Ah this is a great book! I really loved the story and the characters in it. I'm not generally a believer so if you're not either then don't let that put you off.
Highly recommended.

I was interested in this book as I really enjoyed the author's previous book When All Is Said. Jeanie has inherited her parents funeral home in their small town in Ireland. It's not exactly what she wants to do but she has also inherited a very unique trait from her father- the ability to communicate with the dead. Jeanie can hear their thoughts after they have passed and uses them to offer comfort to the living. I loved the concept for the book but had to mark it DNF as I didn't find it hooked me in at all and it was a bit of a chore to get through. Not for me I'm afraid.

What an original and engaging book!

The premise really caught my attention: a young woman working in the family's undertakers, who can hear the dead. Jeanie has this gift that she shares with her father, but at times it can feel like more of a burden. Should she reveal all that the dead tell her? Perhaps a little white lie will give comfort to those still living.
The book opens with her father and mother announcing their plans to retire and move away, leaving their daughter in charge of the business. It stirs something in Jeanie, and gives her cause to question what she's doing and whether she's living the life she should be.
Slipping back and forth from Jeanie's childhood to present day, the author handles, friendships and loss, death and love, all with a lightness of touch that had me thoroughly engaged. Her characters are well drawn and I loved Jeanie's brother who had some great lines.
It's an unusual concept, conversing with the dead, but I didn't once question it, I was fully on board with Jeanie's gift.
I haven't read Anne Griffen's first novel When All is Said, but it has been recommended to me and I'm going to rectify that immediately.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This is a highly unusual but thought promising read about Jeanie who has a gift that is both blessing and curse. Jeannie has grown up amongst her family’s undertaker business and at a young age her family realised she shared her fathers unique gift to hear the dead speak in the short time following their death, Her gift has meant she never feared the dead but also meant it was assumed she would join the family business so she could use her ability, this left Jeannie feeling her life was mapped out for her and tied her to her village which she generally accepted but a part of her still regrets not following her heart and following the man she loved to London where he went to college at eighteen. When her father makes the decision to retire and pass the business on to her it causes Jeannie to question her status quo and whether she should have been more proactive in her life decisions rather than just go with the flow of expectation.

Jeannie is a strong character and seeing her thought processes make you think about how consciously we actually make decisions and the flashbacks to her younger years gave great insight into who she is and how torn she was between two lives, Her family are well written, most especially her brother and her marriage is very easy to understand from both perspectives. The messages from the newly departed, varied as they were, could be very impactive and it was great to see a nod to her previous novel there.

I was looking forward to reading this after reading the blurb. I find the concept of talking to the dead interesting. This book isnt all about this so dont be put off if you are a non believer. The story is more about the what ifs in life.
Just as good as her first book, and loved that Maurice got a mention.

Thought that the central premise of the book (that someone can hear the last words of the newly dead) was a really good one.

The book was an enjoyable look at the ethical implications that follow on from that, particularly whether it was right to tell a white lie to protect a recipient from a unpleasant message.

The book follows Jeanie who has this power and these questions are raised not just for her superpower but also in her personal relationships.

Besides looking at lying, it also treats well whether it is better to take risks to follow your dreams, or play it safe with what is reliable and solid.

This is the story of Jeanie Masterson who can hear the final words of the dead. This is a lovely book that explores present and past love, family expectations and Jeanie growing up and working out what she exactly wants from life. The delicate way the dead are referred to is wonderful and the book has several tear-jerking moments, especially towards the end. Highly recommend this book.

I loved the author’s previous novel, When All is Said, and Listening Still is also beautifully written, interesting and original. Jeanie Masterson works in her family’s undertaking business and has a special gift: she can commune with the dead for a short time after they are brought in to the funeral home. Jeanie experiences many up and downs because of this gift and the novel is about her search for a life that will make her happy. I liked the structure of the novel, the narrative moving easily between past and present. Jeanie’s close-knit group of friends is also a delight. The book held my attention throughout and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you very much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was keen to read this as I enjoyed the author’s first novel so much. The writing is equally good in this one, but I just couldn’t take the scenario at an undertakers seriously - and I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to engage with the characters. I feel that it would have been far more successful as a black comedy, like the outrageous Joe Orton’s play ‘LOOT’.

Listening Still by Anne Griffin. I loved When All is said so I couldn’t wait to read this one. It’s a good read, it’ll keep you interested, and there are a few twists which will prevent you from putting the book down at night but when it came to the lead protagonist Jeanie, I really didn’t like her. I though she was self centred and childish, despite her age and although the reason for much of her behaviour comes to light as we read on, it did take away from my enjoyment of the book. Her background, and the family business and why it thrives as it did was an interesting concept, one I thought to be terribly far fetched at first but that did make for a good storyline as the plot progressed. I do think the story lacked depth of character though. I felt little connection to anyone in the novel except perhaps for poor Niall, who took far more from Jeanie than any self respecting man deserves. It was a good read though and Griffin has a lovely style of writing.

I absolutely loved When All Is Said, Anne Griffin’s first novel. I was therefore excited to get an ARC of Listening Still, if not a little nervous. I needn’t have been. Listening Still is mesmerising and I loved it (it even has a nod to When All Is Said).

The story of the Mastersons. Funeral directors, extended family and the added benefit of, for a short window, being able to gather the last thoughts of the dead. With no exception I thought all of the characters were beautifully written and the plotting was tight. I read the book over 3 sittings (and the only reason it wasn’t one sitting was pesky work getting in the way). I would thoroughly recommend Listening Still.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sceptre/Hachette/Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC. It was a pleasure to read.

Weird one. I enjoyed When All is said, but I really couldn't get into this novel. Jeanie, a thirty something year of from the Irish midlands, can talk to dead people. Good thing she works in the family business of undertakers.
The writing is fine, but the characters are not particularly interesting.. and I found the plot a bit disturbing.

I found this book difficult to get into initially with it being set in the family business of an undertakers but after reading several chapters, it was difficult to put down. The main character, Jeanie can hear the last words of dead people, for a short time just after they have died.
The book switches between present day and Jeanie’s past and I found the back story of missed opportunities, which come to light, very sad.
The story starts with her father unexpectedly announcing that he wants to retire early and leave the business to her and Jeanie starts to question her life and past choices. At times Jeanie does come across as a bit childish but I still found reading this book enjoyable. She helps the police solve a crime a one point and it would have been interesting if there was more of this included in the story. There are also hints of a family secret which come to light towards the end.

What a beautiful story! Everything about this book says emotion, empathy and love in it’s many forms. In a village in Ireland Jeannie is about to inherit her father’s funeral business but with a slight difference - she can hear the dead speak! Needless to say this doesn’t make for an easy life and although her friends and family are there for her she is trying to come to terms with what this change will bring! I was near to tears several times - the pictures the author evokes, the emotions she brought to life, it made me believe this could actually happen so real was the telling! I lived and loved it!

This is a book about death, but is so much more. It's a book about love, secrets, loyalty and most of all how we treat those we love. Tender and thoughtful it lifted my heart. The characters are all excellent and I really Mikey who made me smile more than once.

Probably not the book I was expecting. I really thought the main focus of the story would be the listening to the dead element but in actual fact, the story is more about the characters and their relationships. Not a bad story just not the one I was hoping for.

Anne Griffin writes beautifully about Jeanie, an undertaker born into a family of undertakers. Jeanie has a gift that has been passed down through the family: she can talk to the dead. Not for long, but for a few valuable minutes after they die. This led to some heartbreaking confessions and it was a fascinating quirk to read about.

I did expect that gift to make up more of the story, but a lot of it related to Jeanie’s life choices and whether or not she made the right ones. Jeanie came across as a self-centered spoiled woman, and wasn’t very likeable in my opinion.

I didn’t love the ending of the novel, although to end it any other way wouldn’t have made sense. What I did love was the small town feel; the easy way of life, the postman popping in for a cuppa on his rounds, the big Irish funerals.

While I didn’t love the book, Anne Griffin’s writing was as good as ever.

Written with such soulful insight and such empathy, “Listening Still” is yet another masterpiece after Griffin’s wonderful “When All Is Said”. Told by Jeanie Masterson, born into a family business of undertakers, who has just been told that her parents are going to retire to the other end of Ireland and she to be running the business.
We look back on Jeanie as a toddler, “growing into the business” with her special gift: just after their passing, some of the dead talk to her, about things unspoken, regrets, truths or simply where they’ve placed important documents. A blessing or a terrible burden? We see Jeanie growing up, her feelings torn between the reliable Niall and the charismatic Fionn. About choices made and decisions missed, all resurfacing at the precise moment when Jeanie is required to take the lead. And then, in chapter 19, a special gem for the readers of “When All Is Said” - *no spoilers*.
Never a dull moment, never an unnecessary length - I could have read on forever.

As a romance novel, this is OK, but it wasn’t at all the kind of story I was hoping for, having enjoyed Anne Griffin’s first book so much. I guess Jeanie’s special gift of being able to hear and speak to the recently deceased gives us some poignant moments when people reveal things they really should have spoken about when they had time, but it does feel terribly contrived. Jeanie herself is just so annoying. Having been told all her life how special she is, she is torn between following the love of her life to London, the big city where she wouldn’t shine so brightly, or staying in her home town in rural Ireland and feeling indispensable. What is she to do? Who is she going to hurt in the process?

Some good writing, as I expected, but I couldn’t engage with the characters or their situations. Not for me and not a book I’d particularly recommend.

Listening Still is the beautiful story of Jeanie Masterson and her gift of being able to listen to and speak to the dead soon after their passing and pass on any last wishes or secrets that they may have failed to pass on in life.

My daughter in law is the daughter of an undertaker in an Irish town and if I’m honest that (and the unusual gift) is what attracted me to the book. I do also love books set in Ireland, the Irish dialect and their sense of humour.

I had no expectation of how much I was going to absolutely adore this book. It was an utter joy to read. I love the characters of Jeanie, her parents and especially her best friend Peanut who has a wicked sense of humour. The characters are so believable, not perfect, flawed in the ways all of us are and I liked them all. The story behind Jeanie’s marriage to her childhood best friend, I’m sure will be one that will resonate with lots of people, as will the story of ‘the one who got away’ - another pretty common but not often explored topic. This book made me think, made me laugh, made me sob and made me take some time out of my day just to contemplate.

It’s superbly written and captured me right from the start. It’s my first book by Anne Griffin and it won’t be my last. I love that she doesn’t idealise life or personalities or the ending of her book - there isn’t always a perfect ending in life and love and it’s lovely to find an author brave enough to embrace that.

I’ve already recommended this book to my family members and I will continue to extol it to anyone who I think will enjoy it! Congratulations Anne Griffin - great job!

My thanks go to the author, to NetGalley and to the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review!