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The Mystery of Mercy Close

Paperback

Published: 13th September 2012
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'I employ this thing 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 that I want to hit them in the face with a shovel.'

 Meet Helen - youngest of the Walsh sisters and a law unto herself. She's easily bored, has an inability to filter her thoughts and was fired from every job she ever had before she found her true calling as a private investigator. But times are tough for PIs and Helen's had no choice but to take on the search for AWOL boyband has-been Wayne Diffney - The Wacky One.

It's not all bad this game of Where's Wayne. It may have brought her charming crook of an ex Jay Parker back into her life, but it's giving her an excuse to avoid the usual Walsh family dramas and the intense looks from her gorgeous boyfriend Artie that make her heart beat wildly with lust and panic in equal measure. But most of all it's an excellent distraction from the huge swarm of black vultures gathering over her head. If she hides out in her target's empty house on Mercy Close for long enough maybe they'll go away . . .

But as Helen begins to unravel the mysteries secreted on Mercy Close she discovers a kindred spirit in a man unwilling to be found. Could someone be telling her to look a little closer to home . . . ?

About the Author

Marian Keyes lives in Dublin. She has published six novels, which have all been international bestsellers, garnering great reviews and selling more than 2.5 million copies: Watermelon, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Rachel's Holiday, Last Chance Saloon and Sushi for Beginners and Angels.

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
The Mystery of Mercy Close
 
4.0

(based on 2 reviews)

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REVIEWS

Reviewed by 2 customers

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14/2/2013
 
3.0

Difficult to get into

By Susie

from Wingham Australia

About Me Everyday Reader

Verified Buyer

Pros

  • Engaging Characters

Cons

  • Difficult To Follow
  • Not What I expected

Best Uses

  • Older Readers

Comments about The Mystery of Mercy Close:

Very drawn out and jumps back and forwards

Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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12/1/2013
 
5.0

Another winner from Marian Keyes

By Kay

from Sydney, AU

About Me Everyday Reader

Verified Buyer

Pros

  • Engaging Characters
  • Page Turner

Cons

    Best Uses

    • Every Woman

    Comments about The Mystery of Mercy Close:

    loved this book, thanks Marion

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

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    I wouldn't mind – I mean, this is the sheer irony of the thing–but I'm the only person I know who doesn't think it would be delicious to go into 'someplace' for 'a rest'. You'd want to hear my sister Claire going on about it, as if waking up one morning and finding herself in a mental hospital would be the most delightful experience imaginable.

    'I've a great idea,' she declared to her friend, Judy. 'Let's have our nervous breakdowns at the same time.'

    'Brilliant!' Judy said.

    'We'll get a double room. It'll be gorgeous.'

    'Paint me a picture.'

    'Weeeeell. Kind people . . . soft, welcoming hands . . . whispering voices . . . white bed-linen, white sofas, white orchids, everything white . . .'

    'Like in heaven,' Judy said.

    'Just like in heaven!'

    Not just like in heaven! I opened my mouth to protest, but there was no stopping them.

    '. . . the sound of tinkling water . . .'

    '. . . the smell of jasmine . . .'

    '. . . a clock ticking in the near distance . . .'

    '. . . the plangent chime of a bell . . .'

    '. . . and us lying in bed off our heads on Xanax . . .'

    '. . . dreamily gazing at dust motes . . .'

    '. . . or reading Grazia . . .'

    '. . . or buying Magnum Golds from the man who goes from ward to ward selling ice cream . . .'

    But there would be no man selling Magnum Golds. Or any of the other nice things either.

    'A wise voice will say –' Judy paused for effect: ''Lay down your burdens, Judy.''

    'And some lovely wafty nurse will cancel all our appointments,'

    Claire said. 'She'll tell everyone to leave us alone.

    She'll tell all the ungrateful bastards that we're having a nervous breakdown and it was their fault and they'll have to be a lot nicer to us if we ever come out again.'

    Both Claire and Judy had savagely busy lives – kids, dogs, husbands, jobs and an onerous, time-consuming dedication to looking ten years younger than their actual age. They were perpetually whizzing around in people carriers, dropping sons to rugby practice, picking daughters up from the dentist, racing across town to get to a meeting. Multitasking was an art form for them – they used the dead seconds stuck at traffic lights to rub their calves with fake-tan wipes, they answered emails from their seat at the cinema and they baked red velvet cupcakes at midnight while simultaneously being mocked by their teenage daughters as 'a pitiful fat old cow'.

    Not a moment was wasted.

    'They'll give us Xanax.' Claire was back in her reverie.

    'Oh lovvvvely.'

    'As much as we want. The second the bliss starts to wear off, we'll ring a bell and a nurse will come and give us a topup.'

    'We'll never have to get dressed. Every morning they'll bring us new cotton pyjamas, brand new, out of the packet.

    And we'll sleep sixteen hours a day.'

    'Oh sleep . . .'

    'It'll be like being wrapped up in a big marshmallow cocoon; we'll feel all floaty and happy and dreamy . . .'

    It was time to point out the one big nasty flaw in their delicious vision. 'But you'd be in a psychiatric hospital.'

    Both Claire and Judy looked wildly startled.

    Eventually Claire said, 'I'm not talking about a psychiatric hospital. Just a place you'd go for . . . a rest.'

    'The place people go for 'a rest' is a psychiatric hospital.'

    They fell silent. Judy chewed her bottom lip. They were

    obviously thinking about this.

    'What did you think it was?' I asked.

    'Well . . . sort of like a spa,' Claire said. 'With, you know. . . prescription drugs.'

    'They have mad people in there,' I said. 'Proper mad people. Ill people.'

    More silence followed, then Claire looked up at me, her face bright red. 'God, Helen,' she exclaimed. 'You're such a cow. Can't you ever let anyone have anything nice?'

    ISBN: 9780718155322
    ISBN-10: 0718155327
    Audience: General
    Format: Paperback
    Language: English
    Number Of Pages: 500
    Published: 13th September 2012
    Dimensions (cm): 23.4 x 15.4
    Weight (kg): 23.1

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