Forever Home: THIS AUTUMN'S MUST-READ NOVEL FROM GRAHAM NORTON

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SHAPIRO: And yet you were well into your career before you started writing fiction. When you began as an author, you started as a memoirist. What made you decide to make that move? The characters were all so well fleshed out and real. I rooted so much for the protagonist Carol who has to deal with all kinds of stuff—starting with some petty idle gossip because she is a school teacher in a small town, which makes her somewhat of a public figure, and ending with the unexpected darkness in Declan's past that she cannot even discuss with Declan himself. I empathised with Carol so much when she admonished herself for being a passive lump that allows things to happen to her. And I could not but marvel at and admire Carol's mother Moira— an 80-year-old powerhouse of a woman.

I devoured this novel within two days, it was an absolute joy to read and I highly recommend it to all. Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, her only son now grown. A second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and belonging. The new relationship sparks local speculation: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned them all those years ago? But the gossip only serves to bring the couple closer. A winning mix of family drama and comedy crime caper ... you may well find yourself reading it in one sitting.' HEAT This novel, about a family often on the edge, is set in a small town in Ireland and narrated by the author, Graham Norton. It's my first book by this author and I consider it a cozy mystery. I'd like to thank the publisher HarperAudio, NetGalley. and the author, for this ARC for my honest review. Carol's mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won't see her daughter suffer in this way. It seems there are secrets in Declan's past, strange rumours that were never confronted and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance.So, Carol, must vacate the house and move in with her parents Moira, her judgmental mother and Dave, her quiet seemingly spacy father who only seems to do as he is told. How could this happen to her, especially at her age? In his gripping and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect. Carol met and fell in love with Declan later in life, and unfortunately, he has developed early onset dementia, forcing her to move out of his house which she shared with him when his children move Declan to a nursing home and decide to sell up. In the ensuing months, some deep, dark secrets emerge from Declan’s past, which leave Carol questioning everything she knew about him. Enter Moira, Carol’s mother, to bring about a crazy resolution to the drama that’s unfolding 😅.

Oh my GOD Forever Home is FABULOUS... His skill at gimlet-eyed observation and nuanced characterisation is *chef's kiss* but this book is SO FUNNY... It's a DELIGHT.' MARIAN KEYES I absolutely loved this book. The arc I received was poorly presented, with no chapter breaks, nor, at times, paragraph breaks, so a fair bit of rereading took place, but this still did not detract from a great book.But Moira comes up with a brilliant idea! She and Dave will secretly put a bid on the house and buy it! Carol is horrified but can't stop the train which Moira seems to be on from going off the rails! Carol lives in a small Irish town and finds a second chance at love with a much older man Declan. Declan's ex-wife left him and their children long ago and is still a mystery to all.

Carol Crottie has found a second chance at love with her student’s father, Declan Barry. A few years earlier, Declan’s wife Joan had mysteriously “abandoned her family” – though rumours still circulate. But her transition from teacher to stepmother drives a wedge between Declan and his children, Sally and Killian. With all the dramas that Carol has to go through (from small and tedious to horrific and chilling, or rather, freezing), with all the emotional bumps and bruises she suffers as she uncovers more and more of the dark and tragic past of her partner's family, this story is ultimately nothing but pure kindness and compassion, with a fair share of good-natured irony sprinkled here and there because come on, it's Graham Norton! :) Like Richard Osman, his fellow TV host turned author, Graham Norton seems primed to capitalise on the seemingly insatiable market for cosy crime

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Carol Crottie, a divorced English teacher and mother of a grown son, grabs her second chance at happiness by moving in with Declan Barry, a man several years her senior. Declan's two children are cold and hostile toward Carol. Their mother abandoned them years ago, and they don't like the idea of Carol moving in and replacing their mother in Declan's affections. Skip forward years and Declan's children have left the nest. Declan himself is showing distinct signs of Alzheimer's and Carol quits her job to care for him. When events (set in motion by Declan's children) put Declan into a care facility, they heartlessly throw Carol out of the house and put it up for sale. The latest comedy noir by Graham Norton features fractured families at their worst. I loved it!' LIZ NUGENT This story is as witty and smart as it is moving and poignant, and more than once it brought me to tears as I was reading about the bonds that the characters developed. Many thanks to the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest review.

SHAPIRO: It's not disclosures about the inner life. It is just a sort of, like, filling the air with sounds. In his tense and darkly comic new novel, Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect. NORTON: Yeah. Oh, no, absolutely. And I think she's got that mothering thing where she shows her love through action - through deeds - rather than through actually telling anyone that she loves them. Declan's wife left him. He doesn't want to talk about it. Not to his young children, son Killan and daughter Sally, and not to the gossip mongers in the town in Ireland. No one really understands why she let. But one thing is for sure. Her children can't forgive her.NORTON: Well, I suppose, in my head, it's sort of my quiet, happy place. It's the only thing I do that is sort of solitary - that doesn't involve a meeting...