A good debut. There are far too many characters in this book. The pacing dragged in the middle. The narrative becomes a bit repetitive

I absolutely loved There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan. It had me in both tears and in fits of laughter. I have recommended it to many friends and I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

I've tried to read this a few times, but didn't get into it at all unfortunately. I'm sure many will love it, but not me.

What an amazing debut novel from Alice Ryan! The Black family had such vivid characters and I was fully immersed in their world! This is definitely a book I would recommend.

Thanks so much @netgalleyuk and @headofzeus for my e-copy

I really enjoyed this book, a debut novel although it took me a while to get into it.

There's a lot of characters, mostly all part of the Black family and I was a little confused at first as who was who, which (adult) children belonged to whom but once I was over that if I found the story of Molly who ran away to help her deal with grief very engaging.

Amazing. Really enjoyed the writing of this book! Very easy recommend to friends and audience so definitely will be doing this!

Wow !
I had never heard of this author before and stumbled upon this by accident and what a happy little accident that was!
Once I started reading I had to find out what was going to happen next !
Thank you so much to the author and publishers for this wonderful read

Really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to Alice Ryan's next novel. Would definitely recommend to friends.

Thank you Netgalley, Head of Zeus, Apollo and Alice Ryan for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

The book had all the makings of an interesting and engaging read, but unfortunately, it fell short of its promised fun. The story was told in an unraveling manner, which added to the confusion and made it difficult to follow. At the end, the plot didn't make much sense, leaving me feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. The book dealt with themes of grief and loss, and the main protagonist's journey towards acceptance and healing. However, the way in which she chose to grieve was out of character and left her family worried and concerned. While the writing was decent, the lack of a cohesive plot and the protagonist's unrealistic behavior left me feeling underwhelmed. Overall, the book had potential, but it failed to deliver on its promises, leaving me feeling dissatisfied.

Molly Black is gone missing - or at least, she's packed her bags and left a note that she doesn't want to be found for a while but if the Black family are good at anything, it's finding Molly when she has one of her runaway moments. This is the story of a family who love each other beyond measure and will always be there for each other - even if sometimes this is a slightly over suffocating way. It's also a story about grief as Molly is dealing with the death of her parents and how that grief has stayed with her for years into adulthood and she's still dealing with it.

I listened to this on audiobook and just absolutely loved it. The Black family are brilliant with the variety of different characters from the leader of the pack Uncle John who could never have children but is actually a perfect father figure for all his nieces and nephews and he loves them fiercely, as well as Lady V who married into the family and is still figuring out all the oddities but also what makes the Blacks special. Then there's cousin Anna who has always been in Molly's shadow but is now realising just how much she loves her cousin and wants to find her.

I think this book would be a wonderful wild movie like The Snapper showcasing Irish family life and mad characters you tend to find in a lot of extended families. I loved seeing a glimpse into all the character's lives, and all the ways everyone was intertwined with one another - and especially the effect of Molly's mother and her special ways, and why it's so sad she's no longer around to be with everyone but especially to help her daughter along her road in adulthood.

There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan is apparently the author’s first novel. In that light, I applaud it. I feel as if it could have used come editing. Molly, a thirty-ish member of the family, is missing. This story skates through all of the extended family members, their grief, their foibles, their oddities. It got old. Most of them were not all that appealing, anyway. It was hard to slog through. I much prefer a story to all the feelings and emotions of others. Maybe that’s a lack in me, but I really didn’t love this book. Hooray for those who did and hooray for Alice Ryan for sticking it out and getting it published.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of There’s Been a Little Incident by Heart of Zeus, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #HeartOfZeus #AliceRyan #TheresBeenALittleIncident

There's been a little incident by Alice Ryan

I read this months ago but was caught up in deadlines and didn't get round to reviewing until now. The main Character, Molly and her family, really stuck in my head which is a sign of a great book!

Molly has been struggling since her parents died and has gone missing. The Black family are trying to agree what to do with Uncle John at the helm. The characters were interesting and I really liked all the different relationships.

I bought this book as a present for a friend as I think it's fab. Looking forward to Alice Ryan's next novel.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalleyUK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
There's been a little incident is out now on audible, Kindle and hardback and is out in paperback on 1st June.

#netgalleyuk #scottishreader #irishbookstagram

Great debut that hooked me in and had me invested. A really interesting way of exploring grief and I really enjoyed the portrayal of family.

ALICE RYAN - THERE’S BEEN A LITTLE INCIDENT.

When Molly Black falls off the radar, her large extended Irish family, join forces to track her down.
An epic journey ensues for everyone.
Can they find Molly? And what else will they all learn along the way?

This book is a fantastic read.
It’s written with some astute social observations and with humour that will tease a giggle from even the most miserable of souls.
Underneath the funnies this book is a very sweet and touching story.

I loved the mix of characters. They all brought something special to the table and could easily have had their individual stories made into their own books.

There’s Been A Little Incident, is a very cleverly written tale. I loved how everyone’s ties to Molly were explored and analysed.
This is Alice Ryan’s debut novel and as such, it really is exceptionally good.

My only teeny tiny niggle with this book, Is the sheer number of characters. They were all fantastic, but at times I did feel a little lost and even by the end I was still not entirely sure of who was who. I suspect this is more to do with me being a bit dim rather than any fault of the story itself. I would say though, concentrate on the characters and maybe even make a little note of who’s who.

Over all, this is an outstanding book. It’s full of quirky characters, big messy families, lifelong friendships, loss, grief, mental health, love of all shapes and sizes plus a sprinkling of hilarious humour to top it all off.
Fast paced and brilliantly written. Alice Ryan is a name to look out for.
If you are a fan of Milly Johnson, Marian Keyes, Joanna Bolouri or Bella Osborne I think this gorgeous book will be right up your street.

A busy but beautiful five star read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley and Head Of Zeus for a digital arc of this title.

4.5 stars.

“She was used to being wild Molly, exasperating Molly, cheeky Molly, but still after all these years she hadn’t found the words to be sad Molly. She would have felt more comfortable calling her family to say she’d been arrested than that she was lonely.”

A wonderful ensemble story that focuses on the large, diverse family of Molly Black. Molly is missing, again. It's a common pattern since she lost her father as a young child and her mother as a teenager. Her family rally around to compare notes, strategise and find Molly. The quest turns into a voyage of self-discovery for all involved as they examine their own lives and choices and their relationships with each other and with Molly. All the while they monitor the case of another missing young woman whose disappearance is the focus of a nationwide search.

It's a wonderful book, warm, witty and poignant. The family dynamics are fabulous, full of the contradictory and complex ways that families interact. They gossip, share in-jokes, butt heads, snipe at each other and would travel across the world just to make sure that one of their own is safe. It's a beautiful meditation on grief and family that manages to be deeply moving as well and very funny and full of wonderfully complex characters.

A wonderful read. When Molly goes missing, her uncle summons the rest of the family to rally together in an effort to find her. They are one big, loud, messy, and loving Irish family. The characters are all wonderful (except Jeff), and it is so easy to get swept along in their wake. There were so many hilarious moments, and just as many poignant and sad ones. Ryan has crafted some absolutely beautiful paragraphs. A thoroughly enjoyable debut. I look forward to what Ryan produces next. #theresbeenalittleincident #aliceryan #netgalley #irishliterature #debutnovel

As we know from the blurb, it appears that Molly Black has vanished - or, at least her family seem to think so anyway. The Black family have gathered at Uncle John's house for a strategy session on how to track down Molly and return her to her family. However, at 30, does Molly even need to be 'found'? Why can't she head away herself without everyone in the family getting involved?

Ryan's debut novel brings the cast of characters together to thrash out just this. It's an unusual strategy to introduce all the book's characters so suddenly at the beginning, and it did mean this was a book where you had to be paying attention to who-was-who from early on, but this didn't dampen my interest (though I could see how it would for others.)

As we read on, it becomes evident that this book is focused on loss and mourning; it depicts how different people attempt to cope with loss and sorrow in their own ways, but this is not a 'sad' novel, because the cast of characters bring their own quirks, foibles and wit to the story. You won't be invested in every character equally, but each has its own part to play in this story.

A solid and captivating debut, I can't wait to read more from this new voice!
This book is about family, family relationships and all the complexities of being amongst people with such varied opinions. Something we can all relate to one way or another. It's about grief and moving forward in life and love.
The family are just like any other, there is an extended family who forgets names, you have odd uncles, attention-seeking cousins, and aunts who love to sing at the top of their voices (yes, I am talking about my own family there) but this is perfectly on the mark when it comes to creating a realistic and relatable family dynamic.
I really liked the writing, it flows easily, I do have to admit that this isn't my usual reading but I was interested by the back blurb and thought to give it a try and I am so pleased that I did, the author is certainly gifted she reeled me in like a fish on the line. She has created a thoroughly compelling and heartbreaking story!
An emotional and engaging read!

This is a wonderful debut! I thought that the characters were well written and the plot was intriguing. However, I sometimes struggled to keep up with the amount of characters. 

Would read more from this author in the future.

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of love; parental love, sibling love, love of friends and aunts, uncles and cousins. It is about how being the recipient of love can feel overwhelming if we don't feel worthy of it.
Fans of Marian Keyes will love the Black family. The extended family all love and care for Molly, and when she goes missing they drop everything and launch a campaign to find her and bring her home. There's a subplot involving another missing girl which I personally felt did not add to the story of the Black family. I would have liked to spend more time with the whole cast of characters, to hear more from all of them and their back stories. Highly recommended.