A Keeper: The Sunday Times Bestseller

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Elizabeth Keane travels with a heavy heart from New York to Buncarragh just north of Kilkenny. Her mother passed away and it is now up to Elizabeth to sort through her things and close up the house. She's a recently divorced mother of seventeen year old Zach. Zach will be spending time with his father in San Francisco during her absence. It's a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present.' SUNDAY EXPRESS The flow was not great. The POVs between Patricia and Elizabeth and the mini POVs for Edward and Rosemary just didn't hang together well. Graham Norton has been on TV for years in the UK. He is a comedian who regularly host a chat show and the Eurovision Song Contest. This is his second novel. His first novel I loved so when I seen he had this new novel coming out, I just had to get myself a copy. It's set in Buncarragh, Ireland. The duel storylines gel well together. It's only while you are reading the book, you realise the significance of its title. A story of missed chances, love and loss. A well written book that at one point, i did find a bit far fetched. I did enjoy his first novel, Holding, a bit more than I did this novel. But I will be looking forward to reading more from this Graham Norton in the future. I raved about HOLDING two years ago ... A KEEPER is even better. A powerful, very sad story, beautiful writing, two time frames that are perfectly balanced. Outstanding. Will easily be one of my books of 2018.' JOHN BOYNE

It's a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present. - SUNDAY EXPRESSThis novel will never be nominated for grand literary prizes, but I believe it makes an enjoyable read for those who like a good story with twists and turns. From the bestselling author of HOLDING comes another sweeping, evocative tale set on the coast of Ireland.

A Keeper has the vibes of Misery by Stephen King in some respects. What begins as a mother/daughter relationship novel will soon take on a much, much darker theme. And that, Boys and Girls, is a delightful plum pudding. I know this is Norton's second novel (his first was soo much better!), but he really left a lot to be desired in this book. Maybe he needs a better editor as well, as there were so many points that could have used further explanation while working on the timeline. Graham Norton 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.This is the second Graham Norton book I've read. My first was Home Stretch, which was such a fantastic read that it set the bar really high. And thankfully, this book lived up to the expectation.

Perfectly crafted, a beautiful, gripping account of Irish memory and deceit. A terrific achievement.' ANDREW O'HAGAN Absolutely delightful - the kind of book you should always reach for if you're in a slump. Well-written, a good, just right amount of bewildering storyline and good characters. From the bestselling author of Holding comes another sweeping, evocative tale set on the coast of Ireland. Living in America has left a void in Elizabeth as she tries to interact with her extended Irish family. She comes across some handwritten letters to her mother from a man by the name of Edward Foley in Cork. Elizabeth is perplexed as to the nature of these letters.The writing is superb. Even poetic in parts. The main characters' interior monologue was outstanding. Norton really captured the essence of the person. The novel opens with forty-something Elizabeth Keane, a divorced lecturer in Romantic poetry based in New York, returning to her hometown of Buncarragh following the death of her mother, Patricia. Growing up in a small town and without a father, Elizabeth longed to get away and now as a single mother herself to a teenage son she is none too pleased to be reunited with her judgmental extended family as she plans to clear the house for sale. Stumbling across a small wooden box of letters penned to her mother in the early Seventies in response to a lonely hearts advert by the man she has been told is her father it provides her first opportunity to learn more about Edward Foley. Despite asking her uncle and her mother’s former friend about her mother’s brief time in the coastal town of Muirinish she learns nothing more than that Patricia returned following Edward’s death with local suspicion that she had been pregnant prior to leaving Buncarragh prevailing. As Elizabeth goes in search of her own answers and worries about her AWOL son, Zach, she finds rather more than she bargained for and ultimately gains a new appreciation for the woman her mother was. Now”: Only child Elizabeth Keane, a 44-year-old college instructor, divorcée and mother to 17-year-old Zach, living in a tiny apartment in Manhattan, travels to Ireland to finalize her recently deceased mother’s estate in Buncarragh. She finds a hidden box of letters filled with clues about the father she never knew. I can't say much about anyone else in this book because they are not developed well at all. We have Elizabeth's son Zach, her ex-husband, Patricia's ex friend Rosemary and Edward Foley. Don't even get me started on why we get a separate POV for Rosemary, it wasn't necessary and added nothing to the story.

There is quite a little mystery involved that is down right creepy. It required me to suspend belief a little but strange things have happened and this is strange. I really enjoy Graham Norton’s TV show on the BBC. I think he is one of the most entertaining interviewers on TV. I’m so happy that he has another creative outlet for us to enjoy. From the bestselling author of HOLDING comes a masterly tale of secrets and ill-fated loves set on the coast of Ireland. The story of a daughter returning to Ireland and discovering her identity is moving, but even more so is the story of her mother, who, now dead, brought up Elizabeth on her own in the society where single mothers were not accepted with open hands. Patricia defied the conventions and devoted her life to her daughter. No spoilers here, but the plot is intriguing, and the truth revealed proves that life sometimes prepares for us most extraordinary surprises, just like for Elizabeth.Well this book was a surprise read. Recommended to me by my son. I had seen a few of his shows - but not to my taste. I had a couple of “eye roll” moments with this book, and I noticed several detail oversights, but this was an excellent read for me. There wasn’t a single character here I didn’t like, or at least sympathize with (including Edward’s deranged mother Catherine) and I loved the setting. Recommended to mystery fans or anyone looking for a riveting read on a rainy day. An intelligent, well paced mystery that I gulped down in three rainy days. 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. one of the more authentic debuts I've read in recent years ... in such an understated manner, eschewing linguistic eccentricity ... in favour of genuine characters and tender feeling ... this is a fine novel ' John Boyne, Irish Times I raved about Holding two years ago ... A Keeper is even better. A powerful, very sad story, beautiful writing, two time frames that are perfectly balanced. Outstanding. Will easily be one of my books of 2018.