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Brouhaha

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but Brouhaha careers between state-of-the-nation metaphor, black comic thriller and half-baked mystery, without ever settling on a coherent tone. Like a traveller who enjoys the journey as much as reaching their destination, I was in no hurry to reach the end and unravel the central mystery, content to savour each word, each sentence, each paragraph and each chapter of this captivating book. Unfortunately, I did find that the storyline, although interesting and well written, was a bit too slow going for me and I did struggle with the pace of the story. Although its widely accepted that our ability to gabble on is inherent in our genes, without even setting foot near the fabled county Cork castle. I felt the story spent too long setting the scene and I was getting bored but stuck with it and the last third of the book raced to the rather obvious conclusion.

A clue to the mystery is hidden in a graphic novel created by Dove, who was a talented artist and Sandra’s wannabe boyfriend.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). Maybe together they can break through the web of lies that has built up around Sandra's disappearance and finally get to the truth? 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.

I got about 140 pages into it, and then jumped to the last 5 chapters to find out what happened, but all in all just felt disappointing and kind of lack the oomph or the excitement for me to really get stuck in. It wasn’t just the act of self-harm itself, the pointless splattering of blood and bone and brain all over his bedroom wall, that was the issue, unsettling as that was. This is a crime novel with twists, with the latter pertaining not just to “who did it” but to the genre itself - part humorous, part Irish history around the times of “The Troubles” and part true literary endeavour. All are brought together by the apparent suicide of the street artist “Dove” Connolly, whose death seems to be linked to the disappearance of Sandra Mohan, last seen a decade earlier.The second thing to say is yes, it is Ardal O’Hanlon, who will always be Father Dougal from Father Ted to me. Stick with this book, and learn about modern post- "Peace Process" Irish politics, small-town life, uber-smart ordinary folk, and enjoy a riviting story of crime, passion, intrigue, indifference, insouciance, and a cast of wonderful folk - good and evil. I look forward to reading more from this author with a surprisingly ( to those who only know the tv characters) literary talent.

If you have ever sat in front of a peat fire in an Irish country pub, nursing a pint of Guinness or perhaps a glass of Jameson’s, listening to the resident shanachie weaving a magical spell with a long, meandering and enthralling tale from local folklore, you will have an idea of what reading this book is like. Another person near obsessed with Sandra’s disappearance is Kevin Healy, the Garda who was in charge of her case at the time. Philip, a drifter and jack of all trades, is mourning the suicide of his childhood friend, Dove Connolly. Accept there isn’t much mystery on account of the murderer being the IRA guy introduced in the first chapter (and this is obvious throughout the book). Kevin Healy is a rather likeable character, but he too, has been through much, including a bout of mental trouble after having been shot when he was a Garda, and Sandra’s case continues to weigh on him, something he is determined to solve.But while secrets begin to be revealed and ‘new’ facts uncovered, raking up the past is neither easy, nor advisable, especially when there are less than savoury characters involved; one of these is Fergal Coleman, once the local ‘bad boy’ into drugs and much else, now an aspiring politician, still surrounded and supported by his old gang. The plotting was noticeably first rate, with droplets of information into proceedings and then tidied up efficiently later on in the story.

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