My thanks to Harper Collins UK for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Long long ago, I used to watch (not regularly, but sometimes) the BBC comedy My Hero, about an alien superhero, Thermoman who lives on earth and is married to a nurse, Janet; when I noticed this book on NetGalley, it was the author, Ardal O’Hanlan who portrayed Thermoman/George Sunday in the series, that caused me to click, and then its description as a dark comedy in a small Irish town (though it did also say ‘violent’ which I was wary of) led me to want to give it a try.

Set in the fictional Irish town of Tullyanna, in the days after the Troubles, the story opens with the death by suicide of Dermot ‘Dove’ Connolly. Ten years previous to this, Dove’s girlfriend Sandra Mohan (only 16 at the time) had gone missing and was never seen again, and an article by a journalist Joanne McCollum pointed to him as responsible, ruining his reputation. Dove’s best friend Philip Sharkey, who was with him on the day, left town soon after and stayed away. But now with Dove’s suicide, Philip has returned, having received a somewhat cryptic message from Dove earlier that he may have uncovered what happened to Sandra. Back in town, he finds Dove left him a graphic novel he wrote and illustrated, and while initially he is puzzled and disinterested, he begins to realise that the book, about the adventures of a hero named Brouhaha is actually Dove’s way of leaving him clues to what he discovered (as also chastising him for his own actions).

Another person near obsessed with Sandra’s disappearance is Kevin Healy, the Garda who was in charge of her case at the time. Now no longer in the force, he continues to go over what he knows (often reciting facts and possibilities to his infant grandson, Paul), still wanting to work it out. With Dove’s death, Joanne who by now realises she may have been mistaken in blaming Dove is also back in Tullyanna, with more or less the same objectives. 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. Amidst this, do they manage to uncover the truth? And at what price?

Brouhaha certainly made for an interesting reading experience—it is a slower moving (but cleverly done) book, and written in a style that (like other reviewers too have mentioned) took me a while to get into. In my case, until the first 20 per cent or so, I was reading on—not uninterested but also not gripped. But once I did settle into the style and more so, the story (especially the puzzle of what actually happened to Sandra) began to move forward, I started to get more absorbed and really began to want to read on.

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). Both are intelligent, well read, yet have gotten into their share of trouble and also face the consequences of the unsolved disappearance. But they are characters we do feel sympathy for. 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. Joanne has a genuine passion for journalism which is appreciable, yet she was my least favourite of the three, causing rather than resolving trouble (even after having done it once for Dove and realising she was wrong, she does it all over again). Alongside, O’Hanlan gives us a sense of a small border town in Ireland, where while the Troubles may have passed, shadows of it remain and continue to affect life; and also, of its people (the supporting or secondary characters are also distinctive and well drawn out).

The mystery behind Sandra’s disappearance was a thread that certainly kept me engaged. I enjoyed especially that Dove chose to supply the answers through a graphic novel (with hints that he knows only Sharkey would be able to pick up on), and these are not straightforward but clues to be picked up and pieced together which requires the latter’s intelligence and scientific bent (I almost wished we had some illustrations!)

There is a fair bit of violence and abuse in the book, and while not gratuitous (or horribly graphic), it is something I can usually do without. The solution to Sandra’s disappearance too is rather dark and disturbing, and left me feeling unsettled.

Overall, though, this was a book well worth reading with much that I enjoyed even if I didn’t get along with every element.

What a brouhaha indeed! It took me a little while to get into Ardal’s writing style. I got round it by imagining him reading it out loud, so it helped to be familiar with his tv persona. The sentence construction seemed odd at times, mainly because he has the habit of letting his brain wander off. But these musings help build the story and are often where the dark humour comes from, adding depth to the characters.

The trio of an unhappily retired Gardai, an unpopular journalist, and a not so prodigal friend, make a fun group of flawed characters on the hunt for answers. They bounce off each other beautifully. The secondary characters are fully-padded and all have a role to play (even if I did sometimes mix them up because they had nicknames as well as their given names).

The deaths stack up in the little Irish town, with links to politics, drugs, and lots of other bad lads and crime. It can be brutal at times, with violence and abuse, a dark contrast to the book’s wit. It’s a fine balance but it’s where Ardal’s at his best.

It’s a good page-turner, worth a read if you’re looking to be entertained. I can see it easily turning into a tv drama. Maybe Ardal’s experience there made this book film-ready.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Ireland for the opportunity to review this book in my own way.

#mystery #irishfiction #humour #crime #politics

Many years ago Sandra Mohan went missing and her small town rallied round. However a local journalist wrote an expose of life in the area and made conclusions about Sandra's disappearance. Now one of the possible suspects is dead, his friend has returned from exile for the funeral and is left a strange graphic novel in which the disappearance is explained. As the friend, the journalist and a local retired police officer combine to solve the mystery, they uncover hidden secrets in the border town of Tullyanna
This is a complex novel and it requires perseverance to get into the style of writing and the plot. however once hooked then the story is great. A small town with secrets, linked to The Troubles and still influencing local politics today. It's exciting and dark and very rewarding.

This is a good story that started as a bit of a slow burn then continued in the same vein. I enjoyed the main characters and the overall plot but would have preferred an abridged version.

Others will enjoy like it just as it is, with all the wisdom, sidebars and humour that O'Hanlon is noted for.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

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. Ardal O’Hanlon sets his book in a small Irish border town, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business but seemingly everyone has at least one secret. At the heart of the book is the mysterious disappearance of a 16 year old girl many years ago and from this starting point O’Hanlon takes us on a leisurely, rambling journey of a read, taking in an ex-policeman obsessed with the girl’s disappearance; an apparent suicide; the return of a prodigal son; a shady local politician; a determined and inquisitive reporter; the Peace Process; a whole roster of offbeat characters; and sometimes dark, violent and disturbing happenings. If there is a word or phrase which means the complete opposite of ‘page turner’, it would apply to this book. 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.

Dove Connolly is dead. Sandra Mohan is still missing after all these years and Fergal Coleaman's trying to get elected.

As if things in Tullyanna weren't odd enough, Philip Sharkey's back in town asking all kinds of awkward questions.

It can't end well...

Dark, witty, and very clever at times. This book is not for the faint hearted, there are some very graphic scenes of violence and abuse. I found that it took a little while to get into the book, the writing is quite heavy and detailed.

I enjoyed the detailed and humorous account of life in rural Ireland, especially having a town mural that points fun at it’s local residents. The residents are full of life, with characters ranging from a corrupt local politician, and a retired Garda who coaches GAA. O’Hanlon does shed a light on the political upheaval that the fictional Tullyanna has faced being on the border with Northern Ireland. Many of the characters that we meet have a dark past relating to these times in Ireland’s history.

I found it interesting to have three main characters and to see the story from each of their pint of views, however I thought this made the book a little too long and my attention was lost. As a murder mystery the book has no problem with providing suspects, but I felt that the book ran out of steam midway through.

After Dove Connelly takes his own life, his friend Sharkey comes home to mourn his loss but picks up the curious case of Sandra - Dove's wannabe girlfriend - who disappeared years before. However, Sharkey's investigations may be drawing the wrong sort of attention from those in a town that wants to keep its secrets buried.

This is a dense read but once you get into it is enjoyable. 4* for me.

This was a wee bit heavy going until I managed to settle in to the author's writing style, which did take a bit longer than usual for me. But, once that was done, I was away...
So, Dove Connolly is dead. A death that is to be the catalyst for a myriad of things to happen. For secrets to come out, for a prodigal son to return home... For the small town of Tullyanna to be shocked to its core. Set during the initial stages of the peace process, we follow Dove's best (albeit estranged) friend Sharkey as he tries to piece together the events which lead up to his fleeing the town, as well as what tipped Dove over the edge to have done what he did... Using, of all things, a graphic novel willed to him by his dead friend. Aided off and on by another who initially got away, reporter Joanne... Our third main protagonist is Kevin, a retired Garda whose life has been haunted by a young girl's disappearance...
This was a tangled web that started off as quite a slow burn. We follow Sharkey's return to the hometown he turned his back on many years ago, at the same time as a young girl, Sharon, went missing. As he interacts with a whole host of characters, possibly, maybe too many for the story itself, but all of whom adding a little extra to the place they call home. The wonderful town that is Tullyanna, fictional but I would imagine to have been made up of maybe one or two real places. A town that could almost be considered to be a character itself, so integral to the plot it became during the book.
The narrative is peppered with some rather delicious black humour which I really enjoyed. The dialogue is enhanced by utilising some local dialect, which I do admit to taking a wee while to get to grips with. The story itself was very well plotted and that plot expertly executed. One thing that didn't quite work for me was the insertion of quite a bit of Irish culture and history which was often so interesting in itself, requiring further investigation, that it was a tad distracting as it did keep drawing me out of the story I was reading.
All in all, a solid read that eventually got going and which satisfied me at its conclusion. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.