We have a very flawed but all the same complex and (as a result) intriguing set of characters; there’s Dove himself who we get to know through memories or the graphic novel and other clues he leaves behind for Sharkey, and the mural he made for the town, poking fun at different elements; Philip Sharkey who has been in self imposed exile (for reasons we learn as the book goes on) but is now a little more confident of facing his fears and doing right by his friend (whom he has in more senses than one betrayed). But once I did settle into the style and more so, the story (especially the puzzle of what actually happened to Sandra) began to move forward, I started to get more absorbed and really began to want to read on. Over the past few days, Kevin, no flies on him, had sensed a tension in the town thanks to Dove Connolly’s poor decision to blow his own head off. A clue to the mystery is hidden in a graphic novel created by Dove, who was a talented artist and Sandra’s wannabe boyfriend. I look forward to reading more from this author with a surprisingly ( to those who only know the tv characters) literary talent.

We also believe we have the gift of the gab as a result making out with the Blarney stone, along with every desperate tourist with a whiff of an Irish relative, somewhere in their distant past. However, I am I glad that I kept going as I enjoyed the banter between Joanne, Phillip and Kevin and I was hooked by the final 100 pages, with the great reveal. One character reflects that “he couldn’t say for sure himself whether he was pretending to be the Messiah, did think he was the Messiah, or was actually the Messiah. The writing is very intense and I failed to pick the bones out of the story; not for want of trying mind.However a local journalist wrote an expose of life in the area and made conclusions about Sandra's disappearance.

I read Ben Elton’s Stark which was like an inoculation, but tried Dead Famous as a kind of booster dose. The way our three unlikely crusaders join together to finally lay Sandra's ghost to rest is also satisfyingly heart-warming - despite the full-on ration of violence and gritty action that forms the majority of the storyline.Now his best friend Sharkey is home asking awkward questions about Dove’s death, about the strange graphic novel he left behind, and, most of all, about Sandra. Back in town, he finds Dove left him a graphic novel he wrote and illustrated, and while initially he is puzzled and disinterested, he begins to realise that the book, about the adventures of a hero named Brouhaha is actually Dove’s way of leaving him clues to what he discovered (as also chastising him for his own actions). As well as the strange graphic novel Dove left behind and the more importantly about Sandra Mohan, who mysteriously disappeared a decade ago. It is that kind of thinking that brought us works such as Stephen Fry’s Moab Is My Washpot and The Hippopotamus, which I read and cannot remember a single thing about. Overall, though, this was a book well worth reading with much that I enjoyed even if I didn’t get along with every element.