Books with author Graham Parton

A New York Times bestseller From Graham Norton—the BAFTA Award–winning and hugely popular BBC America television host—comes a charming debut novel set in an idyllic Irish village where a bumbling investigator has to sort through decades of gossip and secrets to solve a mysterious crime. “With its tale of provincial life, gimlet-eyed spinsters, and thwarted love…it feels almost like a Miss Marple mystery written by Colm Tóibín” (The New York Times).The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama, and yet its inhabitants are troubled: Sergeant P.J. Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; Brid Riordan, a mother of two, hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste. So when human remains—suspected to be those of Tommy Burke, a former lover of both Brid and Evelyn—are discovered on an old farm, the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As a frustrated P.J. struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his professional life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regrets. Darkly comic, at times profoundly sad, and “especially inviting because of its tongue-in-cheek wit” (Kirkus Reviews), Holding is a masterful debut. Graham Norton employs his acerbic humor to breathe life into a host of lovable characters, and explore—with searing honesty—the complexities and contradictions that make us human.

The Sunday Times bestseller and debut novel from Graham Norton.'Poised and perceptive' Sunday Times'... a deftly plotted story as moving as it is compelling' Sunday Mirror'Deeply accomplished ... brilliantly observed' Good Housekeeping'... one of the more authentic debuts I've read in recent years ... in such an understated manner, eschewing linguistic eccentricity ... in favour of genuine characters and tender feeling ... this is a fine novel' John Boyne, Irish Times'It's funny and wonderfully perceptive' Wendy Holden'It is beautiful and yet devastatingly sad' Daily Express'Strenuously charming ... surprisingly tender' Metro 'Heartwarming and observant' StylistThe remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn't always been this overweight; mother of two Brid Riordan hasn't always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn't always felt that her life was a total waste. So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke - a former love of both Brid and Evelyn - the village's dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community's worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of lovable characters, and explore - with searing honesty - the complexities and contradictions that make us human.

Forewords Book of the Year, Kirkus Indie Best Lister, IBA and USA Book News finalist.When Gomez enters a medical trial and a super sexy lab assistant falls for him, he thinks his luck has finally changed. But when one of the trial participants turns up dead and another goes missing, he begins to fear for his life. No longer sure whom he can trust and which of his experiences are actually real and which merely drug induced delusions, he decides to go underground and work out a devious plan. What follows is a zany adventure defying all the hallmarks of the classic romp:Boy meets girl.Boy stalks girl.Girl already has a stalker.Boy becomes her stalker-stalker.We've seen it all before, of course. Many times. But this time it's different, if only slightly."Extremely witty and clever writing that contains keen insights into human nature." --California Chronicle"Challenges the way we think about, and interact with, the world around us." --Kirkus Discoveries"The antics in this book will leave the reader laughing. Graham Parke is a genius." --Readers Favorite"A quick and unputdownable read that flies in the face of reason, and smashes against the wall of detective novels. It's a Coens Brothers' film formatted in book form." --Book Review"A very funny book; a veritable page turner of nonstop laughs. Buy a copy and find out for yourself!" --Reader Views

A New York Times Bestseller From Graham Norton, the BAFTA-award-winning Irish television host and author of the “sparkling and impish” (Daily Mail) memoirs The Life and Loves of a He Devil and So Me, comes a charming debut novel set in an idyllic Irish village where a bumbling investigator has to sort through decades of gossip and secrets to solve a mysterious crime.The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama but when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke—a former lover of two different inhabitants—the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated sergeant PJ Collins struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret. In this darkly comic, touching, and at times heartbreaking novel, perfect for fans of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore—with searing honesty—the complexities and contradictions that make us human.

'A considerable achievement ... one of the more authentic debuts I've read in recent years ... in such an understated manner, eschewing linguistic eccentricity ... in favour of genuine characters and tender feeling...this is a fine novel.' John Boyne, Irish Times'Poised and perceptive' the Sunday Times'It's funny and wonderfully perceptive' Wendy Holden'It is beautiful and yet devastatingly sad' Daily Express'Deeply accomplished...brilliantly observed' Good Housekeeping'An undercurrent of black comedy accompanies the ripples that ensue - but with a pathos that makes this deftly plotted story as moving as it is compelling.' Sunday Mirror'Strenuously charming...surprisingly tender' Metro 'Heartwarming and observant' StylistThe remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn't always been this overweight; mother of­ two Brid Riordan hasn't always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn't always felt that her life was a total waste.So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke - a former­ love of both Brid and Evelyn - the village's dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community's worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore - with searing honesty - the complexities and contradictions that make us human. Graham Norton's masterful debut is an intelligently crafted story of love, secrets and loss.

Warning: reading this novel may make you more attractive and elevate your random luck by about 9.332%* (*These statements have not been evaluated by anyone of consequence.)From the award winning author of ‘No Hope for Gomez!’ comes a collection of 20 impossible tales. Permeating the cracks between the past and the present is the realm of Unspent Time. Pockets of ‘should have been’s and ‘might have happened’s. Time that was allotted but never spent. In this realm we find the stories that could have been true. Such as the story of Kiala, whose aunt and caretaker disappears one day, leaving her as the sole Huntress to battle the giant octopi to feed her village. Or the revealing tale of Goki Feng Ho: the ancient Chinese art of decoding the meaning of car license plates. And the heartbreaking story of the man responsible for choosing the colors of the insides of your shoes. As he toils away in obscurity, his work impacts society in ways we’ll never fully comprehend. And let’s not forget the story behind Unspent Time itself, the metaphysical ramifications of which will leave the scientific community feeling mostly indifferent about it for decades to come… Praise for ‘No Hope for Gomez!’:“…challenges our perceptions about how we think and interact with the world around us.” – Kirkus Discoveries“Extremely witty and clever writing that contains keen insights into human nature.” – California Chronicle

I.C.T. is packed with flexible ideas for developing early understanding and igniting curiosity in the Understanding the world area of learning. Activities across twenty-three themes can be tailored to meet the needs and interests of every child and support progress towards attaining the knowledge and skills required by the Early Learning Goals. - Clear learning intentions for each activity enable effective planning of experiences.- Suggestions for involving parents with Home Links to extend the learning themes.- Links to different areas of learning through a variety of topics.- Photographs of real children’s work to illustrate potential learning outcomes of the activities.

I.C.T. is packed with flexible ideas for developing early understanding and igniting curiosity in the Understanding the world area of learning. Activities across twenty-three themes can be tailored to meet the needs and interests of every child and support progress towards attaining the knowledge and skills required by the Early Learning Goals. - Clear learning intentions for each activity enable effective planning of experiences.- Suggestions for involving parents with Home Links to extend the learning themes.- Links to different areas of learning through a variety of topics.- Photographs of real children’s work to illustrate potential learning outcomes of the activities.

Forewords Book of the Year, Kirkus Indie Best Lister, IBA and USA Book News finalist. It's the age-old tale: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl already has a stalker. Boy becomes her stalker-stalker. We've seen it all before, many times, but this time it's different. If only slightly. Gomez is eternally bewildered by the ease with which others navigate the world. He’s never had much luck with women, or jobs, or anything really. Even gravity seems to pull on him a little harder than it does on others. But when he enters a medical trail and a super sexy research assistant falls for him, he thinks his luck has changed – even if that assistant has trouble expressing herself in terms outside the realm of science. But when one of the trial participants turns up dead and another goes missing, Gomez begins to fear for his life. No longer sure whom he can trust and which of his experiences are actually real and which merely drug induced delusions, he decides to create a devious plan. "Extremely witty and clever writing that contains keen insights into human nature." --California Chronicle "Challenges the way we think about, and interact with, the world around us." --Kirkus Discoveries "The antics in this book will leave the reader laughing. Graham Parke is a genius." --Readers Favorite "A quick and unputdownable read that flies in the face of reason, and smashes against the wall of detective novels. It's a Coens Brothers' film formatted in book form." --Book Review "A very funny book; a veritable page turner of nonstop laughs. Buy a copy and find out for yourself!" --Reader Views.

Winner of the Forewords Book of the Year Awards, nominated for the International Book Awards and the USA Book News Best Book Awards, featured in the Kirkus Best Indie 2011 list. It's the age-old tale:Boy meets girl.Boy stalks girl.Girl already has a stalker.Boy becomes her stalker-stalker.We've seen it all before, many times, but this time it's different. If only slightly. When Gomez Porter becomes a test subject in an experimental drug trial, he is asked to keep track of any strange experiences through a blog. What Gomez isn't ready for, is so many of his experiences suddenly seeming strange; the antiques dealer trying to buy his old tax papers, the phone-sex salesman who hounds him day and night, the super sexy research assistant who falls for him but is unable to express herself in terms outside the realm of science. But when one of the trial participants turns up dead and another goes missing, Gomez begins to fear for his life. No longer sure who he can trust and which of his experiences are real and which merely drug induced delusions, he decides it's time to go underground and work out a devious plan. Now, years later, his blogs have been recovered from a defunct server. For the first time we can find out firsthand what happened to Gomez as he takes us on a wild ride of discovery.