Mr. Flood's Last Resort

A Novel

By: Jess Kidd

Narrated by: Aoife McMahon

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

From the award-winning author of the "supernaturally skillful debut" (Vanity Fair), Himself, a spellbinding romp about a caretaker and a cranky hoarder with a secret - complete with skulking saints, unresolved disappearances, greedy heirs, and a firecracker neighbor determined to get to the bottom of it all.

Maud Drennan is a dedicated caretaker, but her sunny, capable disposition and snappy quips mask a deep sadness. A tragic childhood event left her in the company of a cast of patron saints who pop in and out of her life like unwelcome tourists. She tries to find solace in her hard work in London...but then she meets the inimitable Mr. Flood.

A menace by all accounts, Cathal Flood is a widower living alone in a Gothic Dorset mansion crawling with collector's items and feral cats. Stubborn as anything and an extreme hoarder, he has been battling his son's attempts to move him into an old age home, and rumor has it he sent his last caretaker to the madhouse.

But Maud is this insolent old man’s last chance: If she can help him get the house in order, he might be able to fend off the deportation. So the unlikely pair begin to cooperate, connecting over their shared love of folk tales and their suspicion of Gabriel, Cathal’s overbearing son. Still, shadows are growing in the cluttered corners of the mansion, hinting at buried family secrets, and reminding Maud that she doesn’t really know this man at all. When she starts poking around, the forgotten case of a missing local schoolgirl comes to light, and a full-steam search for answers begins.

Full of charming eccentricities, twisted comedy, a whole lot of heart, and Jess Kidd’s "lyrical, lush, and hugely imaginative" (Sunday Express Magazine) prose, Mr. Flood's Last Resort is a mesmerizing tale that will make you re-examine the space between sin and sainthood, reminding you that when all is said and done, the most important forgiveness that we can offer is to ourselves.

©2018 Jess Kidd (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Loved it- good characters, good pace

This was a really good book, well thought-out and mixed the storylines well, and the characters had depth to draw you into the story.

wonderful

I had to pace myself so it would last. I could've listened all at once, no problem . The narrator is gifted.

Enthralling and Well Read

Fastest book on Audio I have listened too because of how enthralling it was. It kept me on my toes and I was never sure how it was going to end.

Very entertaining

Funny, spooky, gripping, poetic. A great listen and a story that will stick with me.

Excellent narration; story hard to follow

I picked this book because Aoife McMahon is the narrator and I just LOVE her. I had read reviews saying the story was hard to follow and I have to whole-heartedly agree. The writing itself is vivid and embraces exactly what the author intended, phrase by phrase and sentence by sentence. It's very well written in that respect. The biggest issue I found was that of imaginary characters. I couldn't tell at first who the character was. Then I realized, ok. But that became a theme throughout the book. It was an interesting take and a good idea, but the execution was very confusing. As was the ending. ...I can say I laughed a few times. Not hard gut laughter or anything, more of chuckle. So kudos for that :)

Don't miss this amazing work of genius!

This book is everything: it reads like poetry and scary bedtime stories combined. Every word the author chose is perfect.

What to read for real pleasure?

The novels of Jess Kidd are it! I prefer audible books now because my eyes prefer audible books now, and these novels are very enjoyable as recorded. The human characters are humane, the narrative descriptions vivid and evocative, the relationships ring true and the visitors from the past are humorous to the point of open grins and an occasional outright laugh. Perhaps the humor echoes familiar from my childhood listening to the old dear relatives. The combination is just so satisfying. I hope there are more soon.

Yep, it’s okay

It just seems so overwrought and reaching for some kind of genius that is currently beyond the author. She spends so much time on the mystical side of her protagonist that she forgets to make her alive or real or deserving of sympathy. Hollow but with all the trimmings. Enjoyable if disappointing eventually.

Ho hum. Mediocre story, annoying narrator

The story gets off to a slow start and unfortunately never really gets traction. Part of the problem for me was that I did not connect emotionally with the protagonist, Maud. I didn’t care about the back story with her sister because we didn’t know the characters at all then so they were distant cardboard figures. Two characters were fairly well drawn, and I cared about them, but Maud’s relationships with them was not convincingly written. It all seemed kind of forced and unauthentic.

The narrator - Good Lord - couldn’t seem to figure out where to pause properly. It pulled me right out of the story. She also took way too many breaths and sometimes you could even hear her swallow. It was as though she was getting up the nerve to read the next passage. Overall this audio book was an unexpected disappointment after the brilliant - and brilliantly narrated - Himself, Jess Kidd’s previous novel.

What an Imagination!

Detailed descriptions of a mysterious house stuffed with trash, weird oddities, cats and an eccentric old artist whose wife fell down the staircase and died, and whose daughter disappeared. Enter a caregiver, Maude, to care for this old guy, but whose curiosity nearly kills her. Ghosts, old Catholic saints who speak to her, and a most unconventional best friend. It's a romp through a fantastical Irish tale. Perfect match of narrator and story. I'll listen again.