A Keeper
A Novel
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4.2 • 97 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From Graham Norton—the BAFTA Award–winning Irish television host and author of the “charming debut novel” (New York Journal of Books) Holding—a masterly and haunting tale of secrets and ill-fated love follows a young woman as she returns to Ireland after her mother’s death and unravels the identity of her father.
When Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, she’s focused only on saying goodbye to that dark and dismal part of her life. Her childhood home is packed solid with useless junk, her mother’s presence already fading. But within this mess, she discovers a small stash of letters—and ultimately, the truth.
Forty years earlier, a young woman stumbles from a remote stone house, the night quiet except for the constant wind that encircles her as she hurries deeper into the darkness away from the cliffs and the sea. She has no sense of where she is going, only that she must keep on.
With wistful and evocative prose, A Keeper is sure to appeal to “fans of sensitive character studies” (Publishers Weekly) and brilliantly illustrates Graham Norton’s clear-eyed understanding of human nature and its darkest flaws.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this engrossing tale of love gone wrong from British author Norton (Holding), Elizabeth Keane a New York divorc e with a 17-year-old son, Zach returns to her childhood home in Buncarragh, Ireland, after the death of her mother, Patricia. While going through her mother's possessions, Elizabeth discovers a box containing love letters written to her mother from her father, Edward Foley. All Elizabeth was previously told about her father is that Patricia left home to visit Edward and, after months without communicating with family or friends, returned widowed with an infant, Elizabeth. When her mother's solicitor informs Elizabeth that she has inherited Castle House, the Foley family manse, she decides to visit there to see what she can learn about her father. Talking to people who knew Edward, she learns more about her mother's tragic love affair with him and past misdeeds. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's relationship with Zach is put to the test as secrets he has been withholding from her are gradually revealed. Norton subtly portrays how Elizabeth's understanding of her past and present undergoes fundamental change. Only marginally a mystery, this one will appeal to fans of sensitive character studies.
Customer Reviews
Secrets kept
Enjoyable story. The subplot about her son was strange and unnecessary. Overall enjoyed it
Pass on this one
Very difficult to plow through the story. It’s quite repetitive and the writing is poor. It was slow in the beginning and I thought perhaps it would pick up. It did not … don’t waste your time.
Wonderful read
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. The style in which it was written kept me turning the page and saying “one more chapter!”. The story captures you. There are characters you become emotionally attached to. Everything you want in a story.