Holding

Prima tussendoor niemandalletje - een soort van romcom-whodunnit. Behoorlijk rustig vergeleken met Norton's persoonlijkheid in zijn talkshows...

Update 2024: deze had ik kennelijk al eens eerder gelezen, het “niemandalletje” klopt dus vrij aardig, was de hele plot alweer kwijt. Pluspunt deze keer: het speelde zich af in het deel van Ierland waar we net op dat moment op vakantie waren :-)

A lovely debut novel by Mr. Graham Norton. Characters are well developed and relatable, and the story unfolded with a nice flow and ease. No loose ends. It kept my interest as to what would happen next all the way to the end. Reading it in his voice helped a lot (and unavoidable).

I received the audiobook version from Libby way too late into my reading, but I read the last two chapters along with the audio, and it was excellent. Not only is Norton a solid writer, he’s an amazing narrator.

As for the story itself, it’s ultimately about the idea of how life’s what-could-have-beens and past memories and secrets can keep one from living their fullest and happiest present.

If this debut novel were on the famous Red Chair, I would let it tell its tale and I wouldn’t dream of pulling the lever!

The best word to describe this book is “pleasant” So if you like your crime/mystery with a large dose of sweet milky tea and a plate of scones with jam purchased from the nearest farm shop or garden fete, then you will probably love it. It's not a bad book, as reflected in the 3/5 rating, it was just a bit too wishy washy for me.

I am hugely conflicted in regards to this book. While it's not as good as his other two books, I found the plot engaging and the character development terrific.

But trigger warnings this book is fat phobic. I really respect Norton as an author and love the way he weaves his narratives. But this book does not deal with the character of Sergeant Collins sensitively and even being a debut novel isn't excusable. The first and last chapters made my skin crawl with discomfort. Fat phobic writing isn't acceptable in this book published in 2016 or books published thereafter.

It didn't move the plot forward and as a reader made me feel like the author was propping Collins up as a character we could ridicule for being fat. I was not cool with that. Therefore this book cannot be rated higher.