The Hoarder

 

Shirley J.                     Adult Fiction                           Hoarding, murder, paranormal

The Hoarder by Jess Kidd  352 pages

Maud Drennan is sent out from her caretaker agency to elderly Cathal Flood's home, Bridlemere.  When she gets there she is met with a little more than she expected.   Cathal is a hoarder.   A cantankerous hoarder.   His surly attitude is made even more sinister by the filth and piles of stuff floor to ceiling in every room.   Seems since his wife passed away things in his life went from bad to worse - the house along with it.  Cathal is old, looks like the crypt keeper on the horror show, tall and lanky and full of snarls, curses and rude remarks.  And yet, Maud remains unperturbed by his fierce looks and bawdy talk.  She casts a sweeping glance around the place and sees all the work to be done, rolls up her sleeves and gets to doing in spite of Cathal's protest he neither wants nor needs her.  His son had enlisted the agency's services.   The son is no benevolent angel by any means he has ulterior purposes trying to give the old man enough rope to hang himself by gathering witnesses to his behavior and habitat.    Maud having a good attitude and a great since of humor at the absurd (being Irish helps) she is mostly unfazed by Cathal's outbursts and hears the truth he is saying amidst his constant harping.  She doesn't let Cathal nor the house get to her.   She goes about her job, fixing his meals, cleaning as she can, tossing the rotting, dirty beyond repair, dead, and damaged beyond repair odds and ends she encounters in this once grand manse.  It becomes a source of joy to her improving things little by little every day.  Then things start getting weird.  The house seems to come alive.  Things come on or turn off by themselves.  Things move on their own.  Things appear out of nowhere.   Messages from beyond seem to be hinting to her that maybe Cathal's wife didn't fall down the stairs unassisted.  Then family photos start showing up with faces burned out as if by a cigarette.  Maybe Maud is more attuned to such since her older sister went missing when they were children.  Another girl in the area disappeared without a trace a few years back.   Things start lining up that indicate a possible connection.  Is Cathal just old and hateful or is he a murderer never tagged for his crime(s)?   Slightly psychic, Maud has seen saints everyday of her life so much so that she hardly notices them anymore, though, they do converse.  Turns out these saints are not as lofty as they are made out to be and enjoy a good joke or come off with one-liners as good as any stand up comic.  The plot thickens.   There are more characters of note that enter the picture and lots more happening that I think any reader will become glued to the book like I did.  It is funny, sentimental, a bit melancholy at times and a good murder mystery to boot.  And the paranormal is chilling, too.   I love Maud's take on things.  It all comes in her stride.  Love the Irish!   I recommend this book to mature teens on up, some of the stuff is haunting and stays with you when you try to close your eyes at night.  Good book, good story, wonderful characters and a lot of understanding on where a person finds themself in life.   Well done, Jess Kidd.