I do love Marian Keyes’s books. Her latest, The Mystery of Mercy Close, proves yet again that Keyes is in
a league of her own. Even when she’s writing about hard-hitting subjects
like depression and bankruptcy, as she is here, she’s perceptive and funny, moving and wise.
The
novel’s heroine is Helen Walsh, the youngest and stroppiest of Mammy Walsh’s
five daughters. Older sisters Claire, Rachel, Maggie and Anna have all
starred in earlier Keyes novels, so this time round it’s Helen’s turn in the
spotlight.
After
spells as a make-up artist and the “world’s worst waitress,” Helen has now
trained as a private investigator and set up her own business. But with the
credit crunch at its height, her work has dried up, her flat has been
repossessed and she’s had to move back in with her parents. Most worrying of
all, she’s sinking into the depression that has plagued her on and off throughout her
life.
Helen
explains her situation in her own inimitable way: “…when the crash hit, I was
one of the first things to go,” she says. “Private investigators are luxury
items and the It bags and I came out of things very badly.”
But out
of the blue her conman ex-boyfriend asks her to track down a missing musician.
Wayne Diffney, the “wacky one” from boyband Laddz, has gone missing just five
days before the group’s sell-out comeback show.
Helen
isn’t keen on getting involved with her shady ex-lover a second time,
especially as she’s got charismatic copper Artie Devlin in her life, but she
reluctantly agrees.
The
sharp-tongued Helen, with her “shovel list” of things she hates - dogs,
doctors’ receptionists and the smell of fried eggs (I’m with her there) - and
her love of Scandinavian box sets and cheese and coleslaw sandwiches, is one of
Keyes’s most memorable creations. I hope she gets to star in another novel. And
soon…
The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph,
£18.99)
