Holding

May 29, 2017
British TV personality Norton (So Me, a memoir) makes his fiction debut with a wistful, atmospheric mystery starring Sgt. Patrick James “PJ” Collins, the solitary, overweight keeper of the peace in the backwater town of Duneen, Ireland. Nothing exciting ever happens in Duneen—until the day the crew at a housing development under construction unearths human bones. The forensic team from Cork confirms the remains are of a young adult male who died of a blow to the head. Could the bones belong to Tommy Burke, who disappeared from Duneen 20 years earlier, after his romantic triangle with two local girls came to a bad end? The story around town is that someone saw Tommy board a bus to head for London, but no one has seen or heard from him since. As the investigation unfolds, nothing is as it first appears. For some, hearts broken long ago have not healed, while other lonely, forgotten people have carried on as best they can. PJ doesn’t believe in happy endings, but, as this winning tale shows, sometimes things work themselves out in ways no one could have imagined.

Reading his own fiction debut, Graham Norton invites listeners to experience the sleepy Irish town of Dundeen--it residents' hardships and grudges as well as their unbreakable family bonds and devotion. Norton throws in a murder investigation, but that takes a back seat to the engaging relationships intertwined in a complex web of life. Norton's performance is as endearing as the characters. He plumbs each individual with subtle changes in tone, cadence, and pitch, presenting their full dimensions, leaving no closed doors to hide behind. He keeps the pace leisurely, allowing listeners to savor every minute. Sweet and heartbreaking, funny and insightful, all delivered with a penetrating narration. HOLDING'S a winner. J.F. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine