As well as being one of the UK’s best-loved presenters Graham Norton is now endearing himself to us with his novels. Although I enjoyed his first novel, Holding, I felt that this one was even better.

Graham’s latest tale is about family secrets, small town scandals and the importance of knowing where we come from. It is told over two time lines – then and now - and from two points of view– Elizabeth’s and her mother, Patricia’s. This works well and slowly these knit together, filling in the gaps along the way.

The story centres around Elizabeth, who following her mother’s death discovers that her early years were not quite what she thought they were and determines to find out the truth.

A Keeper is beautifully written, well-observed and heart-breakingly sad and it held my attention throughout.

Graham is adept at capturing small town Ireland and at telling a great story. I look forward to his third novel as I feel sure there will be one.

A great story about a woman finding out that her past was not quite what she thought it was. The characters were great and I really felt for Patricia and Elizabeth. The Irish setting was very atmospheric and made me yearn for a simpler way of life. A great book to cuddle up with on a winter's night!

A well written, poignant tale of family, loss, mystery, secrets and scandals.
The story goes back and forth in time but is easy to follow, characterisation is wonderful and you quickly become invested in Elizabeth's quest to unravel the secrets of the past.
A thoroughly enjoyable read and I would highly recommend snuggling up with this one.

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.

Elizabeth Keane is in Ireland to tie up her mother's estate. She doesn't want to be there, she wants to be back with her son in New York. There's nothing in Ireland for her now that her mother is dead - she's not even sure if there ever was. But as she sorts through her mother's possessions she begins to uncover the story of her birth and a father she never knew. After 40 years the truth of her beginnings that has puzzled all in her hometown will finally be revealed to her.

Full disclosure - I'm not much of a fan of celebrity novels. Autobiographies yes, depending on the writer but not fiction. But when I had the chance to read Holding a year or two back I was pretty sure that Graham Norton would be the exception to my rule. And I was right. It was excellent. So seeing that he had a new novel on the way I had a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Could he circumvent my celebrity bias again? Would he be a one trick pony? Well of course not. A Keeper is another tale of secrets, scandals and intrigues in small-town Ireland. Again (unsurprisingly) Norton brings Ireland right onto the page, a mixture of fondness and exasperation emanating from every word he writes. It's a joy to read. There's no high drama, but it's poignant, evocative and heartwarming (and often heartbreaking). If I didn't love his shows so much I'd demand he gave up the day job and took up writing full time. An absolute joy to read.

I received this from NetGalley for an honest review.

I enjoyed this author's first book Holding when I read it a couple of years ago so I was quite excited to see what he would be serving up next. Once again he has impressed me with this character driven story set in rural Ireland.
Elizabeth returns to her home town after the death of her mother Patricia. As she is clearing the house, she finds a bunch of letters. Could these help her solve the long held mystery of the identity of her own father. Told in the present as Elizabeth speaks to her mum's friends and family and learns about a second property she has inherited, with parts in flashback where we follow Patricia as she gets to know her mystery man, the two threads weave around each other until, eventually Elizabeth learns the real truth of who she is. If this wasn't enough, we also hear a bit about Elizabeth's current life stateside and the shenanigans that son Zach is getting up to.
This book, and Elizabeth's investigations fill in the missing two years when mother Patricia went missing. Although I had to suspend belief a little when this part of the story was being told, I was more than happy to do so as the rest of the book was such a high quality so to do anything but would be a bit churlish. I guess if I think about it, the time and place in which the book is set would be more conducive to something like this happening than maybe somewhere/when else. Of course things were said behind net curtains when she returned as a "widow with a baby" but, in those days, people just got on with things, which is what Patricia ended up doing. I also have a few reservations about the behaviour of some of the characters in the book, especially with how the book ended for one of them but again, happy to take one for the team in the name of a good story. I'd love to qualify all that here but to even hint at it would be giving away a massive spoiler and that's not the done thing.
It's quite an emotional read all told and this side of things is handled extremely well. The characters are all easy to connect to / emote with and are all well drawn. There isn't that big a cast here so the ones that do star have to be able to hold the story up well and they do just that.
Pacing is good and the descriptive parts really do add colour and, occasionally, a shade of darkness to the proceedings. There are also moments of clarity and lightness that keep the book balanced.
Mr Norton showed he could spin a yarn with Holding. A Keeper proves that this was no fluke. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Elizabeth Keane returns to the island after her mother's death, Internet on wrapping up that dismal part of her life. There is nothing for her here; she wonders if there ever was.

Set in the present time and forty years ago. Elizabeth was living in New York when she learns of her mother's death. She returns to Ireland to settle her mother's affairs. When she gets there, the house is run down, has hardly any contents and its full of rats. She just wants tomsell the house and get back to New York and her son, Zach. But then she comes across some letters that were written before Elizabeth was born. The letters are from her father, a man she never knew.

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 would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author Graham Norton for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth's mother has passed away. She comes back from New York to her tiny hometown of Buncarragh to sort through her mother's house. In doing so she finds some letters, written from her father to her mother right at the start of their relationship. She had never known her father; he had died when she was very young. She decides that she wants to find out more about him. But nobody seems to know anything about Edward Foley, and the deeper she digs she discovers that she knows nothing about where she came from.

I've read a previous book by Graham Norton, - 'Holding' - and enjoyed it, which is why I wanted to pick this one up too. This one was even better. Graham's writing is effortless; his Irish roots are very much evident and he uses that to his advantage. There is always a soft and homely humour in the background of his books, and his traditional characters shine through with personality.

This story holds a mixture of emotions. It is not tense or a thriller by any means, but it does hold a great deal of dark mystery and sadness. Add to this Elizabeth's awkwardness and frustrations, the quirkiness of everyone she comes across, and little moments of beauty, and you have the unusual combination that comes together to make this book absolutely wonderful. It isn't truly exciting, but it is deep and emotional. You will be surprised at many points, and you will carry on reading because you want to know what happened as much as Elizabeth does.

Elizabeth Keane is an Irish émigré, living in New York with her teenage son Zach, having recently split from a husband, Elliot. When her mother Patricia dies, Elizabeth winds up back on Ireland closing up her Patricia’s affairs – in the course of which she finds a stack of letters from the father she never knew, inspiring her to fill in the missing gaps in her own life history.

The novel is told in dual timelines: Now and Then. Now is Elizabeth’s story, her quest for her past. She asks former neighbours, acts on half-heard whispers and discovers she has inherited not one but two houses. Then is Patricia’s story, set in the 1970s as she is seduced by lonely hearts letters from Elizabeth’s father, Edward Foley. This historical timeline is no mere backstory – it is the main event and although it starts out quite pedestrian, it becomes quite chilling.

The two timelines work together to augment one another. Sometimes one timeline pre-empts the other, and sometimes it fills in details the other timeline has missed. It is handled very deftly. Together, they combine to depict an Ireland with an extensive rural hinterland that has still not completely shed its religious and moral shackles. Secrets abound – many taken to the grave after decades of silence. People’s roles in society are determined at birth and the only way to break free of those roles are to emigrate, either westwards or eastwards. And even then, the Elizabeth, Zach and Elliot situation is not without parallels to the Patricia, Elizabeth and Edward story. In particular, there is an undercurrent of the lives that gay people can be forced to live in order to comply with society’s expectations.

One of the main surprises in A Keeper is how serious it is given Graham Norton’s fame as a comedian. The reader may expect the novel to come packed with one-liners, sarcastic asides, innuendo and single-entendres. The reader may expect something over-hyped that was published only because of the famous by-line. Not a bit of it. The novel is almost completely devoid of humour; it is black, it grips social issues and in parts it is genuinely terrifying. A Keeper is a mature and thoughtful work by a writer of considerable talent.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy - I loved "Holding" and was delighted to have the opportunity to read this book as well.
Although the plot is very contrived, Mr Norton pulls it off with great panache mixing gothic and contemporary with ease. His style makes the book easy to read, which I imagine is difficult to write, and contains the occasional phrase which makes you stop and read it again "the rooms weren't empty, they were filled with absence of someone" for example. I could picture the characters and found myself laughing and crying at what happened to them

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book of Graham Nortons that I have read. I thought it was really well written and really well thought out. I liked that the past and the present were clearly defined and how the story came together. The story itself is very good. There is so much pain and heartache in it but a lot of love is there as well.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the second book of Graham Norton that I have read and like the first, one I loved it. Norton writes like a very experienced writer and I love his style of storytelling.
Elizabeth Keane has come from New York to settle her late mother’s affairs to Buncarragh, Ireland. She returns to the family home but there is nothing much there. It’s run down and full of rats. She plans to sell it and go home to her son Zach. But, then she finds a stash of letters telling about her mother’s life when she was young and a spinster She disappears for two years and returns home holding baby Elizabeth.
The story goes back and forth in time. How Elizabeth’s mother meets her Father Edward Foley after putting an advert in the local farmer’s paper and is kept prisoner by his crazy mother. When things seem to get better and she thinks that she is going to be let to go home, a baby appears and Elizabeth mother is left to look after it.
We also learn in the story about Elizabeth’s son Zach who is having his own problems. He is going to be a father after having an affair with his tutor.
This is another heartfelt story from Graham Norton set in Ireland. A story of love and loss and missed chances. I thought this was very good story and kept me entertained throughout. Only quibble was the ending about Edward’s mother’s death, it was a bit farfetched.
Thank you Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

With his latest novel, A Keeper, Graham Norton proves that not only is he one of the nation's most popular presenters, but that he's a blooming good writer as well.

Elizabeth Keane has returned to her childhood home in Buncarragh following the death of her mother. She left many years before for New York and had put her early childhood behind her. Not that she had a bad childhood, but as the only daughter of a single parent in small town rural Ireland, life was perhaps not the easiest. She expects to do nothing more than complete the legal formalities then head home. This all changes when she discovers a small pile of romantic letters from the father she never knew to her mother. She decides that she must find out a bit more about him before she returns home. As she begins to discover more about her parents' life, we also hear from her mother Patricia in chapters entitle 'Then'. They paint a rather different picture than that which the heartfelt letters suggest.

This is such a well-written book. Graham Norton moves between Now and Then revealing just enough each time to make you want to keep reading. The story in the past reflects what Elizabeth is starting to uncover in the present, but adds so much more to what was really going on. As well as coming to terms with many revelations about her parents, she also has a lot going on in her own personal life to contend with which is very stressful when she is thousands of miles from home.

Only when you are reading the book do you realise the significance of the title. Secrets are closely kept throughout by so many characters and there is another meaning to the word 'Keeper' too which I can't reveal or it would spoil some of the plot.

A compelling read, A Keeper is full of suspense and atmosphere, disappointments and revelations. It's also a really interesting exploration of mental health issues and overprotective mother/child relationships. There may be darkness in this book but ultimately, it provides a hopeful ending.

Having enjoyed Graham Norton’s first novel ‘Holding’ so much, I was pleased to get my hands on his second ‘A Keeper’. I am delighted to report that it did not disappoint.
This one is also set against a rural Irish backdrop. The story alternates between The Now, Elizabeth returns to Ireland from New York after her mother’s death, to put her affairs in order. She comes across letters, written before she was born, from her mother to the father she has never known and feels the need to find out more.
In The Then, the mother, Patricia, starts writing to Edward, they meet and the tale of their unusual relationship unfolds.
Once again, the writing feels natural and relaxed, and the story is sometimes bizarre, sometimes moving, but always engrossing.
This is a great book, one I would thoroughly recommend.
I am very grateful to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read it.

Irish Gothic is alive and well. 4/5 stars.

I must apologise if this review comes across as muddled. I’m trying incredibly hard to avoid spoilers as I think you’ll get the most from this book if you go in knowing as little as possible, as I did.

This story is a fascinating mix of a present day thread which seems all too familiar – someone coming home to deal with the estate of a dead relative and unearthing family secrets – and a past thread which made me think “WHAT?!” more than once. I have to be vague to avoid spoiling it, but this past part of the narrative is brilliant, moving flawlessly from a sweet, if slightly unusual romance, to something more sinister but not altogether unexpected (the seeds of doubt are sown subtly, but they’re there).

The balance between past and present sections is a fine one. At times the present events provide a welcome break from the past sections, while at other times I found myself racing through the present sections to get back to the “juicier” events of the past!

If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy darker reads, don’t worry, you’ll be ok with this. It gets dark without going into full psychological thriller territory. The narrative voice curbs the grimness: there’s a lightness of touch even in the blackest moments of the tale which stops it becoming depressing or macabre.

And I’m sorry if I’m underselling the present day section of the story. There’s plenty of drama there too with the main character having to struggle with her son going missing for his own shocking reasons.

For those of you who enjoy audio books, I’m sure that would be a good option with this one. I head great things about Norton’s narration of his first book – Holding. That said, his voice is so clear in his books, you may be able to imagine him reading it anyway.

Overall: a wonderful balance of the familiar and the unexpected told by a deft narrative voice.

I've not yet read Norton's first novel but it got good reviews, so when I was given the chance to read this as an ARC, I went for it. And now I'm not really sure if I'm going to read the first one...

The writing is fine. Not brilliant, but fine. It's a bit in-the-style-of-Maeve-Binchy, which is, again, fine. Binchy entertained many people, including me. But I was hoping for something a bit more...edgy? challenging?...from Norton, and I didn't get it. It's a hard book to genre-ify; it doesn't seem quite sure of what it wants to be: gothic? family? humour? horror? The plot is quite far-fetched to begin with, but there are some sizeable holes in it, such as when characters do something completely out of character, or when information is revealed that makes something from earlier stop making sense, and then it's never explained (did we ever find out why (view spoiler) - 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.

A really rather good read! I was a little worried it was going to be another Irish potato sob story - but no, it is a twisty tale of families, crime and compassion.

The two time settings work well with the main character going back to Ireland to wrap up her mother's estate, but finding a lot more than she bargained for when she starts looking into the past.

Enjoyable read that was not what I expected.

This is the first book of Graham Norton that I have read and I was very impressed with the story and the execution. The two time periods, NOW and THEN, are well defined and the back story develops well alongside the current story. It's a sad tale in many ways, one of loss and lost chances. But ultimately it is a very good read. Graham Norton has a talent and I hope he carries on writing novels to this standard.

This is the 2nd novel I have read by Graham Norton and once again I am so impressed with his writing. Don't be put off by his stage persona and read this book as you would any other author. This is a fabulous little book and I read it from start to finish in one sitting wanting to know more.

The story follows Elizabeth Keane, who returns to Ireland after her mother's death, to tie up loose ends on a not very happy time in her life. She has very little there, unpleasant memories, items of small value, but all that changes when she finds a small stash of letters telling a story that she was never told.
The book goes back and forward in time telling the story from both Elizabeth in present day and her mother Patricia in the past. This is a lovely read and well worth a look. I read Graham Norton's first novel mostly out of curiosity but found the writing very good, now after reading this book I will look out for his novels for the entertaining emotive writing.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Graham Norton has shown himself to be a very good, insightful and humane writer. All these qualities are plain in A Keeper, but as a novel I didn’t think it quite delivered.

The story is told in two time-frames; Elizabeth Keane returns to the small town in the west of Ireland where she grew up to deal with the estate of her recently dead mother. She discovers a cache of letters from the father she never knew and we get the intercut stories of her search for the truth of her origins and of the events of the past as they happened. It’s a sad, rather bizarre story whose lessons are mirrored in current events for Elizabeth.

Graham Norton writes beautifully. As in Holding (which I enjoyed very much) it is a delightful surprise that an apparently frivolous, rather waspish TV host can create such rounded, human and sympathetic characters and conjure atmosphere and sense of place so evocatively. Early on, for example, we get a poignant picture of the emotional bleakness of revisiting a now-unoccupied childhood home and excellently painted portraits of relatives whose desperation to pry and to get their hands on things from the house is dressed up as concern for Elizabeth.

A Keeper is a pleasure to read in this respect, but I didn’t find enough real content to keep me fully engaged. There is a tension, but its resolution is signalled early on, the Life Lessons applied to Elizabeth’s current situation felt a bit clunky, and the emotional insights didn’t seem that original, however beautifully portrayed the characters may be.

Overall, this didn’t deliver as much for me as Holding. However, this may be just a personal response; A Keeper is very well written and well worth a try to see if it suits you, even if I’m a little lukewarm about it.

(My thanks to Coronet for an ARC via NetGalley.)