June 2017 Debut of the Month.
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2017.
Dublin-wise, orphaned young man goes in search of his birth mother. He has a photograph with a note on the back and the name of a village. This is very Irish and completely charming. The village characters are beautifully drawn. Our young protagonist has a gift; he can see (and converse with) the dead.
This is neither ghost story nor detective novel although both elements are present, more it is a human story of an odd community of slightly over-the-top country people who might all have something to hide. Certainly finding out what happened to his young, teenage mother proves to be tricky with most folk seeming to conceal a secret.
The dead are not sinister, they are just there, being themselves. I loved the pictures the author paints, the dog lying by its master’s feet, the man trying to hang up his hat. Lovely images in a lovely debut. Highly recommended. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Shortlisted for The Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017.

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2016Shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017Longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 20171950. A teenage girl is brutally murdered in a forest. But, somehow, her baby survives. 1976.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2016Shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017Longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 20171950. A teenage girl is brutally murdered in a forest.
Himself features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, Family Drama, eBooks of the Month, Crime and Mystery, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations, Romance / Relationship Stories
Paperback, Ebook, Hardback. £5.75. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..
Himself was written by Jess Kidd and published by Canongate Books
£5.75. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..