*One copy of the paperback, HIMSELF
HIMSELF
by Jess Kidd
Paperback release 10/10/17
In this “supernaturally skilled debut” (Vanity Fair), a charming ne’er-do-well returns to his haunted Irish hometown to uncover the truth about his mother, turning the town—and his life—upside down.
Abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as an infant in 1950, 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 her 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 earlier. In HIMSELF, Jess Kidd delivers a black-humored mystery, a debut novel populated with colorful characters, a simmering blend of the natural and the supernatural, and in homage to her roots, a generous dose of quintessentially Irish humor.
From the moment he sets foot in Mulderrig, Mahony’s presence turns the village upside down. His uncannily familiar face and outsider ways cause a stir amongst the locals, who receive him with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion, and excitement. Determined to uncover the truth, Mahony solicits the help of brash, retired actress Mrs. Cauley, and together, the improbable duo concoct a plan to get the town talking, aided and abetted by a cast of characters, some from beyond the grave. As flashbacks unravel the mysterious circumstances of Mahony’s mother’s disappearance, the investigation incurs the wrath of sanctimonious Father Quinn and the Widow Farelly, unsettling the village, provoking cases of letter bombs and poisoned scones. What begins as a personal mission gradually becomes a quiet revolution: a young man and his town uniting against corruption, against those who seek to quash the sinister tides of progress and modernity come hell or high water. But what those people seem to keep forgetting is that Mahony has the dead on his side…
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Jess Kidd is an award-winning author with a PhD in creative writing from St. Mary’s University in London. She grew up as part of a large family from western Ireland’s County Mayo and now lives in London with her daughter. Jess loves tea, bees, dogs, writing about ghosts, and smiling at strangers (in moderation). Himself, her first novel, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Award. Her second novel, Mr Flood’s Last Resort, will be published in May 2018.
PRAISE FOR HIMSELF
“[A] fast-paced yarn that nimbly soars above the Irish crime fiction genre Kidd clearly knows very well.”
—New York Times Book Review
“For the love of all that’s right and true in the world, you’ve got to read Jess Kidd’s debut Himself, a fabulously imaginative, darkly comic Irish tale… it’ll bring tears to your sorry eyes and joy to your hardened heart.”
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“[A] whimsical mystery… the novel’s plot, with its delicate language and soft Irish lilt, wanders like lush green vines, never seeming to travel in straight lines. A villageful of characters emerge, all of them having a deft way with a line… The mystery here is how the living and the dead live side by side, and the joy is the music with which Kidd brings all of the characters to life.”
—Seattle Times
“In her exceptional debut novel, Kidd explores the dark corners of the human mind in small-town 1970s Ireland, creating a haunting story that moves between the supernatural and the mundane. A murder mystery on the surface, the story digs past the traditional whodunit structure to paint a rich portrait of village life… While the plot hurtles along at a rapid pace, leading inexorably to the heart-pounding final conflict, Kidd injects ample doses of macabre humor and lyrical description in this memorable story from a strange, bold new voice.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Over in Dublin, Jess Kidd’s Himself is her supernaturally skillful debut. Irish eyes are glowing.”
—Vanity Fair
“Every page of Kidd’s who-done-it novel is filled with magic, spirit, peppery characters, and ghosts of the village dead, including their pets, who are visible only to some… Kidd mixes the darkest capacities of these villagers with carefully observed whimsy and fantasy. Readers who enjoy a dollop of whiskey in their tea will feel right at home in Mulderrig.”
—Booklist
“Debut novelist Kidd paints a darkly magical tale of a man who revisits his birthplace of Mulderrig, a small coastal town in Ireland, to investigate the mysterious circumstances of his mother’s death 26 years earlier… Joining Mahony on his quest for answers are three women who add even more color to this richly drawn mystery about a town with more than its share of secrets… Told in a unique voice with complex characters, the paranormal mystery will keep readers guessing whodunit until the very end—all while falling in love with the quirky cast. A darkly comic tale that is skillfully and lyrically told.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Himself is Jess Kidd’s confident, engaging debut novel. It has a captivating ensemble cast, great jolts of humor and danger, hair-raising plot twists and just enough darkness to make the magic feel true. A thoroughly enjoyable read.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Himself is a classic, feeding the reader through a multisensory smorgasbord of Irish euphemisms…The snappy dialogue in Himself is delightful and a strong asset to Kidd’s flawless storytelling. The story breathes metaphors into sweet descriptive prose, pulling at heartstrings and bursting with humor…Foul play, fantasy, and a glimmer of romance wrapped up in a suspense-filled ending, makes Himself a delicious, gratifying and ageless story.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Mysterious and lyrical… Moving between Mahony’s present and the village’s past, Himself is spun like a fairy tale and paced like a mystery told around a slowly fading campfire. Kidd is brilliant at setting the scene and painting it vividly with a twisted, comic voice… In Himself, the author revels in the magical and supernatural, deftly and often humorously melding superstition and folklore with real personal tragedy.”
—BookPage
“[Full of] glorious characters, worthy successors to those of Dickens and Dylan Thomas…Jess Kidd is an author who shows a poet’s way with words and rhythm in her evocation of Mulderrig…[with] a plot of which Agatha Christie would have been proud…[a] beautifully paced, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and ultimately heart-warming book.”
—Electric Literature
“Himself, Jess Kidd’s debut novel, has an intricate, twisting, turning plot that weaves Irish mythology, magical realism and ghosts into a whodunit that is anything but typical of its genre… As Mahony’s search for the truth unfolds, Himself draws on elements of Irish folklore in ways that make Kidd’s novel feel both whimsical and ominous… Kidd combines these elements of magic and mystery with moments of wry humor and heartfelt emotion. A tribute to the classic Irish art of storytelling, Himself is a delight from start to finish…. Discover: A young man searches for the truth about his mother’s past in a mystery that marvelously combines mysticism and Irish folklore.”
—Shelf Awareness
“A highly unusual tale set in a highly unusual Irish village full of dark secrets and engaging characters (not all of them still alive). Lushly imagined, delightfully original and very, very funny, it hurtles along from the very first page. A hugely enjoyable read. I can’t wait for more from Jess Kidd.”
—M.L. Stedman, bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans
“I love this book. It’s a magic realist murder mystery set in rural Ireland, in which the dead play as important a part as the living. It’s one of those books that has you smiling as you read, and that you plan to read again very soon.”
—Louis de Bernières, bestselling author of Corelli’s Mandolin
“Jess Kidd is a genius. Her prose sparkles with wit, savagery and startling originality. I loved it.”
—Tasha Kavanagh, author of Things We Have In Common
“Diabolical deeds, ferociously kept secrets, black humour and magical realism abound in Jess Kidd’s richly textured, thronging debut…The legions of murmuring, plaintive deceased are what most command our attention in the novel…both noirish crime thriller and rollicking comedy…Kidd has imagination to die for and a real command of plot and character.”
—The Guardian
“An imaginative, witty study of small communities and their secrets.”
—Financial Times
“This striking literary debut is a darkly comic tale of murder, intrigue, haunting and illegitimacy… wickedly funny.”
—The Daily Express
