An unexpected twist, about halfway, kept me glued to the story and attempting to figure out who it was and how everyone involved was going to fix the mess they found themselves in.

Forever Home by Graham Norton | Hachette UK

As usual, this one starts with a gentle slice of Irish village life and characters, but soon descends into something darker. If you like mysteries that aren’t too graphic that revolves around family relationships, give this book a shot! When events (set in motion by Declan's children) put Declan into a care facility, they heartlessly throw Carol out of the house and put it up for sale. Norton excels at painting everyone in their true colours, even if at times their introspection and feelings towards others was less than charitable. The writing style is delightful as ever, and I laughed so much at Graham Norton's sharp descriptions of his characters and biting observations of the stuff they say and do.The inclusion of the dry, snickery humor this author is so well-known for is an added bonus and pure-delight.

Forever Home by Graham Norton | Goodreads Forever Home by Graham Norton | Goodreads

The much-loved chatshow host made a smooth landing in the literary sphere when he published his first novel, Holding, in 2016. It makes the motivations and actions of the characters in the third act feel inauthentic murder-mystery staples.And I was thinking, well, that's - you know, I understand why she's asking that, but how on earth do you answer that question? Carol’s mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won’t see her daughter suffer in this way. Chat show host Graham Norton has announced his fourth and "darkest, funniest" novel is set to be released this September.

Forever Home | Graham Norton | 9781529391398 | NetGalley Forever Home | Graham Norton | 9781529391398 | NetGalley

She informs the children who seem on their own to decide to put their father in a nurse care facility, then evict Carol from the only home she has known for years so they can sell the house. I don't believe anything is ridiculed by this lighter tone but you have to go into with it being a bit playful, maybe tongue in cheek, and therefore, a "cozy" mystery IMO.

Obviously things don’t go smoothly, and the house has a secret that none of the Crotties could ever have imagined. Forever Home will be released in the UK and Ireland on September 29th but is slated for publication in Australia and New Zealand on September 27th. Holding won the Irish book Award for Popular Fiction and was made into a major ITV drama, directed by Kathy Burke, scheduled for this spring, on Virgin Media, while A Keeper was shortlisted for both the Specsavers Popular Fiction Award and the Irish Book Award. Having really enjoyed other novels by Graham Norton, I was looking forward to reading his latest, Forever Home.

Forever Home by Graham Norton | Waterstones Forever Home by Graham Norton | Waterstones

As in all garden-variety watchable TV drama or compelling mainstream novel, there is a murder involved or, more precisely, a dead body. This is the fourth book I’ve read by the author and I’ve really enjoyed them all but this one not so much. As in the earlier Holding, A Keeper, and Home Stretch, Forever Home is a sensitive character study, especially of women, about how we manage the shame of secrets and regrets that fester in the closed corridors of our hearts.

The arc I received was poorly presented, with no chapter breaks, nor, at times, paragraph breaks, so a fair bit of rereading took place, but this still did not detract from a great book. Norton relies on his characters to do a lot of heavy lifting – as readers, we get full insight into their thinking and fears. There are more serious issues dealt with in the book (dementia, child pornography, gay couple having a child), but these are all handled with the lightest of touches so that the book never becomes bogged down but rather stays entertaining and gossipy.