Book Review : The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes

Title : The Mystery of Mercy Close (Walsh Family #5)
Author : Marian Keyes
Publication date : 13th September 2012
Publisher : Michael Joseph (Penguin)
Source : Sent by the publisher, thank you so much, Joe!

“I employ this thing I called The Shovel List.”

“A shovel..?”

“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 I want to hit them in the face with a shovel.”

Helen Walsh doesn’t believe in fear – it’s just a thing invented by men to get all the money and good job – and yet she’s sinking. Her work as a Private Investigator has dried up, her flat has been repossessed and now some old demons have resurfaced.

Not least in the form of her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who shows up with a missing persons case. Money is tight – so tight Helen’s had to move back in with her elderly parents – and Jay is awash with cash. The missing person is Wayne Diffney, the ‘Wacky One’ from boyband Laddz. He’s vanished from his house in Mercy Close and it’s vital that he’s found – Laddz have a sell-out comeback gig in five days’ time.

Things ended messily with Jay. And she’s never going back there. Besides she has a new boyfriend now, the very sexy detective Artie Devlin and it’s all going well, even though his ex-wife isn’t quite ‘ex’ enough and his teenage son hates her. But the reappearance of Jay is stirring up all kinds of stuff she thought she’d left behind.

Playing by her own rules, Helen is drawn into a dark and glamorous world, where her worst enemy is her own head and where increasingly the only person she feels connected to is Wayne, a man she’s never even met. 

I was utterly thrilled when Joe Yule, the lovely PR man from Penguin agreed to send me a review copy of Marian Keyes's new book - The Mystery of Mercy Close, mainly because, it's MARIAN KEYES. Holy cow, it's the Marian Keyes! So it arrived about 10 days after and guess what? *abandoned all sort of impending tasks and started on the book!*

Here's the deal, being laid off from writing a book for almost 3 years, Marian had fought depression and found solace in baking cakes! Hence, the book Saved by Cake was written by her, with delicious recipes and hilarious anecdotes. After reading Anyone Out There last year, I was eager to find out more about the lovely, sharp-tongued Helen Walsh, and then some time around last year, there were rumours of the final instalment of the Walsh Family novels, to my surprise (category: very pleasant), it is about Helen Walsh! Ding-dong!

The Mystery of Mercy Close! Ding-dong! It's about the youngest Walsh sister, Helen. Young, well, not so young any more, she's almost 34, lovable, feisty and downright hilarious. The story continues off after the previous book, Anyone Out There but three years later. The story began with Helen living her life as a private investigator, exciting but dull at times. The first few chapter were about Helen's current life, Marian's way to rebuild the "Walsh environment", after a very long time - some sort of memory recall for us.

The moment I started on the book, I knew I would love it. Helen was such an amazing character, sometimes I think Helen and I are alike. We are very sarcastic. We jump to conclusions quickly. Helen carried herself very well, coming off as a strong, independent woman, free-willed and full of life. Seeing the investigative world through her eyes was a real treat. The things going on in that woman's mind is just.. I would say a breath of fresh air, but that sounds cliché so I'd say highly insightful and well-observed. Wow, how professional of me. And! The Shovel List! Utter genius! I love that Helen Walsh, private investigator extraordinaire, has a Shovel List. I know I have a list of things I dislike and I'd call it a Hammer List, but the Shovel List sounds way better, and on top of it are spectacles without lenses and fishnets.

Without giving much away, the story is about a missing member of a once-famous boy band called Laddz. Well, since I'm a Directioner (loyal, dedicated fans of One Direction), I was thrilled about the lovely animated boys, well men of the group. Wowzers, what a colourful cast! The only hitch in their comeback gig is.. one missing member, Wayne. So throughout the book, I kept wondering, "Where the feck is Wayne?!". I didn't swear, lovelies. In Ireland, it's not foul or vulgar to say feck. Thanks to my darling Irish Mammy, Claudia for the Irish wisdom ;)

But soon, I realised, the wondering and guessing and analysing along with Helen was actually a part of Marian's plan! She wrote with such talent, ahem, that she was actually building up the suspense and intrigue! The plot was very clever, if I were to write it, I'll take ten years to string everything together. Maybe, just maybe, with a very well-crafted plot, this was what Marian was working on on her break from writing. I found it very mundane and sad and dismal to read about one part of the book: Helen's depression. After much thought, I remembered Marian was suffering from depression a few years back after writing The Brightest Star in the Sky. Then it hit me! Helen's depression was the reflection of the lovely author's diagnosis. Writing from experience, Marian really took me on a roller coaster, bringing me into how she felt when she was depressed - hysteria, paranoia, suicidal. Thank God she's got a loving husband and strong will, or else I wouldn't have gotten to read such a beautiful story of recovery.

For me, the book was a really good one, with loads of emotions all packed in one. It was a roller coaster, the ride bringing you to the peak, with clues and evidence closing in on the case then swoosh, the plunge that will bring everything back to square one. I really enjoyed the narration by Helen, as I've said, I really like her. She's someone I'd root for and very humorous. And of course, who could forget Mammy Walsh? Ah ha! I'm a bit bummed that she doesn't play a vital part in the book, unless you count a few odd moments, other than that, none. Without comparing The Mystery of Mercy Close to her previous ones, I felt this book didn't really connect us with the other Walsh sisters. I was expecting emails from Anna or something, but none. Maybe this book is all about Helen. All about Helen.

All in all, I found this book a very delectable treat for all of Marian's readers. Even though I didn't read all of her books, I found The Mystery of Mercy Close immensely enjoyable and very entertaining. I mean, what do you expect from the best-selling author? A very fantastic comeback from Marian!

I would like to thank the amazing and super awesome Joe Yule, the most wonderful PR dude. You're my number one, man!

Don't forget to follow Marian on "the Twitters". (@MarianKeyes)
You can pre-order the book here.

Rating : 5/5