Mahony turned over the photograph and studied her face. God, she looked young. He would have put her as his sister rather. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen. He has a love affair that is pretty pointless to the plot, other than to show us yet again how studly he is... yawn. A very quirky novel, Jess Kidd has a distinctive style that is difficult to describe. The tone and language were everything in this novel. The humor lightened up what is a serious murder mystery and brought in much needed levity. The language and descriptions oozes charm.

Jess Kidd - Book Series In Order Jess Kidd - Book Series In Order

Also, this book has lots and lots of ghosts. They are everywhere and Mahony and Ora share the ability to see them. However ghosts are dangerous because they don't lie and they reveal truths about the past that most people would rather keep hidden. Unfortunately, Mahony can't just ask his mother for the name of her murderer. "The dead are like cats, Mahony. You of all people should know that. They don't always come when they're called." I loved this book and would be happy to read anything else the author writes. Teaming up with Mrs. Cauley, an eccentric former theater actress who likes nothing more than to stir up trouble among Mulderrig's residents, Mahony is determined to uncover the truth about his mother. The two concoct a plan to interrogate those who might know something, and hopefully flush out the truth, with the help of some of the town's colorful residents. But this scandal ran far and wide through Mulderrig, and the two might be putting themselves and those they care about in danger as they get closer and closer to the truth. Mulderrig is a place like no other. Here the colors are a little bit brighter and the sky is a little bit wider. Here the trees are as old as the mountains and a clear river runs into the sea. People are born to live and stay and die here. They don’t want to go. Why would they when all the roads that lead to Mulderrig are downhill so that leaving is uphill all the way?” But then, when Mahony looked around himself, everything was exactly the same. The same smeared mirrors over the same dirty seats. The same sad bastards falling into their glasses and the same smell crawling out of the gents.For Mulderrig is a place where secrets run amok and stay hidden forever. And the town folks? They are friendly to newcomers - that is, until they realize who Mahoney is and what he is after. Yet Mahoney is a charmer, swoon-worthy even. The smile, the scruffiness, the charm. And he has a gift. He can see and speak to ghosts of the past, some of whom are happy to help with his plight, while others are simply afraid of him. Meanwhile, the ghost of Cauley’s jilted lover Johnny floats around the gardens of Rathmore House, to little purpose. So what went wrong? As it's often happens with great story, stupid characters doing stupid shit. Like can we not have a male MC who is so “handsome” and so “flawless” that women of all ages ranging from 14 year old to 60 are ready to become his sex slave without actually giving any real insight as to what makes him so special? Also can we not have female characters whose sole purpose in the story is to pine over a dude who has no interest over her whatsoever?

Himself by Jess Kidd | Goodreads Himself by Jess Kidd | Goodreads

Is Mahony’s outsider identity important to the novel? How does his otherness mirror Orla’s experience?Magical and delightful, was not at all ready to leave this small Irish town nor these wonderful characters. Mahoney, raised in an orphanage, come to Murdering to uncover the truth about the young mother he never knew. He creates quite a stir with his Byronic good looks, sets hearts a quivering, but not all because many in this place are holding secrets and one is a murderer. He meets some amazing characters, willing to help him with his quest: the old Mrs., Cauley, who was quite a stage sensation in her youth and still has vestiges of her bold character, Bridget Doosey, who has talents that are unseen, and the intrepid Shauna, a young women who falls hard to Mahoney. Tadhg raises his eyebrows a fraction. “Is there now? Well, you wouldn’t want to be caught in a gust of wind.” Set in the 1950’s and the 1970’s, Himself is a fairytale of folklore. It’s endearing, dark, beguiling, and utterly charming to no end. In truth, it is not the type of book I would normally read. Whimsy, fantastical is not my style - but I must say this: it pulls the reader in from the first sentence. You can’t tear your eyes away. The prose is absolutely flawless, beautiful even. The characters are lovely, comical & ensnaring. In short, this novel is not to be missed. Jess Kidd writes good characters altogether. Mrs Cauley is just wonderful and practically drives the whole book. The ghosts are good too, Johnnie with his unfortunate antics, Ida the small girl who tries to help, Miss Mulhearne who gets Mahoney to read her poetry and many others. I work with a man from Ireland, and it's been more than a bit fascinating to watch how white Americans interact with him. Because Americans aren't shy about claiming Irish heritage (although it's the jocular kind, for whatever that may mean), or sharing stories about what they perceive as local Irish culture (as I live in Wisconsin, you may correctly perceive this as an oxymoron), and frequently fall over themselves trying to connect with him in a way that you would never, ever see them do for most other ethnicities. I mention this, because Kidd's characters feel a little bit like the idea of what Irish people are: the disapproving priest, the drunk barman, the handsome rogue, the daffy old lady that sees into the beyond.

HIMSELF | Kirkus Reviews HIMSELF | Kirkus Reviews

This is such a charming, magical book, and as quirky as it is, it's quite emotionally moving as well, as it explores the ideas of loss and grief, of a girl trying to rise above circumstances she has been handed although everyone wants to fight her at every turn, and the rejuvenating power of friendship. I know that at its heart, this book is a mystery, but I could have done without its brief foray into actual crime novel territory, even though I understood the point, in showing that even lovely towns like Mulderrig have these types of secrets which many want to remain hidden.Having been abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as an infant, lovable car thief and Dublin charmer Mahony assumed all his life that his mother had simply given him up. But when he receives an anonymous note suggesting that foul play may have led to his mother's disappearance, he sees only one option: to return to the rural Irish village where he was born and find out what really happened twenty-six years ago. Orphan Mahony has come from Dublin to Mulderrig in County Mayo to try and learn what happened to his mam and who his father is. Mahony sees the dead, takes no crap from anyone, and oh boyo is he sexy. The book opens in the forest by the river as Mahony's mom is murdered there. While the killer is disposing of her body the forest protects the child, covering him in ferns and ivy, branches and leaves. Things like that happen in Mulderrig, a small town not used to strangers, where to many the son of pariah Orla Sweeney is especially unwelcome. Read J. M. Synge’s classic work The Playboy of the Western World and study up on its scandalous history. Into this village comes Mahony, the boy we eventually learn whose teenage mother, Orla Sweeney, "mysteriously" disappeared. He is looking for her armed with an old photograph, searching for the girl who left him, finding himself not welcome in this town where he was born. He meets and resides with his landlady, Mrs Cauley, a wonderful character, who recruits Mahony to star in in her Christmas play. She teams up with Mahony to try an unravel the mystery of his missing mom and while investigating we meet the good and the bad in the village of Muldering. Interspersed in the story are also the dead of the village who add a kind of mystical charm to the story making you want to find this place and perhaps even dwell there even if only in your mind. As a noirish thriller with a supernatural edge, Himself is atmospheric and intriguing. As a portrait of village hypocrisy and the dark things that lurk beneath the surface, it’s also compelling.

Himself by Jess Kidd | Goodreads

With “Himself,” Jess Kidd bewitches the reader. I, for one, am glad I fell under his spell. I hope you will consider doing the same. Mahoney is a man on a secret mission, but he has walked into a viper pit of parochial mistrust and murderous secrets. By day Mulderrig appears respectable; a solid fat-ankled mammy dressed in patchworked fields. But at night she's gypsied to the nines, beringed and braceleted with fairy forts.The dead old woman opens a pair of briny eyes as round as vinegar eggs and looks at Mahony, and Mahony looks away, smiling full into Tadhg’s big face. “So are there any digs about the town, pal?”