Holding by Graham Norton

"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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About Graham Norton (copied from Hodder & Stoughton website)

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.

The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent

Blurb from Goodreads:


“A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK AND SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

'Wow. This one will keep your bedside light on until the small hours - it's unputdownable.'

Richard & Judy

For fans of Apple Tree Yard and The Silent Wife, The Loving Husband draws readers into a marriage where nothing is as it seems...

Fran Hall and her husband Nathan have moved with their two children to a farmhouse on the edge of the Fens - a chance to get away from London and have a fresh start.

But when Fran wakes one night to find Nathan gone, she makes a devastating discovery. As questions about her husband and her relationships start to mount, Fran's life begins to spiral out of control.

What is she hiding from the police about her marriage, and does she really know the man she shared her bed with?”

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I have previously read one of Christobel’s novels - The Crooked House - which although I enjoyed I found it a confusing read and I felt the same way about The Loving Husband although there was less enjoyment with this one.

The premise of the story is a familiar one - a seemingly happily married couple, one dies and so opens the floodgates of secrets and lies. The book starts off pretty well but, and herein lies the problem for me, it switches from past (years ago) to past (recent) to present and I found it difficult to keep track. I struggled to connect with any of the characters or muster up any sympathy for the main character, Fran who, for me, was a dull as dirty dish-water. The investigating Police Officers were, in my opinion, very unprofessional and lacking in any sympathy.

There was a positive however, I felt Christobel captured the isolation and desolation of the setting extremely well. Her description of the farmhouse and how she captures the cold was excellent but, unfortunately, this didn’t do much to make me enjoy the book any more and I just couldn’t get into it and it seemed to take an absolute age to finish it.

This book has been described as an “unputdownable” psychological thriller which is “utterly compulsive”, “eerily menacing” and “terrifyingly good” but for me it was too easy to put it down and not so easy to pick it back up.

My apologies to the author who has put blood, sweat and tears into this book but it just wasn’t for me but I would like to thank the publisher, Little Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

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Spider Shepherd: SAS The Sandpit by Stephen Leather

Blurb:

“Who was Dan 'Spider' Shepherd before he signed up as an undercover cop and began working for MI5? The Sandpitrewinds with an action-packed rollercoaster to his days in the SAS...

Dan Shepherd and his SAS team are sent into the badlands of Afghanistan to train the rebels who are battling Taliban fanatics.

But what starts as a training mission in The Sandpit turns into a life or death struggle with Shepherd and his team very much in the firing line.

Soon they are caught up in an international intrigue that threatens the stability of the whole Middle East.

‘Let Spider draw you into his web, you won't regret it.’ Sun

‘The sheer impetus of his storytelling is damned hard to resist.’Daily Express

‘A master of the thriller genre.’ Irish Times“

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Dan “Spider” Shepherd is one of my all-time favourite characters created by Stephen Leather and I have read all of the full-size novels featuring this complex and interesting character so to get a chance to find out a little bit about how he became the “person” I feel I know … well, I couldn’t pass that up could I so was happy when the publisher, Lawsome Books via NetGalley, approved me to read a copy in return for providing an unbiased review.

The story takes place in Afghanistan when Spider is still a serving soldier in the SAS. It also contains squad members Geordie, Jimbo and Jock - characters that also appear in the full length novels. Stephen catches the camaraderie and the complete trust between these elite soldiers extremely well.

The story follows the SAS squad on a mission into the Panjshir Valley to train rebels who are fighting the Taliban however, this seemingly straightforward task turns into something a little bit more! Now, it does appear a bit far-fetched at first but after watching a series on TV where real SAS men were interviewed about real-life missions, it doesn’t seem to be beyond the realms of reality at all.

There is action a plenty and the pace of the writing is perfect. There is a flow to the book that is natural and makes it easy to read as are all of Stephen’s books and I have no qualms in recommending any of them to readers who love great books that are not just action but are exciting reads full of fantastic characters.

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Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies. You can find out more from his website - http://www.stephenleather.com/

Twitter - stephenleather

Publisher - Lawsome Books

Death Falls by Todd Ritter (a.k.a Bad Moon)

"5* book for me"

Description from Goodreads:


“When a young boy goes missing, it’s easier to believe the lies than to believe the truth… Perfect for fans of Gregg Hurwitz and P.J. Tracy.

On the same night that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead jumped on his bike to see if he could get a better look. It was the last anyone ever saw of him.

After Perry Hollow Police Chief Jim Campbell found Charlie's bike caught up above a waterfall, he assumed the worse, and so did everyone else except Charlie's mother. Years later, Eric Olmstead – and famous author and Charlie's brother – has come back to bury his mother and fulfill her last request: find his brother.

To do so he goes to the current police chief and his former sweetheart Kat Campbell, and it isn't long before they discover that finding Charlie was his mother's secret obsession, and while she never found him she uncovered clues suggesting that he wasn't the only victim.”

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What an intense ride that was! I cannot even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this book, I have a tick list in my head and each point I feel is essential for a 5* book is being ticked off the list as being achieved here:

Easy to read and flowing … tick

Interesting, believable and engaging characters … tick

Intriguing and captivating plot … tick

Complex but not confusing … tick

Plot twists and red herrings … tick

Full of suspense, secrets and lies … tick

An ending you don’t see coming (well I didn't) … tick

And finally, a good cover that draws you in and makes you pick the book up in the first place … tick

What more can I say? Mr Ritter has written a cracker here and although it’s a part of a series, it works very well as a standalone so please don’t let that put you off from picking this up and devouring in a very short space of time … not because it’s a short read but because once you start, it’s extremely hard to put down.

Thank you to HarperCollins Maze, Avon and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in return for an unbiased review and for introducing me, yet again, to a great author.

Please note - if you are looking to buy this book, it was originally published as “Bad Moon” in 2011.

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Author website - http://www.toddritteronline.com/

Twitter - @ToddAlanRitter

Publisher website - http://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/imprints/avon

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Cover Your Eyes by Mary Burton

"A slow burner"

Description from Goodreads:

“Don't Look

At first, they struggle to escape. Then a torrent of blows rains down upon their bodies until their eyes cloud over in final agony. The killer shows no remorse--just a twisted need to witness each victim's last terrified moments.

Don't Speak

Public defender Rachel Wainwright is struggling to reopen a decades-old case, convinced that the wrong man is in prison. Homicide detective Deke Morgan doesn't want to agree. But if Rachel's hunch is correct, whoever fatally bludgeoned young, beautiful Annie Dawson thirty years ago could be the source of a new string of brutal slayings.

Just Prepare To Die

Rachel's investigation is about to reveal answers--but at a price she never thought to pay. Now she's become the target of a rage honed by years of jealousy and madness. And a murderer is ready to show her just how vicious the truth can be. . . “

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Not having read any of Mary Burton’s books before [where have I been living!!!!], I didn’t know what to expect but the description sounded like something I would enjoy and I did. I was a little worried that it was put in the genre of romance/mystery/thrillers … not being a particular lover of romance books but it wasn’t overdone at all and in fact, I don’t even think it should be classed as a romance to be honest - it’s definitely more of a thriller.

For me, this was a slow burner. It took a while for me to get into it but once I did (around half way), I was hooked and devoured the second half in no time at all. There are many interesting characters and the setting is perfectly described. I liked the writing style which was easy to read and flowed well. The plot is complex but not too complex that it becomes confusing and Mary Burton was very successful at not providing too many hints at “who-dun-it” so the reveal was a surprise.

Overall, I quite enjoyed it and thanks to the publisher, Kensington Books via NetGalley, for my copy in return for an honest review.

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Author website - http://www.maryburton.com/

Author Twitter - @MaryBurtonBooks

Publisher website - http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/

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