I've had a very hard time getting into this book. I loved how it started and thought it had great potential, but Mahony just has not kept my interest in his story. I feel like the author is telling me a story instead of letting me live the story through the character. I've set this aside for now, something I rarely do...hopefully I can come back to it with a different view.

A unique and beautifully written story, the description of Mahony's return to the town of his birth incorporates folklore, magic and a strong sense of whimsy. Mahoney does not believe that his mother abandoned him. With some quirky and unusual characters, such as Mrs. Cauley, an aging actress, and Bridget Doosey, Mahony will get to the truth. An impressive debut novel, thanks to Netgalley for the advanced access.

A highly enjoyable read. I found this to be an edgy version of a "cozy mystery". The addition of the ghostly characters made it an interesting mystery and created a deeper characterization for the "real" characters. The Irish colloquialisms and back and forth format of the time and narration make it a bit of a challenge, but the plot and characters are engaging and a little wild, so it is well worth the challenge.

Found on the steps of an orphanage when he was just an infant, Mahony has always believed his mother abandoned him, but now he's had a tip that she may have been killed. Mahony, a criminal with a heart goes looking for the truth about his mother in this charming portrait of Ireland in the 1970s

Oh, how I loved the first of Himself. The writing, the quirky characters, the Brigadoon-ish Irish town which was definitely NOT Brigadoon. I've mentioned before that I'm ambivalent about magical realism--loving some, but mostly not enthralled. The ones I've loved, however, have been marvelous with the perfect balance of magic and real life.

For me, the lyrical prose that makes the acceptance of magic in the real world possible--is the key to whether or not I can slip into the story. Jess Kidd's prose is lyrical and poetic, a mixture of images, humor, and story telling that flows almost like music.

Raised in a Catholic orphanage, Mahoney is 26 when he receives a letter and a photgraph that upends his previous assumptions that he was abandoned by his mother. He leaves Dublin and travels to the small village of Mulderrig to find out more.

His arrival disturbs the village in various ways. The entire village "almost" recognizes him from the first, but his personal charm carries the day... until the villagers realize that Mahoney is Orla's Sweeney's son. Then the secrets that have been long hidden cause a dilemma of emotions.

Almost everyone insists that Orla left the village with her infant 26 years ago, but old Mrs. Cauley becomes Mahoney's ally and abettor, and the two of them--the handsome young man and the fragile, bald old actress--investigate what they believe to be a murder.

Although a little ambivalent about Mahoney, I loved Mrs. Cauley and Bridget. I had several quibbles as the book progressed, but the first half of the book makes everything worth it, and I am eager to hear more from Jess Kidd.

Read in Dec.; blog post scheduled for Feb. 27, 2017

NetGalley/Atria Books

Literary Fiction. March 15, 2017. Print length: 384 pages.

I gave up on this after only a few pages--just too weird.

Wonderful debut novel, lyrical, funny, sad, haunting with a very good mystery and great characters thrown in to boot. I look forward to the authors next book.