The dead dog turns to lick Jack’s hand, which trails down holding his cigarette, but its muzzle goes straight through and the dog, finding no response, folds itself up at the foot of his master’s bar stool and rests the good side of its face on its faint paws. Determined to find out what really happened, Mahony embarks on a pilgrimage back to his hometown, the rural village of Mulderrig. But the hints of other crimes Tempe’s identification uncovers, particularly crimes against children, spur her on to redouble her efforts despite the new M. She is also working on her fourth novel and her very first collection of short stories, a majority of which have been set in Ireland or feature Irish protagonists. There are some great minor characters as well as the dead, who make themselves visible to Mahony but never speak.

Himself by Jess Kidd - Publishers Weekly Himself by Jess Kidd - Publishers Weekly

Chapter seven will roll back in time to 1948, to give us a beguiling, tantalizing glimpse of Orla, Mahony’s mother. His physical appearance (even though he's a bit of an unwashed hippie-type) and his newness appeal to women of all ages, who react in unusual ways. Jess Kidd shares her story in writing that is lovely, inspired, ingenious, and quintessentially Irish in the colloquial expressions. Mahoney is a man on a secret mission, but he has walked into a viper pit of parochial mistrust and murderous secrets.He’s been into his twenties and he’ll come out again the other side none the worse for it; he has the kind of face that will stay young. Her latest book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim.

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

Start by Googling terms like “acting the maggot,” “earwigging,” and “throwing shapes” to see what they mean. Tadgh, a Loquacious publican, Farrelly, the Puritan widow, Jack Brophy, the upstanding sergeant and Fr. 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.Ferns have curled around him, branches have stooped and dropped their leaves in a blanket covering him. Today Mulderrig is just a benign little speck of a place, uncoiled and sprawling, stretched out in the sun.

Himself: A Novel - Kindle edition by Kidd, Jess. Literature Himself: A Novel - Kindle edition by Kidd, Jess. Literature

Mahony’s quest is, at its core, a journey of self-discovery, yet his presence, much like his mother’s, creates a ripple that churns into a tempest, ultimately threatening the stability of the town as a whole. 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. These melancholy departed foreshadow the tumult and catastrophe that result when Mahony comes back to Mulderrig. 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. The hairs at the back of my neck stood up often, but perhaps most often at the splendor of her prose.Although not much is moving now, other than a straggle of kids pelting home late, leaving their clear cries ringing behind. She has also continued to serve as a support worker who specializes in acquired brain injury, a Rector, a PA and also an administrator at one of the local community centers. Letter bombs, poisoned scones, a 1970s Irish village that is more than desperate to maintain its pious façade, and a hero who sees dead people; the ingredients of drama and mystery are all present in Jess Kidd’s debut novel. I believe the animal's death was particularly horrific because of the way she crafted the scene on the page.