IRISH INDEPENDENT 'It's a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present. 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. Everything that happens to Elizabeth deepens her understanding of motherhood even though her life is turned upside down. What was supposed to be a bit of ordinary shuffle unravels into an emotional journey in time and some unexpected discoveries. The book was originally issued with a clear plastic cover which I assumed it was still in from the photo.

His first novel I loved so when I seen he had this new novel coming out, I just had to get myself a copy. The POVs between Patricia and Elizabeth and the mini POVs for Edward and Rosemary just didn't hang together well. His characters have a cardboard quality and he has jammed the plot with events that never quite come together in a believable way. 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.A compelling and moving story, expertly told, that will draw you in and keep you in its grip until the last page.

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. 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. I don't like to do that with NetGalley reads though, so I may have to rethink on that in the future. It is not tense or a thriller by any means, but it does hold a great deal of dark mystery and sadness.

The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. Graham Norton’s follow-up to his hugely impressive debut novel, Holding, is a bleak family drama set across a parallel narrative forty years apart. 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.