I loved this book! It had such an unique selling point, people who can talk to the dead, and pass on family messages, both good and bad .
Set in a close knit Irish community, Jeanie and her father are funeral directors, and both have this gift of being able to talk and listen to the dead. It can be a dubious privilege as you never know which last messages to reveal or hide, in order not to upset those left behind. A strange premise, I found myself wondering what last message I would want my family to hear!! It was a love story as well, in that Jeanie had always wondered if she did the sensible thing by staying at home to help with the family business, rather than follow her first love to London. She married Niall, who also took exams to join the family firm, due to his love for Jeanie.
I found Jeanie to be a real pain, always the glass half empty. I adored Niall, and felt he had been dealt a rotten hand of cards. How do you go on, knowing that you will always be second best? That did make me misty eyed , and it really tugged at the heart strings.
It was funny, sad, thoughtful, emotional and heartwarming, dealing as it did with friendships, first love, and always the unvoiced ‘ what if’.
Happiness is not always found , but it is possible to be brave and strive for something you can live with and be content.
I loved this book, and will take great pleasure in recommending it. Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

#netgalley Thankyou for the privilege of reading this book
A book about a funeral director in a small Irish town where the director speaks to the dead, not a normal everyday book
The Mastertons can speak to the dead but only certain ones like Jeannie and her dad and only for a short time after their death. Jeannie found out when she was very small she could do this but her dad has done it all his life
When her mum and dad decide to retire and leave the business to her and her husband Niall - the embalmer she doesn’t know how she feels about it
A beautiful book written about something none of us wants to think about and that is death

I could not engage with this book. I found the story a bit strange and in some ways unsettling. The main character was too indecisive and I felt she needed a 'good talking too'! This was a did not finish for me - the first time ever - I found I was skipping too much to give a proper review. Not to my taste.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Wow. Absolutely loved this read, unable to put it down, it’s had me in tears, laughing, anxious and waiting with baited breath! I truly hope there’s a sequel, I felt so in touch with the characters and mourned the losses they felt. Honestly deserves more than 5 stars!

Listening Still is a tender sweet and profound read which I adored. Just like her father, Jeanie Masterson has The Gift. She can communicate with those who have just died, passing on messages to loved ones left behind. Jeanie is married and when her parents announce they are retiring and leaving her and her husband to run the funeral parlour business ... well it shakes things up in Jeanie's life. Is she happily married? Does she still yearn for he first love? A beautifully crafted read about a woman who discovers it's never too late to right wrongs and begin again.

I had read and liked When All Is Said by Anne Griffin, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I’d love this book and be drawn into the story. This is a gorgeous read, full of lovely characters, locations (Ireland/Norway/France) gentle humour and poignancy.

The love story broke my heart a little, and once I suspended my disbelief over the “talking to the dead” element of the story (the main character Jeanie inherited from birth an ability to speak to the dead), I become thoroughly engrossed.

The book reminded me of Maeve Binchy at her storytelling best. A warm and comforting 4/5 ⭐️

So,yes,with just one line,the author has me sitting there with tears in my eyes.
I mean ,there was a lot of story telling before hand to build up the characters,and their history,but one line did me in.
Thanks for that.

This book is warm,and funny, for some reason nostalgic,and a whole lot of quirky. I like quirky.

Nicely rounded characters that behave in a believable way.

I was keen to read this after the last book,and I wasnt disappointed.
Just become an auto buy author for me I think.

I loved When All Was Said but this book didn't hit the right buttons for me. Jeannie was too needy and indecisive. Someone needed to tell her to sort herself out long before it happened. Three stars. With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book.

My thanks go to the author, to NetGalley and to the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review

Straight off............ i am going to be recommending this book to anyone who will listen

Listening Still is a beautiful, well written, emotional story that kept me up until some stupid hour finishing it.

Every single character was believable. It was about true life-time friendships, love and life struggles. The raw emotion that runs through this story is amazing. It has you both laughing and crying and the little twist caught me!

Just a lovely, lovely book and my favourite this year so far.......thank you

I was so excited to have the chance to read this next book from Anne Griffin, after being completely bowled over by ‘When All is Said’ her previous work.
This book is not at all what I expected, a great disappointment in fact , which I hate having to say.
The subject matter is very strange, about an undertaker and his daughter Jeannie who can hear, and talk to dead people, when preparing them for their funerals. I found this really uncomfortable reading, and sometimes it came across as flippant, which just felt wrong to me.
I was unable to continue reading this book to find out where it went when Jeannie took over the business on the retirement of her father. I just could not get past the weirdness of the main thrust of the story. It required a major suspension of disbelief which I just could not bring to it, sadly. I so wanted to love this book, as I did the author’s previous work, but this one is just not for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

I read When All is Said back in 2018 and enjoyed it very much, so was excited to see Anne Griffin had a new book out. For me this book outstripped all expectations, I thought it was a beautifully written heartwarming story, which I found in some ways shared similarities with When All is Said. Perhaps a younger, modern-day version of Maurice Hannigan is written in the form of Jeanie Masterson, a young woman who works in her family owned undertakers business.

Like her last book, this story is set in Ireland in the present time. The reader follows Jeanie’s life both now and goes back to her school days and teenage years as she grows up within the family business. Jeanie shares the ability to hear the dead, along with her Father. For a brief period when they are preparing the departed for their funeral, the deceased will speak to either Jeanie or her Father and pass on a message for their loved ones who they’ve left behind, though there are times when what they’ve had to say might not necessarily be what their closest relatives would like to hear.

It’s a small, tight knit community where Jeanie lives, where everyone knows each others business. Everyone knows the Mastersons can speak to the dead. School life was difficult for Jeanie where she faced much ostracism from her peers because of her family traits. But amongst the animosity Jeanie becomes life long friends with ‘Peanut’ who always sticks up for Jeanie and is there for her through thick and thin long into adulthood.

It’s a story of loyalties – both family and romantic loyalties. Of looking back and wondering what if’s and is this the life that Jeanie truly wants for herself. There are many revelations within the story both from the dead and from Jeanie’s family which are very touching. I’ve shed a tear or two on more than one occasion reading this.

I loved the ending, in fact I just loved the whole book. From Jeanie’s family members to her romantic interests, all the characters have a story of their own to relate, for whom you feel both compassion and often a great sense of sadness.

Anne Griffin weaves a deep and compelling story, telling a wonderfully poignant family tale. I highly recommend this book which is worthy of much more than 5 stars.

*Review to be posted to blog on date of publication 29 April*

I enjoyed this book

This book tells the story of Jennie who can hear the dead and she works alongside her dad to pass these messages on to people from the dead

With thanks to Netgalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the arc of this book in exchanged for this review

This book is about Jeanie who work in the family undertaking busy and can speak to dead people. The book is set in Ireland and the story is about how she copes about hearing the dead, love , loss and how she feels things are falling apart and she does not know what to do. Until something happens and she goes away to find her self and what she wants in life and where she wants to live. I thought the story was a bit slow at the beginning but than I got into it and really enjoyed the story. I really liked the characters and did feel sorry for Jeanie and her husband. There was apart of the book where I got very emotional and the tears fell. I left it for bit and came back and still ending up crying. I wish the part of the story was different because I was rooting for two people.
I will definitely read more books from this author.
Thank you for NetGalley for letting me read this book.

This novel was of interest at the start of the story but quickly unable to engage with characters or story.
Jeanie Masterton has a gift she inherited from her father: she can hear the recently dead and give a voice to their final wishes & revelations. Jeanie's gift has enabled her family undertakers to flourish in their small Irish town. When Jeanie was 17 and making a choice to stay in Ireland or leave for a new life in London with her teenage sweetheart and she did not chose the latter! Her father is retiring and handing the business over to Jeanie and now she is torn.

I give a 3 star rating

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCE COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought the idea that the dead could have one last talk with someone an intriguing one. The story line was good and left me wondering what happened next! A sequel would be great.

This is the story of Jeannie Masterson who works in the family undertaker business and can communicate with the dead. She struggles between telling families the truth of their dead relative's word or softening what can sometimes be harsh truths.

This is first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed

This was my first book by this author and oh my goodness, I loved it.

I cared about the family and the changes they were facing. I immediately felt at home with them, their environment and the extraordinary gift/curse of Jeanie and her dad.

A great story that I devoured over a weekend.

Highly recommend.

I am a bit 'on the fence' with this book, took me a while to get into the storyline and the characters.

Overall it wasn't a bad read, probably just not to my taste and for me I was glad when I had finished it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I adored this book. Once again, Anne Griffin captures the peculiarities and bonds of Irish rural life, this time through Jeanie Masterson as she stands at a crossroads in her life and we get to follow her along the way for a while. About to inherit her father's undertaker business, Jeanie also has the pressure of continuing on the family gift of being able to hear the dead.

The writing was beautiful and I couldn't put it down, each character could be someone in our own village or town and central of it all is Jeanie looking for her place in it all.

. It's a book of life lessons which explores family, place and living a life more than expected and I think it will be a story that will stay with me, much like When All is Said, for a long time after.

This follows the story of Jeannie who works in the family's undertaking business alongside her Dad, her aunt , Harry, and her husband Niall. Her parents' retirement announcement throws her into turmoil. Partly this is due to her past in which she opted to stay in her Irish hometown, rather than take an opportunity to go to London and forge a new life there.

One big factor in her decision is the weight of responsibility she feels towards the dead, as she has an innate talent for being able to hear the dead. In the short space of time immediately after their death, the dead talk to her. Jeannie then feels bound to carry out their wishes but has to balance this against the needs of the surviving family and friends. This is especially tested with one particular "client".

The announcement also makes her question her marriage to Niall as there is still a past lover who she feels strongly about.. How and what will she decide?
Anne Griffin's previous book was about Maurice Hannigan (who makes an "appearance" in this book) and was also set in an Irish town with a vivid depiction of the way of life. As in her previous book there is a plot twist and also a character who is not neurotypical. Her brother Mikey has autism and collects military magazines etc.
For me the first book was more "mature" and complex in many ways, but that is maybe due to the narrator, as Jeannie is young and confused whereas Maurice was old and looking back over his life.

The USP is the talking to the dead, as this is something that captures the imagination (Mantel's Beyond Black, the films Ghost and Sixth Sense for example) . It was interesting to have a book set in a funeral directors as this usually hidden and "taboo", but then traditional Celtic funerals (ie Irish , Welsh etc) are more "open" in some ways towards death.

It's a warm book despite its subject matter. It's full of the range of human emotion from love to grief from death to life. an enjoyable read.