from Goodreads:
“Graham Norton's masterful debut is an intelligently crafted story of love, secrets and loss.
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn't always been this overweight; mother of two Brid Riordan hasn't always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn't always felt that her life was a total waste.
So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke - a former love of both Brid and Evelyn - the village's dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ 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.
Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad. 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.”
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I don’t normally read books written by “celebrities” but I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this written by Graham Norton. What initially grabbed me was the fact that it is set in a remote Irish village and I was curious to see how it compared to my experiences of spending my summer holidays in a village in Northern Ireland and I have to say that I feel that Mr Norton captured the atmosphere, the people and the humour excellently but then I would expect that really with him being Irish ;)
Set in the fictional village of Duneen where nothing remarkable happens until builders unearth a body and so opens long hidden secrets and lies of various inhabitants. The book is written from the perspectives of those inhabitants and this is where Mr Norton excels; he has created some excellent, believable characters who continue to develop throughout the book.
The writing style makes this easy to read and it flows really well from character to character. The descriptions of the people and the village are vivid and you quickly become immersed in the story and the mystery contained therein. It could quite easily be a dark and brooding story which could have resulted in a bleak read but Mr Norton interjects some of his well-known wit and humour to lighten the mood whilst not overdoing it.
Overall I enjoyed this book, it isn’t full of “edge of the seat” moments but it is perfect for those cold, winter days when you just want something comfortable to read that is not over-taxing on the brain and I will look out for further books written by Mr Norton. Thank you to the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
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Publisher website - Hodder & Stoughton
Twitter - Graham Norton
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Graham is one of the UK's most treasured comedians and presenters. Born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, Norton's first big TV appearance was as Father Noel Furlong on Channel 4's Father Ted in the early 1990s. He then secured a prime time slot on Channel 4 with his chat shows So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton.
Known for his quick wit and flamboyant style Graham began hosting a variety of talent shows on BBC One from Strictly Dance Fever and Andrew Lloyd Webber's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? to The Eurovision Song Contest and BAFTAs. Graham was soon approached by the BBC to front his own self-titled chat show The Graham Norton Show in 2007.
Graham Norton has won 7 BAFTAs for Best Entertainment Performance, and Best Entertainment Programme. He presents a show on BBC Radio 2 every Saturday and also writes, as Agony Aunt, weekly in a column for The Telegraph.
