“Memory is like a wayward dog. Sometimes it drops the ball and sometimes it brings it, and sometimes it doesn’t bring a ball at all; it brings a shoe.”

The Hoarder is the second novel by London-born author, Jess Kidd. Care worker Maud Drennan has survived a week with Cathal Flood, and that’s no mean feat. He’s a hostile old man, argumentative, insulting, uncooperative. He lives is a grand house, Bridlemere, that’s filled up with junk including the Great Wall of National Geographics which blocks access to the upper floors. Maud has managed to clear just a few rooms, is tolerated by the cats and tries to feed Cathal a good meal for his dinner.

But then the house or, more likely, the restless ghosts within, begin leaving her artefacts: a defaced family photograph, or two; a newspaper clipping. Maud’s agoraphobic, jump-to-conclusions landlady, Renata believes they are clues to a mystery surrounding Cathal Flood and his family: an estranged adult son; a wife deceased in a fall down the stairs; and a daughter whose existence is hotly denied. Oh, and a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl from Dorset, missing some thirty years.

As Maud investigates (somewhat reluctantly), she meets people who are not always what they seem and hears stories that are incomplete, incorrect or conflicting. Despite his build and his attitude, Maud feels she has nothing to fear from Cathal (but should she?); his son Gabriel, she’s sure she can’t trust. And why is Cathal’s previous care worker still on the scene?

Missing sisters, missing fifteen-year-olds: it takes Maud’s mind back to her childhood and her own missing sister, so disturbing dreams fill her sleep and unsettling memories plague her thoughts. And as usual, Maud is surrounded by a cast of saints, not quite a Greek chorus (they’re too individual for that); some are silent but communicate in looks and gestures, others offer advice and a running commentary on events; some uncannily resemble figures from Maud’s past.

What a deliciously intriguing mystery Kidd serves up to her readers: a cast of quirky characters (and that includes Maud’s saints and Bridlemere itself), sparkling dialogue and a clever plot that twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Maud’s inner monologue is a delight and there’s plenty of humour (some of it quite dark): “The best time to acquire a puppy is when you’re in the middle of a missing-person investigation and the man you’re sleeping with is planning to dispatch you with a crowbar and wrap you in plastic sheeting” she tells the puppy as they drive along in said man’s stolen car.

While the Bridlemere mystery is tidily solved with a rather exciting climax, Maud’s personal one is not so neatly put away, leading the reader to wonder if there will be more of Maud Drennan, a prospect that would not be unwelcome. In fact, anything Kidd offers up will be eagerly anticipated. Funny, moving and hugely entertaining.