Exploring the relationship between mothers and daughters, while also delving into that innate sense of preservation that is within us all, Graham Norton tackles serious themes intermingled with lighter comedic moments, providing just the right balance to entertain and captivate his readers. Norton pulls this off again with Forever Home as he describes the family and neighbours of his central character, Carol. With his his quick wit and attention to characters' flaws and growth, this is a delight and easy read! Forever Home delivers an unexpectedly good time and no one is more surprised than me how much I enjoyed the author's writing style and storytelling. Despite this Carol and Declan live happily (though unmarried, because he has never actually divorced his first wife) in the family home for a number of years until Declan begins to develop dementia.

I really enjoyed Forever Home and I can equally imagine reading it on holiday somewhere sunny as I could whilst curled up inside when it's chilly outside. During the interview Graham described parts of the book as a farce, which in all honesty it is, but in a way that one almost expects from a Graham Norton book. Years pass and the children are grown and out of the house when Carol sees Declan begin to show signs of dementia. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

As Declan falls ill, his equally untrusting and speculative children force Carol to leave and move in with her parents. Although this novel was very readable and I did enjoy the story very much, I did feel that some of the character's actions stretched credibility. In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

There are plenty of references to the location - particularly in the phrases used by the characters. This is described on the back of the book so no major surprises - just the lovely descriptions to enjoy.Photograph: Sophia Spring View image in fullscreen Graham Norton: ‘something to say about the vagaries of contemporary life’. One annoyance was that I read it on a kindle and the lack of chapter breaks was really irritating but hopefully this will be rectified in the book. The relationship is met with disapproval from the locals, but Carol and Declan are determined to make it work. Bolting that on to an increasingly slapstick crime caper feels odd, though, particularly when the reason for the big secret is not something you’d readily make light of. Their mother abandoned them years ago, and they don't like the idea of Carol moving in and replacing their mother in Declan's affections.