Review: A Keeper by Graham Norton

I absolutely loved Graham Norton's last book, Holding, and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, perhaps another cosy-ish crime story, but A Keeper is much darker and quite sad in places.

Elizabeth Keane has returned to her childhood home in Ireland after her mother's death, intending to close up and sell the house. Instead, she finds a cache of letters hidden in her mother's wardrobe, making mention of the father Elizabeth never knew. That, combined with another unexpected inheritance, makes Elizabeth determined to investigate her mother's past.

"She imagined her family tree as a couple of bare branches with an ancient vulture perched on one of them."

As always, the character studies and dialogue are brilliant. Despite the sadness of the tale (towards the end), there are some funny one-liners too. Instead of multiple viewpoints, like Holding, A Keeper is mostly told from just two - Elizabeth in the present day and Patricia (her mother) in the 1970s. Because I was thoroughly enjoying the story, it didn't dawn on me until about two-thirds of the way through that this is a story about mothers and their relationship with their children. Clever title too!

The dual timeline, the strong female characters and the challenges they face would appeal to fans of authors such as Eve Chase and Lulu Taylor. I read a lot of books, so I kind of knew where the story was heading, but there were some good twists that took me completely by surprise. (So that will teach me to be smug!) 1970s rural Ireland is very well realised and, as I've said, the characters are brilliant and I loved them, flaws and all.

A five-star read, thoroughly recommended! 

Thank you to Graham Norton and Coronet (Hodder and Stoughton) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related review:

Holding by Graham Norton

Review: A House Full of Secrets by Zoe Miller

It was the beautiful cover that drew me to this book, and I had the idea it was going to be a psychological suspense - which it isn't! There is a big old house and a very dysfunctional family (who could use a lot of therapy), and it's one of those stories where everyone has a secret. And I enjoyed it a lot.

A House Full of Secrets is mostly told from two points of view: Jenna, who is married to Alex, the eldest son of the glamorous Blake family, and Vikki, who is friends with the troubled youngest brother, Niall, but is hoping for a lot more, especially after he invites her to spend the weekend with his family. Twenty years ago Alex, Niall, and their sister Lainey were poised on the brink of glittering careers when their mother died and their world shattered. Alex ran away to New York, where he met Jenna, and Niall headed to London. Only Lainey stayed in Ireland. Alex and Niall have not spoken to each other since that summer but now they have been summoned back to the family home, Lynes Glen, and the tension is mounting by the minute.

I loved the characters, even the bossy Lainey, but I especially loved Jenna, who cannot understand why her husband Alex is so on edge and why the family never talk about the mother they obviously loved so much. I also loved Vikki, who had some horrific secrets in her own past, and the way she was trying so hard to fit in with the upper-class Blakes. And I always enjoy stories about big old houses that have a mystery at their heart!

Most of the story is set in the present day but there are some chapters set in the 1960s, showing how the siblings' parents met, right up to the 1990s when their mother died. I would have preferred it if there had been more of these set at regular intervals throughout the story, because there came a point towards the end of the book where the segments clustered together, detailing each character's take on exactly what had happened the day their mother died. But the negative for me was the villain, who became a bit pantomine-y towards the end, and I'm afraid I skipped the big confrontational scene.

Despite this, I really enjoyed A House Full of Secrets and I would definitely recommend it to fans of authors such as Lulu Taylor, Eve Chase (Black Rabbit Hall), and Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca).



Thank you to Zoe Miller, Hachette Books Ireland, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.