Maud has just started a job as a care worker for elderly, eccentric hoarder Cathal Flood. His rambling, cluttered and spooky house starts throwing out clues of a potential long-forgotten crime, and Maud’s equally eccentric neighbour convinces her to launch an amateur detective case. But people are not who they say they are, and things are not as they seem…
Like with the first novel by Jess Kidd that I reviewed back in March, I was a bit sad to leave the characters behind when I finished reading this book. They are so lively and lifelike, but also like no one I’ve ever known. I kind of wish I had read the books in the order they were written though, as I think Kidd’s writing has improved over time.
It took me a bit longer to settle into this book, I think. The ‘crime’ takes a while to reveal itself however by the end I was riding the twists and turns like a roller coaster and kind of looking forward to it being over but also wanting to do it again.
Cathal Flood’s house is as much of a character in this story as any of the people. I felt like I was there beside Maud, discovering room by creepy room and being equally delighted and freaked out by some of the artefacts.
There’s enough mystery here to keep you going until the end; a little touch of the supernatural; and a surprise reveal that you may not see coming (unless you really want to).
On a side note, I coincidentally watched an Irish tv show with a character named Cathal at the same time as reading this book, so I’m really glad I didn’t mispronounce the name in my head the whole time I was reading this book. That would have been really annoying.
