Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd. Maud Drennan is a caretaker given the task of helping Cathal Flood, a cantankerous old hoarder, get his life in order so he can stay in his home. But if you think Cathal's hoarding habits are strange, Maud has frequent conversations with various Saints and appears to be getting messages from...ghosts or the house itself?

I liked: Kidd's beautiful prose and her imagination; Maud Drennan, Renata, and Cathal Flood are all great characters; the dialogue; the Saints.

Not so much: I think Kidd tends to veer off course; the plot is a bit convoluted and slows down at points.

Kidd has such a gift for creating characters and settings, but the characters are much better done than the plot in this one. The book showcases her facility with language and characterization, but the storyline needs tightening up.

NetGalley/Atria Books

Literary Fiction? Mystery? May 1, 2018. Print length: 352 pages.