Holding

 Holding (2016) by Graham Norton

British talk show host Graham Norton serves up a mystery debut wrapped in dark comedy. Set in the small Irish village of Duneen; a village where nothing happens and the local Garda Sergeant P. J. Collins has nothing to do but issue traffic tickets and investigate minor break-ins. That is...until the day contractors are digging up the old Burke farm to make way for new construction and human remains are found. Now Collins has to work with a detective inspector from Cork ("he was an awful prick") to find out if the remains are those of Tommy Burke who disappeared about seventeen years ago. Everyone always said that Tommy left town on the bus to London. But no one actually admits to being the one who saw him go.

Digging up the past unearths secrets long hidden and resentments that have simmered since the day Brid Riordan (then Tommy's bride-to-be) and Evelyn Ross (who thought she was the woman in Tommy's life) had a knock-down, drag-out fight in the middle of town. Collins is desperate to solve the case--his first case of any importance--and prove that he really is doing something worthwhile. But when DNA tests come back and say that the remains are no relation to the Burkes interest in the case dies down. But then an older set of bones are found and the questions they raise are even more intriguing...

Norton gives us a very good look at life in small town Ireland. He deals with love, loss, alcoholism, relationships, and feelings of inadequacy--from Collins to the "prick" to the women in the life of Tommy Burke. He also gives us a pretty decent debut mystery. He could have spent a little more time developing more of the characters, but I did find myself rooting very hard for Sergeant Collins to solve his first big case. My primary complaint--the identity of the culprit was pretty obvious to me. If that hadn't been the case, I could have easily bumped the rating up. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: It was widely accepted by the residents of Duneen that, should a crime be committed and Sergeant Collins managed to apprehend the culprit, it would be very unlikely that the arrest had involved a pursuit on foot.

Last line: The last piece of bread was forgotten.

*****************

Deaths = 6 (three natural; one hanged; one hit on head; one drowned)