breaking down the barriers between mystery story and comedy of manners, mixing magical realism and crime fiction * * Guardian * *

I can't wait for more from Jess Kidd - ML STEDMAN, author of The Light Between OceansĪ rollicking tale of a hero's return. Lushly imagined, delightfully original and very, very funny, it hurtles along from the very first page. It's a highly unusual tale set in a highly unusual Irish village full of dark secrets and engaging characters (not all of them still alive). Himself is a sort of Under Milk Wood meets The Third Policeman meets Agatha Christie. In lyrical prose that is by turns touchingly tender and violent, Kidd's brilliantly bold debut mixes murder and mayhem with the eerily supernatural, and throws in a dash of laugh-out-loud humour for good measure * * Psychologies * * the ghosts are not the main attraction in this delightful first novel it is also a detective story, in which Mahony and Mrs C make an unlikely Holmes and Watson * * The Times * *Īn intriguing story of family secrets and haunting - ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY, author of The Loney This striking literary debut is a darkly comic tale of murder, intrigue, haunting and illegitimacy. LOUIS DE BERNIERES, author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin It's one of those books that has you smiling as you read, and that you plan to read again very soon.

It's a magic realist murder mystery set in rural Ireland, in which the dead play as important a part as the living. Utterly unputdownable * * Sunday Express Magazine * * It's a tender, violent and funny story told in prose that is lyrical, lush and hugely imaginative. Kidd's brilliantly bold debut mixes up murder and mayhem with the eerily supernatural. One of the finest books of the year - SIMON MAYO Kidd has imagination to die for and a real command of plot and character * * Guardian * * Diabolical deeds, ferociously kept secrets, black humour and magical realism abound in Jess Kidd's richly textured, thronging debut.

Himself by Jess Kidd