The Mystery of Mercy Close

Product Information

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.’ Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor This is the fifth, and final (?) of Keyes' Walsh family series, dealing with youngest sister, Helen. Like its predecessors it is written in first person narrative, and like the others it has a darker underlying message. As much as we want. The second the bliss starts to wear off, we’ll ring a bell and a nurse will come and give us a top-up.’ I’ve a great idea,’ she declared to her friend, Judy. ‘Let’s have our nervous breakdowns at the same time.’

The underlying, darker shadow is Helen's depression. Depression is something that I, thankfully, have never suffered excepting during the teen-angst period and to a very low extent on occasion (but never the suffocating fear, apathy or dread experienced by many). It is also something that I rather find the concept of it hard to grasp - and Keyes does a fine job explaining it, in first person terms, with convincing sincerity. It would be a good one to read, perhaps, if you have a friend or colleague thus afflicted and wished to understand what *might* be happening in their mind. 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.

More in Books

When her ex Jay Parker comes offering her a job, Helen doesn’t want to take it. But Jay’s money is too good and Helen desperately needs the work. Jay is putting together a reunion of one of Ireland’s most popular boybands and one of the members, Wayne Diffney has disappeared without a trace. Wayne was reluctant to take part in the reunion concert but he swore he’d be there and now with just a week to go there’s no sign of him. Jay wants Helen to find Wayne and find him fast – there’s a lot of money riding on this and a lot of people stand to lose big time if the tour gets canned. I wouldn’t mind – I mean, this is the sheer irony of the thing – but I’m the only person I know who doesn’t think it would be delicious to go into ‘someplace’ for ‘a rest’. You’d want to hear my sister Claire going on about it, as if waking up one morning and finding herself in a mental hospital would be the most delightful experience imaginable. More silence followed, then Claire looked up at me, her face bright red. ‘ God, Helen,’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re such a cow. Can’t you ever let anyone have anything nice?’

No. A Shovel List. 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." Besides the Walshes, the other secondary characters are wonderfully drawn, especially Bella, one of her boyfriend's children. Speaking of boyfriends, I wasn't sure until the very near the end who exactly Helen was going to end up with. Marian really had me worried a number of times. While Helen's journey, including the development of her relationships with Artie, Jay and her family, sustains the book, the plot surrounding the mysterious disappearance of Wayne Diffney provides a solid framework for the story. The Laddz, desperate for a successful reunion concert to reverse their fortunes, have their own secrets and Helen has to navigate their past to save their future. I have been waiting for Helen Walsh's story for a long time. I started to think it wouldn't be written, simply because it couldn't be written. How was Helen ever going to come off as a real, let alone sympathetic, character when she was so snarky and over-the-top in all her guest appearances? That was half the fun of the other Walsh books--waiting for Helen to show up and say something wildly inappropriate and insensitive. But could she sustain a whole book?

Articles

Love the Walsh sisters? Don't miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel's Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . . People who leave shopping trolleys in car park spaces even though the trolley return is just a few meters away Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius' Daily Mail 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? I have read a couple of books about the Walsh family series (my favourite so far is ) and find them funny but poignant - Mammy Walsh is hilarious!