A Keeper: The Sunday Times Bestseller

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For me it wasn't quite up to the mark of Holding which I loved but this nevertheless was read very quickly. Overall, I liked the story and the plot and felt it was fairly well written, although it did bring to mind shades of "Wuthering Heights" meets "Jane Eyre" meets "Rebecca". I'm not completely certain that I didn't miss something there, but I don't really feel like I can be bothered going back to re-read and find out).

I really wanted to like this, and I'm not saying it's a bad book, but I was hoping for so much more than "eh, it's okay" from it. This compelling new novel confirms Graham Norton’s status as a fresh, literary voice, bringing his clear-eyed understanding of human nature and its darkest flaws.

Most of the book is Elizabeth remembering how her mother raised her and either finding fault with it and or missing her at the same time.

The side characters - I could have done with more information on the family feud with Elizabeth, her aunt, uncle, and cousin. The main story line gives you a few gut punches, making you wonder how Patricia will get out of her circumstances. It is not tense or a thriller by any means, but it does hold a great deal of dark mystery and sadness. He is the host of the comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show and the BBC commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest. the TIMES'A compelling and moving story, expertly told, that will draw you in and keep you in its grip until the last page.Alternating masterfully between “Now” and “Then,” from Convent Hill in the town of Buncarragh just outside Kilkenny, Ireland to the remote Castle House by the sea near West Cork, Graham Norton spins the tale of Patricia Keane and her daughter Elizabeth. As for Elizabeth, “back in New York, she had felt guilty for not missing her mother more, but in this house she felt her absence like a physical ache”. This is the 2nd novel I have read by Graham Norton and once again I am so impressed with his writing.