Holding by Graham Norton

He's the local guard, the only policeman in the village of Duneen.  He spends a lot of time looking for speeders and sitting in his car and he's overweight.  He just managed to pass the fitness test for guard, and he's still eating as much as ever.  But when someone from the local development stops and says a body was found buried on the site, PJ Collins life is about to change...

Atria Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can buy a copy now.

A missing man from long ago is thought to be the victim.  They said someone saw him get on a bus to go to London but no one has heard from him.  Where could he be?  They decide to take a DNA test.  The man they think he is had parents who had died by now, so they had to exhume them to get a sample.  It's all messy and upsets the village. Not only that, the DNA doesn't match the parents.

As PJ questions the villagers, he picks up gossip.  He hears about a fight between two girls who were each trying to get Tommy as a potential husband.  When he questions them, each one thinks the other woman murdered him.

The murder was twenty-five years ago.  Most of the village is hoping that people have forgotten all about it.  No such luck.  With outside investigators and the emotions from those who loved him and hated him, there's plenty of local turmoil.  

I found the story had many little tidbits that took time to piece together.  Two important families were involved.  The failed romances took their toll on the two women involved.  And the young man was not what he seemed either.  All in all, it was interesting story.