Darling Jim

I think it helps to be a lover of all things Irish to truly appreciate this dark macabre tale. The small-town Irish setting is as important as the characters in establishing the eerie tone which resonates throughout. There is an ancient feel to Ireland which anyone who has spent any time there is acutely aware of, and with which this gifted author has permeated his story. The title character, Jim, is an itinerant storyteller, who weaves magical sexual fairy tales in pubs, seemingly just for the coins which he can collect from his enthralled listeners. But Jim earns more than pocket money from his stories. He earns sexual favors from fascinated women, and he captures their hearts with his charm and wit. One evening he rides his vintage red motorcycle into the village where three sisters and their frumpy aunt live. The oldest sister, Fiona, the first narrator of the story of "Darling Jim" is a bored schoolteacher who shares one incredibly lustful night with Jim. He moves on without a backward glance the next day. Jealous, Fiona follows him to his next storytelling engagement where he picks up another woman. Fiona follows the couple, and thinks that she has discovered that Jim and an accomplice are not just con men, but robbers and serial murderers. But when she finds out that she is mistaken -- or at least it seems so -- she becomes a laughingstock to everyone in town except her younger twin sisters, Aoife and Roisin. However Fiona is not wrong about Jim's true nature. And when Jim diabolically insinuates himself into the lives of these three sisters by seducing and proposing marriage to their gullible aunt, their lives change forever. After threatening Fiona, and then committing a brutal rape against one of the twins, Jim's dark persona causes the sisters to descend into a nightmare of murder, torture and death. Although this is a grisly story, it is wonderfully written. Told from beyond the grave by several of the main characters, the story is full of unexpected twists and elegant foreshadowings of the novel's horrible happenings. The foreshadowing makes the ultimate fates of the characters seem satisfyingly inevitable -- and the technique also makes the story very immediate and realistic. The author is erudite in his use of language. I found myself reading with pen in hand so I could mark especially well-worded phrases, such as describing the town as having "professionally cute storefronts." Literary references to death and suffering add to the dark pull the story has on the reader. For instance, the young postal worker, Niall, who finds and reads Fiona's diary discovers it in the dead letter bin, evoking Melville's doomed "Bartleby the Scrivener." I loved this gothic novel, and I recommend it to anyone who shivers with glee at the thought of a damp moor on a wild Irish night, full of thumps and strange footsteps, and perhaps an unearthly creature or two.

This novel starts off in Dublin with a horrifying scene, when the local postman peeks through the mail slot of Auntie Moira's home, to see a bluish-black, swollen body. The Garda are summoned and sister's, Roisin and Fiona are found deceased, as well, elsewhere in the home. A quick investigation reveals the girls had been prisoners of their dear Aunt, poisoned and starved to death. But why? And, there's evidence of another prisoner who can't be found. Could it be Aoife, the third and missing sister? The once idyllic, Irish town of Castletownbere has lost its innocence, at the hands of---'darling Jim.' He rides into town on his red motorcycle pumping out pheromones, and temptation, as sure as the Devil would. He begins to put his spell on the ladies, while telling tales in the local Pub. Tales of mystery, betrayal, treachery and magic, along with a little lore of the wolf. He terminates each segment with cliffhangers leaving the audience begging for more---of the story, and of him. You're left to wonder if he is just a charismatic, antisocial personality disorder, or if there is something demonic driving his appeal. Just who is this mysterious, intoxicating guy? Only the sisters know the true mystery surrounding Jim, leading to their destruction. They realize only they can reveal the story. Roisin and Fiona, knowing they have only a short time to live, set out to write their stories through detailed diaries. Stories within stories, unfold, each filling in pieces of the puzzle beautifully. Since the sisters and Aunt are dead, when we first meet them, Moerk does a splendid job of bringing these characters to life through the girls' journals. I found myself becoming quite attached to all of them. Well, maybe not Auntie Moira, although I did feel sorry for her in some respects. And, even though I knew their fates in advance, except for Aoife, it did not diminish the sadness I felt for what they had to go through, as the novel progressed. This was a very clever, creative endeavor, that paid off well and had those pages flying. Then we have one final story---that of Niall, who comes across Fiona's diary (and later Roisin's) and becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened to the Walsh sisters, as well as the fate of Jim. It is through his harrowing, personal investigation, that concrete discoveries are made and the story finds closure. Yes, I found flaws with Moerk's first novel, but it will be a success in spite of them. For these flaws, did nothing to dampen my desire to complete the story. Finding the truth behind this mystery of horror became almost as compelling and obsessive for me as it was for Niall. His wanting to seek the truth was believable for me, because under the same circumstances, I think I just might have set out on the same quest. The 'Seanchai' are the keepers of the Irish lore. According to Moerk, they can sometimes still be found in Ireland today, traveling and telling their tales. It is an honored and well crafted

I have not read anything this good since "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. And as Ms. Setterfield pointed out, it is important for a good story to have a 'beginning','middle' & 'end' that properly builds on each other to hold the readers attention. Mr Moerk delivers in spades! In some ways quite literally, but I don't want to give too much a way. Darling Jim is, without giving any spoilers, a sociopathic rapist. So knowing this going in how on earth can a story build any suspense? That is what sets this novel aside from the wannabes. The story takes place in Ireland & revolves around the introduction of the three Walsh sisters: Fiona, Roisin, & Aoife and their unfortunate, tragic and unpredictable interaction with 'Darling Jim'. Wrapped around this equation is the young women's aunt Moira; a woman whose disapointment in love and loss in life finally pushes her over the edge. The result is a tale like none other than you have ever heard and a real page turner. The author includes an afterword where he discusses the actual events that eventually inspired "Darling Jim". Interestingly enough, while I was reading this I thought of ANOTHER as of yet outstanding unsolved mystery in Ireland. Throughout the 90's and early 2000's young women have been disappearing without a trace in and around Dublin. This investigation reached international publicity with the disappearance of Annie Mc Carrick, an American whose family wouldn't let the mystery or the astounding ineptitude of the Irish 'Gardia' die. While reading this book Mr. Moerk does nothing to dispell the sheer idiocy of the Irish Gardia (why do they bother? you will ask yourself repeatedly.) this may offend some but it does help illustrate why Ireland has so many great myths and mysteries. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

A handsome stranger on a red motorcycle comes to a small Irish town. As he travels from pub to pub telling tales of wolves and betrayal, the townspeople become enraptured with him and women are vying to become the one with whom he chooses to spend the night. One family in particular, three sisters and their aunt, are torn apart as "Darling Jim" tries to wheedle his way into the family. We learn the whole story as a postman reads the sisters' diaries and goes on a mission to discover what really happened. This is the best book I've read in ages. Deliciously creepy without going over the top, lots of mystery, a bit of fairy tale, passion, great writing, surprising and perfect ending--absolutely everything you'd want in a book. If I could have, I would have given this 10 stars!

Moerk, Christian. "Darling Jim: A Novel", Henry Holt, 2009. A Story within a Story Amos Lassen I love a good gothic suspenseful novel and "Darling Jim" is just that. Told through the diary of Fiona Walsh, it is the story of a stranger and a town that does not see him for who he is. The stranger is mysterious and manages to beguile the townspeople. When two of the sisters and their aunt are found dead in their home in a suburb of Dublin, people feel that they will never know what caused their deaths. Niall, a young man who works for the post office, found a diary in the dead letter bin and in it Fiona Walsh gives the details of one of the saddest love stories that Niall has ever heard. But this is just the beginning. Jim, an itinerant story teller, travels across Ireland and with him travel stories of horrific murders. Townspeople who hear his stories are captivated but they also felt that there must be some kind of coincidence that the murders seem to follow him and that young women all over Ireland are taken in by Jim's captivating personality. Interestingly enough is that the women who have died are strangely similar to the women in Jim's stories. The sisters Walsh who were best friends and totally loyal to each other were among those sucked into Jim's mysterious ways and awesome seductive powers. They suddenly realized that they were in danger when they began to learn of his past. Niall decides to hunt for the truth and for the third Walsh sister before she ends up like the other two. But whether he can do this is yet to be seen. This is a page turner that keeps you guessing and every time you think you have things figured out there is yet another twist. The originality of the plot keeps you guessing and the prose is beautiful to read. The story of the three sisters captures the imagination and a wonderful tale is woven from them. Moerk manages to bring together Irish folklore and modern society. "Darling Jim" pays homage to the great storytellers as it spins its own wonderful story.