In 1987 in the small town of Mullinmore, a car accident leaves three people dead, one permanently injured and several families in town changed forever. Conor, the young driver, becomes a pariah in town and soon leaves for Liverpool before completely severing all contact with his grieving family. As Conor figures himself out as a gay man, as well as trying to forgive himself for the devastation left behind, it's a long time before he finally confronts the shadows of the past.

I really enjoyed this book - it was a fast read with a storyline and characters that kept me gripped throughout. There were people to love, and people to hate while also people you completely recognise and could probably point out the equivalent of in your own town. The characters Graham Norton writes always feel like real people - the doctor's son, the lonely woman living on her own, the newly freed divorcee, and the family who own the pub down the road. Nothing really feels over the top or particularly stereotyped.

There were parts of this that were hard to read as, especially the start, the story contains so much sadness for a variety of things from the tragic accident at the start that cut off four young lives, the day before two of them were about to embark on something great, as well as the sadness and loss Conor's family felt when their son came home changed and then left without looking bad. There's a sadness for Ellen for the marriage that promised so much hope and happiness and left her joyless and bitter (and gave her children that weren't all great either) and then also the struggles Conor faces throughout about first accepting his sexuality, and then his fear of returning home as a gay man.

I really liked how the story was weaved from the time jumps throughout the years to the occasional flashbacks. I also appreciated that by the end Linda's story had gotten a little better and she was experiencing with a new freedom and wasn't confined to her home as she had allowed herself to be for years. I also liked how the changing face of Ireland was revealed slowly from Conor's fears of being outed to Finbarr's easy acceptance and eventual first gay wedding in the town which parents and grandparents were delighted to attend.

I always enjoy Graham Norton's fiction books and this was so exception. A wonderful book to read on a weekend morning with a cup of tea!