Author: Jess Kidd
Cathal Flood is 80+ years old and lives in a large, horrific house, Bridlemere. He's a hoarder....like the ones you see on reality television shows where people come in wearing protective clothing and face masks to shovel out years of junk, animal poop, and moldy horrors straight from hell. Maud Drennan is his latest caregiver. The last one ran out of the house, driven half mad by the place. Maud just does her job clearing a bit of the mess at a time, never caring about things like why there is a mug tree in the toilet or what brings someone to collect a 12-foot wall of National Geographic magazines. She tries hard to ignore Mr. Flood's curmudgeonly fits and rants. He's mean, but Maud and her assistance is his last chance. If she fails to clean up his house and help him live independently, his son Gabriel is going to put him in a care home. But there's something more going on. Maud isn't quite sure what it is....or if she cares. She starts finding strange things while cleaning....a photos with faces burnt off with a cigar that just seem to appear in random places, an abandoned caravan with the windows boarded up amid the junk in the yard, information in the old man's care plan about his dead wife. Weird, unusual things. But she really can't speak to the old man's madness....she sees saints. They appear everywhere, speak to her, follow her, and are a strange comfort for her. Her agoraphobic transsexual neighbor urges her to investigate, but Maud just wants to mind her own business. A crazy old man living among cat turds and piles of garbage is not something she wants to dig into too deeply. Or is she afraid she might learn something horrible? About him? About herself?
This book was SO good! I absolutely love a great story that's totally something new. I have never read a book that was in any way like this one. So weird.....and so mesmerizing at the same time. I loved Mr. Flood's stories, and the little bits of Maud's life revealed here and there. The suspense was wicked cool. Just an entertaining, strange little book....I was sorry when I reached the end and it was over! The characters are quirky and unusual. The pace was perfect. The suspense and wondering WTF was going on kept building until the end.
No spoilers from me -- read the book! :)
Just lovely! This book is my favorite of 2018 so far.
This book was also published under the title The Hoarder. Jess Kidd is the author of one other book, Himself. After enjoying this book so much, I will definitely be reading her other book and any future ones!
**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
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