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Finding Mr Flood

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Dara Flood always says the most interesting thing about her life happened before she was born. Thirteen days before she came into the world, her father walked up the road and never came back.Now Dara lives an uncomplicated life. Pizza with friends on Wednesday, salsa class on a Friday, and Saturday nights with her boyfriend. Some might say it's safe. But it's exactly the way she likes it. And apart from the odd, fleeting moment, she's never thought about the man who abandoned her family.Then her sister gets sick, and Dara's carefully ordered life falls apart. Suddenly ahe must find the father who could be their last hope. As she uncovers some truths about her father, and herself, Dara learns that to let life in, sometimes you just have to let go . . .

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

31 people are currently reading
383 people want to read

About the author

Ciara Geraghty

16 books199 followers
Ciara Geraghty is an Irish bestselling author. She lives in Dublin with one husband and three children.

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5 stars
149 (20%)
4 stars
276 (38%)
3 stars
215 (30%)
2 stars
57 (7%)
1 star
19 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Belinda Vlasbaard.
3,363 reviews98 followers
January 4, 2023
4,5 sterren- Nederlandse paperback

Een zoektocht naar een nier voor haar zus, maakt dat Dara haar vader gaat zoeken die een pakje sigaretten ging halen en niet terug kwam. Ze neemt een privé detective in de arm om hem te vinden.

Het verhaal schetst een beeld van een jonge vrouw die zich als een Bull terriër vastbijten in het vinden van haar vader. De reis is lang en de reden waarom haar vader zou zijn weggegaan is anders als gedacht.

De liefde vind Dara, dat andere, haar Vader moet je zelf maar lezen.

Een feelgood roman met wat diepte. Ik heb ervan genoten.
Profile Image for Natalie.
519 reviews32 followers
February 17, 2012
I found this book really hard to get into at first, but once the actual searching kicks in, it did get better! I did think it was far too long, it could have done with a really, really good edit, which I felt was seriously lacking, not just in needing some chopping off, but there were loads of typos, that started to get annoying, at one point a character gets called the wrong name too! The shortening could have been easily achieved by getting rid of all the bloomin repetition, I think it was supposed to be a charming riff, but TBH, I just found it irritating, constantly being told that Angel's eyes held hope and faith, and that Dara's navy eyes were long not big! Enough already!! And also got irritated with all the blinkin italisation of words for no apparent reason that I could see! I can italicise emotions that I feel need highlighting myself thanks, I don't need to be told that an expression of emotion is significant!

Overall though, there is a lovely story hiding in there, and so it did redeem itself through that, and the romance is so sweet and adorable, you had to love it! I'm not sure why it's long listed for a romantic comedy award though, as the romance, sweet as it is, is not a massive part of the story, and I can't say I found much comedy either!!
Profile Image for Mike Briley.
164 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2015
I found this book endearing, annoying and boring - not all at once of course. Parts of it were too long, parts were excellent and parts of it made you want to take the heroine by the shoulders and give her a good shake.
I bore with it to the end and I am glad I did but there were moments I seriously considered moving on to something more gripping.
I am sure that editing this book down to 350-400 pages would make a far more enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Elentarri.
2,022 reviews62 followers
February 19, 2022
This is not my usual type of reading selection, but apparently I was in the mood for a gentle, feel good, not-quite-saccharine, minor-romance, mystery novel. The story was a bit long, but when you have a dog snoozing in your lap and another one draped over your feet, this is an asset. The characters (two-footed and four-footed) were quirky and distinct. There were also plot turns (not really twists - it isn't that type of book) that I didn't expect. In terms of writing style and plot, this is a very enjoyable, solid 3.5 star novel, but it gave me happy fuzzy feelings so I'm promoting it to 4 stars.
Profile Image for Kim.
2,120 reviews62 followers
February 25, 2015
When Dara's sister becomes very sick whilst waiting for a transplant, she thinks that maybe finding the father that walked out on her before she was born will solve all their problems. She hires a private detective and in exchange she agrees to help train his unruly dog. They have a couple of trips trying to find people who may help them find out where Mr Flood is. Although they are both wary of relationships following bad experiences they seem drawn to each other- will they allow themselves to fall in love.

Author 10 books4 followers
September 3, 2022
Dipping back into one of Ms Geraghty’s earlier novels, I was not disappointed. It is a compelling mix of emotions with humour never far beneath a life-or-death quest for which the reader prays for a happy outcome. The characters are great – the main protagonist Dara, a young woman of limited ambition who turns out to be the hero, her stricken sister Angel who has almost given up hope, Anya, Tintin, Sissy, all of them slightly bonkers, and Stanley, struggling as the runt of a family of policeman brothers. Of course Stanley comes good and wins his girl. I was particularly happy to see one of the author’s improbable scenes woven in to the plot, the Paris restaurant transformed in minutes to a salsa dancing club where Dara and Stanley fall in love. (Several scenes in the more recent Rules of the Road also allow the author to have a bit of in-context fun.) Finally, I am not a dog fan but decided that the hounds called Lucky and Clouseau were OK and not worth docking a point for. A lovely and heart-warming book.
Profile Image for Kirstie.
794 reviews15 followers
October 28, 2017
This seemed to take me ages to read but only because it's the biggest book I've read in a while. I loved her style of writing it was easy to absorb although a little too detailed at times.
I loved Dara and Stanley. Just normal folk!
Very enjoyable read
Profile Image for Natasha.
149 reviews4 followers
July 23, 2024
Highly predictable, but fun anyways.
Profile Image for Marleen.
671 reviews67 followers
April 8, 2011
The rating for this book should be read as 4.5 stars.

Sometimes you read a book and the characters in it become your friends. You get to know them as you read their story, and you grow fonder of them with ever page you turn. So fond in fact, that you dread having to say goodbye when their story finishes. You don't want them to go away and long to keep them near. You want to still be with them after the issue(s) they have been dealing with in the story have been resolved, just to make sure that they will be as safe and happy as the ending of the book seems to promise.
Finding Mr. Flood is one of those books for me.
The book introduces Dara Flood to the reader. A young woman with a rather uneventful life. In fact, the most exciting thing that ever happened to her took place 13 days before she was born when her father, Mr. Flood, walked up the road to buy cigarettes and never came back.
Since then she has happilly lived her life in the shadow of her beautiful, unstopable and charming older sister, Angel. Dara's life is predictable and safe, and that is exactly the way she likes it.
When Angel gets sick though and it proves very hard to find the donor kidney she needs, everything changes. Angel, who has always been optimistic about her situation sinks into a depression, and Dara decides that she needs to find their father to find out if he could help the daughter he abandoned.
To help her she hires Stanley Flinter, a private detective who had hoped to become a policeman and is struggling with the aftermath of a relationship that went wrong in the most horrible way possible.
Mr. Flood however had good reasons to disappear, and proves elusive.
The quest forces Dara to start living life rather then endure it, to take chances rather then play it save and to embrace opportunities as they come along.
There were so many reasons to love this book that it is hard to know where to start.
Ciara Geraghty has given us characters who are both real and quirky and placed them in a situation that is seriously worrying and yet leaves lots of room for smiles and laugh out loud moments. She has produced a story that is realistic without being predictable. And she has given me good and compelling reasons to go and find her earlier books and read them.
I've read other reviews of Geraghty's work in which she was compared to Marian Keyes. Although I can see why those reviewers would say that, I don't entirely agree. Keyes has never been able to make me care about her characters as much as I did about Dara and the others (both human and canine) in this book. In that respect I'd be more inclined to compare her to Meave Binchy whose characters usually turn into personal friends for me as well.
Of course there was the added bonus of having parts of the book set in Bailieborough, the town where I work as a librarian. In fact, the library is next door to the shop of John-Ed, the butcher whose burgers are mentioned in the acknowledgments. And best of all, next week (Saturday April 16), Ciara Geraghty will be visiting that library in Bailieborough for a reading from this book. I can't wait to meet her and congratulate her on this wonderful work of fiction.
Profile Image for Erin.
11 reviews
July 4, 2017
I mainly enjoyed this book, however it was far too long.
I read the first half pretty deeply, but the second half was skimmed.
Once you realize the connection between Finding Mr. Flood and Angel - it kind of grinds to a halt.

There were some real laugh out loud moments, but for the most part it was just okay for me.
Profile Image for Louise Archbold.
11 reviews
November 20, 2017
My thoughts on this book seemed to be shared by others - it's far too long and could have done with a very significant edit but it was worth persevering with it. By the end I was quite attached to the characters and the book pulled at my heart strings. It would be a good book to get lost in on a rainy weekend stuck inside.
Profile Image for Mari.
268 reviews3 followers
July 9, 2017
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would when I started it. I like the author enough that I just bought a few of her novels before going on vacations, without even bothering to read the descriptions about what they were about.

It was odd that this book isn't one of her first, though, because there were quite a few sections that seemed a bit juvenile or "writing 101." The constant repetition of her sisters eyes "being wide with things like Trust. And Hope." was driving me up a WALL. It was odd the first time. It was even stranger that it seemed appropriate 10 times. It was overly poetic both for the book and the character's perspective, and realistically, it was a strange way to see your own sister... like I know my siblings so well that I would never look into their clear blue eyes and think "wow.... they're wide with things like Trust. And Hope."

There were a lot of other nagging things. Some metaphorical language that was working too hard. Someone's eyebrows "knitted like the scarfs her mom made" or something... except eyebrows knitting is already essentially a metaphor... and it means they pull together, not that they look scraggly and lumpy or something.

The main character was likable but probably one of the least likable main characters I've read in a while. The book just went overboard in describing how careful and cautious she was... this was more or less an issue with most of the characters.... the constant repetition of their basic characteristics as if the reader needed to be hand-held through every single page of the book.

BUT! Overall I did enjoy it. A nice leisure time book, and it tied up together nicely. I'm just tired of books that seem to deliberately leave out the last chapters these days, just for the sake of realism. No thanks!
1 review
August 11, 2023
I just finished this book and all I have to say is I enjoyed every last bit of it. I haven't read in a long while and starting with Jane Austen plagued me with difficulty in understanding and going back to young adult fiction left me feeling mortified.

I had my skepticism when starting this book because I did not know of the writer or heard anything about this book but started it on a whim. All I can say is, it was lovely and heartfelt and so easy to read. It was like that sweet slumber you fall into with a filled and content belly after dinner. I finished it in 2 days.

The writing was direct yet detailed at the same time. Using beautiful words to translate what the characters were feeling. I could envision myself being there with them. The character and family dynamics were also realistic and relatable, where every moment is not necessarily filled with happiness and excitement. But instead, the meek truth about the existence of disappointment that lie in every corner. Even so, there is hope in everything, only if you just let yourself see it.

The meeting of Dara and Stanley also felt natural and organic. There was no falling in love at first sight with the Prince charming and fairytale love story. It was wonderful and beautifully written by Miss Ciara, realistic and reachable.

Not all would agree with me on my review of this book, but I am glad to have discovered this and restart my journey of reading. Thank you.
Profile Image for Angela.
3,097 reviews11 followers
March 6, 2020
It was a decent story and I'm surprised I've never comes across this author before now. The main character was able to move the story along well but I do have some complaints about the book. For what the topic is about the book is way too long. It could have easily been a hundred or more pages less and it wouldn't have impacted the story. Also the pacing was hard to get into, sometimes it moved far too slowly and then had the opposite problem of speeding where a slower pace would have been better. There were also, especially at the start of the book, boredom. I'm glad to say that it does get better but for the first couple chapters I really struggled to get into the story. When all is said and done Finding Mr Flood is a decent read and I'm going to see what other books the author has wrote and see if any more are interesting enough to try.
Profile Image for Alva.
555 reviews48 followers
April 9, 2020
Ciara Geraghty has become one of my go-to authors when I want a book that will envelop me within its pages, whose story will make me forget for a while the unprecedented times we are going through, whose characters I will want to go home with, to hit over the head with a handbag, or just give a good old shaking.
Ciara writes a story for her readers, as if she knows the story they want to read. I loved Dara Flood's complicated messy existence, her side crew of upbeat and downbeat pals, and her determined love of family through it all.
Finding Mr. Flood is as good a book as Rules of The Road which I read recently and loved. My next task is to put Saving Grace, Becoming Scarlett and a few more on my to-be-read list. Brava, Ciara!
Profile Image for Nikki Houghton.
675 reviews13 followers
November 7, 2019
Ciara Geraghty takes a story and runs with it all the way to the finish line without hesitation, without a stumble and without a thought for the reader’s tears of which there are a copious amount. I wish I could write this way; she has a gift and uses it well. I would have liked a little more information about the ending for Angel (after all there’s a whole other story there.....) but otherwise a lovely, readable novel full of characters (and dogs) it would be difficult not to love (apart from Ian Harte, obvs).
Profile Image for Caro.
229 reviews20 followers
February 25, 2018
Ciara Geraghty wird bei mir stets mit guten Büchern assoziiert. Ihr Roman Der Tag vor einem Jahr zählt sogar zu meinen Lieblingsbüchern, welche ich schon mehrfach gelesen habe. Klar, dass ich mir auch ihr neustes Buch sofort zugelegt habe und mit hohen Erwartungen angefangen habe zu lesen.

Leider konnte mich Wenn ich dich gefunden habe nicht einmal annähernd so sehr überzeugen. Das größte Problem hatte ich mit den Charaktern. Mit Dara Flood konnte ich mich bis zum Schluss überhaupt nicht anfreunden. Sie nimmt sich einfach so sehr zurück und ist so unfassbar vorsichtig, dass ich sie regelmäßig durchschütteln wollte. Rücksicht auf andere zu nehmen ist ja eine schöne Eigenschaft, aber ich hatte das Gefühl, dass Dara sich selbst überall in den Hintergrund stellt und sich das im Verlauf des Buches auch nicht mehr ändert. Vielleicht hätte sie ihr Glück schon viel früher gefunden, wenn sie sich nicht immer alles gefallen lassen würde.

Auch Stanley Flinter ist mir nicht sympathischer. Er ist ein Privatdetektiv und begleitet die Familie Flood auf der Suche nach Ehemann und Vater Eugene. Er ist quasi genau wie Dara: Ein sehr einfach gestrickter und zurückhaltender Charakter. Zurückhaltend ist nicht einmal das richtige Wort, denn er nimmt sich genauso sehr zurück. Er wird in seinem Job mit Bilderrahmen bezahlt, weil er nicht die Eier hat um Geld zu verlangen. Er lässt sich von seiner Mitbewohnerin Kleidung kaufen, die ihm nicht gefällt, bezahlt sie aber trotzdem. Er toleriert den Spott seiner Brüder und seiner Ex-Freundin und kriegt einfach den Mund nicht auf. Zum Schluss des Romans sagt er wenigstens seiner Familie mal kurz die Meinung, aber eine richtige Entwicklung habe ich bei ihm auch nicht gesehen.

Dann haben wir Daras Schwester Angel, die krank ist. Sie wird eigentlich als eine optimistische und fröhliche Person beschrieben, aber nach mehreren Fehlalarmen bezüglich einer neuen Nieren, schwindet auch langsam ihre Hoffnung. Sie kann ich als einzige Person im Buch so richtig nachvollziehen. Mrs. Flood, also die Mutter von Dara und Angel, war mir auch wieder etwas suspekt. Zu Anfang des Buches zeigt sie sehr deutlich, dass sie gegen ihr zweites Kind Dara, die ihrem Vater wie aus dem Gesicht geschnitten ist, eine Abneigung hegt. Muss ja nicht sein, oder? Und im Laufe des Romans verbessert sich dieses Verhältnis zwar, allerdings ist auch ihr eine deutliche Hoffnungslosigkeit anzumerken, die ich unangebracht finde. Natürlich hat sie kein leichtes Leben, aber für eine Mutter ist es meiner Meinung nach unmöglich eine Tochter zu bevorzugen und auch die Lieblingstochter dann mehr oder weniger im Stich zu lassen, weil man selbst alle Welt spüren lässt, dass man keine Hoffnung mehr auf eine neue Niere hat.

Als Nebencharakter haben wir noch Tintin und Anya, die zusammen mit Dara im Hundeasyl arbeiten. Tintin ist bisexuell und nichts weiter als die Verkörperung eines klischeehaften schwulen Typen, der eben bisexuell ist um sich alle Möglichkeiten offen zu halten. Anya kommt aus Polen und ist ziemlich resolut, was mir eigentlich gefällt, allerdings zitiere ich mal kurz eine wörtliche Rede von ihr: „Erzähl von Privatdätektiv“ Sie redet also nicht nur manchmal grammatikalisch falsch, sondern die Autorin hat hier auch noch besonders viele Äs eingebaut um den Akzent deutlicher rüber zu bringen. Hat mich persönlich sehr genervt, da Anya nicht gerade wenig sagt.

Kommen wir also insgesamt zum Schreibstil. Der ist typisch für Ciara Geraghty und damit auch eines der positiven Seiten an diesem Buch. Die Geschichte lässt sich flüssig lesen und man stolpert nicht über komische Formulierungen oder Wörter. Was weniger gut durchdacht war, war der ganze Plot an sich. Die Einführung ist noch relativ schnell beziehungsweise angemessen lang und man erfährt alles, was wichtig ist. In der Mitte wird es dann sehr langatmig und wir bekommen überflüssige Informationen über z.B. die Dates von Nebencharaktern oder die Hunde im Asyl, in dem Dara arbeitet. Was zur Hölle hat das Sexleben von Anya oder die Vermittlung verschiedener Hunde mit der Suche nach Daras Vater und ihrem persönlichen Glück zu tun? Im letzten Buchdrittel geht dann alles wieder sehr schnell und die Kapitel sind teilweise nur zwei Seiten lang, weil so viel auf einmal passiert. Vieles davon wirkte hingeklatscht nach dem Motto „Ich muss jetzt mal zum Ende kommen“. Einige Ereignisse ergeben keinen Sinn und auch die Suche nach Mr. Flood endet viel zu abrupt und unspektakulär. Insgesamt ist die ganze Handlung also sehr unausgeglichen und viele Kapitel sind einfach sinnlos.

Fazit
Es tut mir zwar leid, dass ich das Buch so auseinander nehmen musste, aber meinen Geschmack hat es überhaupt nicht getroffen. Schuld daran waren zum Großteil die sehr einseitigen Charakter. Die Protagonisten stehen nicht für sich selbst ein und daran ändert sich im ganzen Buch nichts. Die Nebencharakter verkörpern zum Großteil nur Klischees oder sind einfach nicht greifbar. Die Handlung zieht sich auf den 600 Seiten ewig lang hin und anstatt eine plausible Erklärung für die ganze Mr. Flood Geschichte zu liefern, wird man eher mit nebensächlichen Fakten aus den Leben der Nebencharakter oder dem Hundeasyl von Dara Flood beschäftigt. Insgesamt habe ich eine gefühlte Ewigkeit zum Lesen gebraucht und kann leider nur zwei Sterne geben, wobei die schon echt großzügig sind. Ich hoffe, dass das nächste Buch von Ciara Geraghty wieder besser wird!

(März 2013)
Profile Image for Aisha.
389 reviews
May 27, 2017
Dara Flood decided to find her father, who may be a match for her sister who needs a kidney. She employs a private investigator to help her.

A sweet and somewhat engaging novel about family and finding yourself. I liked how well rounded Dara was and how likeable she was as well. It had good pacing as well, although it did get a little slow towards the end and the ending seemed a little rushed. All the other characters served the story well and added to the plot and Dara's arc.
145 reviews23 followers
December 1, 2018
this was sad, so many people just pausing their life or living solitary lives rather then - really don't what the alternative is. but this was really sad and even though they story is supposed to be one of hope and "windows opening" even if door r closed. it kinda depressed me even though i didnt enjoy the read and yeah the ending was charming but still it left me sad.
donno if i will ever read it again but i'm not sorry that i read it.
Profile Image for Joan Campbell.
Author 11 books31 followers
April 30, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its Irish setting and characters. It's a story of discovery as Dara Flood goes on a life and death quest to find her father, with the help of the diminutive PI, Stanley Flinter. The author brings the characters alive and makes you care deeply about them. There's adventure, romance and a great deal of humour. A sweet and wonderful read.
Profile Image for Novelle Novels.
1,652 reviews52 followers
November 28, 2018
This took a while to get into and I got abit lost at points. After the initial bit it got better and better and I got hooked. Dara is a girl who learns that looks can be deceiving and she grows in confidence. Stanley is a character you instantly fall in love with. The good thing is there are other characters that help you see the depth in the book and I’m glad I kept reading..
Profile Image for Josephine.
323 reviews9 followers
August 10, 2019
I like the story, but the book was way too long-550 odd pages should have been 300 odd. I nearly gave up halfway through, because it was so slow moving, but I wanted to know what happened to Mr Flood.
Profile Image for Anne.
36 reviews2 followers
September 30, 2021
I found this terribly depressing not just because of the story line but the two main characters were so lacking in any assertiveness that it really irritated me. Overall it was well written but I found myself really wishing it would all end.
Profile Image for Karen Patrick.
588 reviews9 followers
did-not-finish
November 29, 2021
DNF. Descriptions are too long, takes forever to understand what a character wants to say. Book moves slower than a constipated snail. Life is too short to read books that are too boring. Probably just not my cup of tea but if you like fast-paced novels, this is not for you.
226 reviews
January 17, 2022
Lovely story about waiting ...

A wife is waiting for her husband to return, a daughter is waiting for that phone call about a transplant and the sister trying to keep it all together for them both... while moving moving through her own life, in a relationship that keeps her waiting...
Profile Image for CorrieGM.
682 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2024
Mooi, komisch, roerend: ik heb eerder een boek van haar gelezen. Ciara Geraghty schrijft goed.
En toch niet goed genoeg voor mij om er meer dan drie sterren aan te geven. Ik geef echt niet zo vaak vier sterren, dus dit is weer 'goed genoeg'.
Profile Image for Tanica Theys.
27 reviews8 followers
December 1, 2017
4 stars. This book was so much better than I thought! There are moments that are really slow, but then at the end I was turning pages so quickly, I couldn't put it down. Pleasantly surprised.
Profile Image for Robyn.
371 reviews1 follower
December 20, 2017
A quite enjoyable book, reminiscent of Maeve Binchy.
Profile Image for Pauline.
1,826 reviews34 followers
April 11, 2018
Found some parts of this to be boring and didn't really take to the storyline.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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