Debut mysteries: Himself by Kidd and Dead Letters by Dolan-Leach

I am in the midst of reading HIMSELF by Jess Kidd and decided to post a review now because the writing is just so exquisite. With just simple phrase, Kidd expertly evokes an image of the small, County Mayo village:

• “All the boats bobbed gently in the harbor, dreaming of the high seas, and the bicycles slept leaning along the fences.”  or
• “Today the shop doors are propped open, welcoming sea breeze and custom.”  or
• “In the quiet room the night air steals in through the open window to whisper the soap dry in the dish.”

There’s more than a hint of magic and some darkness in the air, too. Charming and handsome Mahony heads to Mulderrig to try to understand what happened to his mother, Orla Sweeney, when he was abandoned 26 years ago.  Due to the prologue and some interspersed flashbacks, readers know that that she bore a child out of wedlock and met a violent death in 1950.  But, like Mahony and Mrs. Cauley (a villager who likes to "stir the pot" and may just want to see justice, too), we are uncertain as to the killer or motive. In an attempt to unveil secrets, Mrs. Cauley casts a play with Mahoney in the lead and involves several village characters with the mystery becoming even more complex and evil at times.

Did I mention there’s a supernatural element and sense of Irish folk tales because Mahony can see dead people? Kidd explains, “the dead are drawn to the confused and the unwritten, the damaged and the fractured, to those with big cracks and gaps in their tales…” HIMSELF, a debut novel, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and deserves a place on your “to be read” list.

Another debut mystery which you may want to investigate is DEAD LETTERS by Caite Dolan-Leach.   This thriller features identical twins, Ava and Zelda Antipova. Zelda, the wilder twin, supposedly dies in a barn fire in upstate New York and Ava returns from her studies in Paris to deal with the family vineyard and her mother’s dementia and alcoholism. Soon, Ava is receiving messages from Zelda, who loved mind games and appears to be sending her sister on a scavenger hunt to confront their dysfunctional past. The sisters were estranged due to Wyatt, a high school love, and he reappears in the story along with their father, Marlon, as Zelda’s manipulative messages continue to surface.

With starred reviews from Library Journal (“riveting”) and Publishers Weekly (“a smart, dazzling mystery”), DEAD LETTERS is especially recommended for fans of Gone Girl.