This was my first read from this author, and based on this showing, I'd hunt down her earlier work also. She writes developing characters that are fascinating with a plot that rackets along. You never quite know who's as reliable as they say ..
The irish slang seems perfectly observed and you genuinely want to know more of the back story as it is gradually revealed throughout. My only criticism are that a couple of the plot devices are perhaps traditional psychological fiction tropes, but the book is none the worse for that (crotchety old nutcase rattling around large old house, etc).. but the Saints particularly are well observed and portrayed. This is great fun read, though..

I loved this book. Maud Drennan is a carer for the elderly and cantankerous Cathal Flood who lives in a large house filled with rubbish. Maud's job is to clean, feed and care for Cathal. Slowly the tale unravels, with a mystery being conjured out of Maud and her eccentric landlady Renata's overactive imaginations. The mystery is not what the story is about (although is very entertaining) but for me it was all about the relationships formed. The book is wonderfully written and the characters jump off the page into your head. Recommend it. (ARC from NetGalley)

This book drew me in from page one. The voice is so distinctive and genuine. I feel as if i know her. Descriptions of a house full of hoarded goods are so well penned you almost squeeze around the clutter in your mind. Crazy ghost friends and eccentric back stories this book is hard to categorise but its like havinga conversation with a slightly crazy friend who experienced the whole thing. Dialogue real and funny, a treat for fiction lovers who are fed up of the same old same old! Will be reviewing on Bookety Book.com

I very much enjoyed Jess Kidd’s first novel ‘Himself’ and many of the things I liked so much in that one are here in this new book too.

Her deadpan humour, for sure. One quotation that made me laugh: ‘Besides, the old man is looking a lot less peaky, still cadaverous, but filling out a little around the eye sockets.’

I was very taken with the ghostly saints, their behaviour, their reactions to events and her description of their special interests - St George (cavalry, chivalry, herpes), St Monica (disappointing children, victims of adultery).

Her characters held my interest and I warmed to cantankerous old Cathal and the exuberant Renata. If there was one thing that disappointed, it was that the darkness at the core of her earlier book was missing. The mysterious elements were not really mysterious enough, the bad ones rather obvious and the ending tied up loose ends too neatly for my taste. An fun romp through the spiritualist world but doesn’t quite match up to ‘Himself’.

The Hoarder is an intriguing and mysterious novel about a psychic carer who ends up drawn into the life of a strange old man. Maud Drennan faces the difficult challenge of helping the cantankerous Cathal Flood in his huge, ram-packed home in West London. He has scared off all the carers who have come before and lives with a menagerie of cats, a fox, and a few ghosts of the past. Soon Maud finds herself trying to work out what happened in the house and what the secrets of the Floods are, aided only by her agoraphobic landlady Renata and a legion of unhelpful ghostly saints.

Kidd blends Catholicism, mystery, and runaway girls in a narrative that develops interesting characters as the protagonist tries to unravel past secrets. Maud is headstrong and determined, but with a past of her own, and her battles with Cathal form much of the book’s premise. Her landlady Renata, an agoraphobic trans woman with a stage show past, is great as she eggs on Maud to see murder and conspiracy everywhere, and then helps her answer the real questions posed by what Maud finds. The plot is tense, but it is the characters that make the novel, even down to the saint ghosts that only Maud can see and who are generally completely useless.

From the premise, I wasn’t sure how enjoyable the book would be, as it didn’t sound hugely exciting or new. However, Kidd’s skilful combination of tense mystery and varied characters meant that it was an easy read to devour, that leaves the reader guessing the answers and appreciating the detail.

I hope it is not too early to review this book, it is not published until February next, but having enjoyed Himself so much, when I got a copy of The Hoarder I stopped what I was doing and read it straight away.
I love Jess Kidd for her wonderfully extravagant imagination, her blunt, but still elegant atmospheric writing, her magnificent character creations and her gobshites.
The Hoarder misses the irresistible Mahony and the outrageous Mrs Caughey from Himself, but this whodunnit set in London around a manor house and its elderly owner, both of whom have seen better days, is another page turner.
Once again Jess Kidd takes the reader on a crazy trip, purpose and destination unknown for a long time. There are times when the carousel goes too fast and the fabulous characters and artefacts blur as you whiz past them. The saints in particular often appear random, especially as they are mostly of little help. The central character Maud Drennan displays more equanimity than I could muster if St George dumped a dead serpent on my table in St***ucks.
Look out for this one.