The Mystery of Mercy Close

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Catch your breath there, come on, come on, anyone can do it,’ she urged. ‘A small child can do it. So what are you doing this evening? After your . . . cake? Will we watch telly? We’ve got twenty-nine episodes of Come Dine With Me recorded.’ I should never have underestimated Marian Keyes, though, because we've finally gotten Helen's story and she is real, believable, and completely sympathetic while still being the slightly dangerous, unpredictable Helen we've come to know, love and fear (just a little). It was not all doom and gloom. I found the writing to be alive with emotion, evoking tears and laughter alike. Marian puts you right in the moment. The romance was subtle but effective. The intimate scenes were so sexy, and exactly to my tastes. It makes me so happy that Helen has a beautiful man. Mammy Walsh has to be this series biggest highlight, she is so hysterical. There was also the most beautiful moment of her taking care of Helen, I was a mess. Not to mention another memorable messy moment when Helens therapist saves the day (her). The short answer is yes – Helen is smart and funny but still retains her disdain for people and most things in general. She has a “Shovel List”: It’ll be like being wrapped up in a big marshmallow cocoon; we’ll feel all floaty and happy and dreamy . . .’

Love the Walsh sisters? Don't miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel's Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . . At various points in the novel, Helen Walsh seemed to have meaningful connections with Jay, Artie, and even Wayne – who did you envision Helen ending up with, if anyone? Were you surprised at the final outcome? Fans everywhere were eagerly awaiting the return of Marian Keyes and her latest book, The Mystery Of Mercy Close, and we weren’t disappointed This book not only sees the return of one of the greatest authors around, but also the return of The Walsh sisters, and in this particular book, focusing on Helen.I couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage. You’re making it sound like it’s my fault. Anyway, it’s more complicated than that.’ Property prices being as low as they were, the sale of this house probably wouldn’t fetch enough money to send them on a cruise of the Aran Islands. But, as I made my way out to the car to start lugging in my boxes of stuff I decided not to rub it in. After all, they were giving me a roof over my head. You can stay for a few days,’ Mum conceded. ‘But be warned. We might want to sell this house and go on a Caribbean cruise.’ I don’t say this for any reason other than to explain why I bonded so much with this story. I'm a glass half empty person, I am big enough and ugly enough now to accept that, and try to be positive to the best of my ability. I have always had mental health challenges, it runs in my family (thanks Dad). I have never considered suicide, but I can certainly relate to times when I haven’t wanted to be alive. If these are feelings you would rather not read about than this is not the book for you.

She says I’m abnormally, almost psychotically, contrary. And right enough, it does seem to be my way.

Keyes divides her life into before and after recovery. “Once I did go through rehab and admit the game was up, things were possible for me: healthy relationships, a career, honest, authentic friendships.” In what reads like the outline of a Keyes novel, four months before she gave up drinking she wrote a short story and sent it to a publisher on a whim; the year after she left rehab her first novel, Watermelon, was published, and she got married at 32. (Her husband Tony Baines – “He’s lovely!” – looks after everything that comes with being an internationally bestselling author.) I write about women being sexual past the 40 watershed, when we’re supposed to shut up shop I enjoyed learning about Wayne.Throughout the story we slowly discover little bits about Wayne and all of these pieces put together help us to build up a picture of him. I loved the mystery of Wayne, it was gripping, it was interesting and it had me keen to find out what had happened to him.

I really liked the way this book was written. It is as if Helen Walsh is sitting across from the reader and narrating her life. She just talks away, at times hopping from subject to subject as people do in conversations, without ever losing her thread. She is brutally honest about herself and her shortcomings, which are plenty. While she never tries to make herself look nice or sympathetic I couldn’t help but like Helen. Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes It’s more of a conceptual thing. It’s a list of all the people and things I hate so much that I want to hit them in the face with a shovel.’

Books Multibuys

Oh, I am shamefully intolerant, especially anything to do with noise. I swear I can hear the grass grow. Youths seem to follow me around and sit beside me on the bus, with their horrible head-phones blasting out the most irritating tinny sounds or worse still, something with a heavy bassline that makes everything vibrate. Also, I am wildly annoyed by the smell of cheap scented candles, vanilla is the very worse. And people who say “Pacifically” when they mean “Specifically.” I should really stop now – I’m starting to sound like a horrible person, when I’m not really – I’ll just say one more thing: celery. I cannot abide it! Or people who say, “Sweet potato wedges are just as delicious as ordinary potato wedges, but with a third fewer calories.” Because sweet potato wedges are not as delicious as ordinary potato wedges – I don’t mind making a deliberate decision to try and consume less calories by eating the sweet potato wedges, but I do resent being taken for a fool. Really, I’d better leave it at that…

Such a disappointing book. The pace of the story is too slow and there is so little action. Romance is light on the ground and there is little exploration of Helen Walsh's relationships, which is a pity as both Jay Parker (the ex) and Artie Devlin (the current one) are interesting characters. There wasn't enough involvement by Mammy Walsh, who would have added some humour to a humourless story. I loved the setting- Ireland. The humor mixed in with the dark depths of an uncomfortable topic was pulled off with aplomb. There were some laugh out loud moments, and some poignant moments as well as a compelling mystery. She loved writing the group therapy sessions in both novels. “Having gone through rehab myself, it was one of the happiest times of my life in a bizarre way. The bonds that you form with the people in your group, the other walking wounded … we were all trying to help each other. It was actually very beautiful. I wanted to bring that same camaraderie and humanity to the new book.” You’re only thirty-three. Wait till you get to my age and then you’ll know all about shrunken bones.’ Discover the seriously funny, stunningly written novel about one woman's attempts to put her past behind her, from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups

Helen also begins spending a great deal of time at Wayne's house, feeling some sort of a connection with him.