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Darling Jim

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 1,287 ratings · 329 reviews

A modern gothic novel of suspense that reveals, through their diaries, the story of sisters who fall in love with a beguiling stranger, and of the town that turns a blind eye to his murderous ways

When two sisters and their aunt are found dead in their suburban Dublin home, it seems that the secret behind their untimely demise will never be known. But then Niall, a young ma...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 31st 2009 by Henry Holt and Co. (first published 2007)

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Jan 16, 2012 Neide Parafitas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: leituras-2012, own

Iniciei este livro com grandes expectativas, tal foi o alarido mesmo antes do seu lançamento.

Infelizmente ficou um pouco aquém do que esperava, mas não por falta de qualidade, antes pelo facto de não me sentir muito atraída por este tipo de história!!

Contudo, não deixo de o recomendar, pois para os apreciadores será certamente fascinante! :)

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Mar 23, 2009 Allison Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like his con artist storyteller, Jim Quick, Christian Moerk weaves a Gothic tale of suspense that draws its audience in, compelling us to find out how it all ends. The structure is intricate, but adds to the mood. The book opens with mail carrier Desmond finding the body of an old woman on his route. When the police investigate, they find not only the body of Moira, but the bodies of two young women who were apparently her prisoners. Further investigation reveals that the girls were Moira's niec...more Like his con artist storyteller, Jim Quick, Christian Moerk weaves a Gothic tale of suspense that draws its audience in, compelling us to find out how it all ends. The structure is intricate, but adds to the mood. The book opens with mail carrier Desmond finding the body of an old woman on his route. When the police investigate, they find not only the body of Moira, but the bodies of two young women who were apparently her prisoners. Further investigation reveals that the girls were Moira's nieces, and that a third prisoner was present at some time, but escaped. The structure immediately pulls in the reader, who knows that something horrible and dramatic must have happened, but like the police, the reader is utterly baffled. When a postal service employee, Niall, happens upon a package with the return address of one of the dead girls and impulsively takes it home with him. It turns out to be the diary of Fiona Walsh, one of the dead girls in the house. She tells the story of Jim, a storyteller who has captivated all the women in town with his fairy tale and dangerous good looks, and who arrives in town just about when mysterious deaths begin to occur. When Fiona's diary comes to an abrupt end, Niall (and the reader) is obsessed with the story and heads to the town where Fiona says the events began to see if he can pick up the thread of how the girls met their fate. He happens upon the diary of Roisin, Fiona's sister, which fills in many of the question marks. The Gothic suspense is thick and irresistible, the story tight, and the fiddly novel structure, which would have seemed amateurish and clunky in another type of book, is perfectly suited to creating the dark, foreboding mood in Darling Jim. The level of detail in the diaries is absurd, of course--no one writes detailed dialogue or remembers every event like that, but that's part of the point, and it sweeps the reader into the story.

Darling Jim is an excellent, spooky read for those who like their plot labyrinthine and their suspense relentless.(less)

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Mar 16, 2009 Lauren Abel rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am torn on this review. Darling Jim was an enjoyable read with interesting characters, a fast-faced plot, and rich description. However, some parts were very unrealistic and this distracted me. When a story is related through something such as a character's letter, the story should not shift between present and past tense or go into lengthy detail about events that happened years ago. No one can recall every detail of an incident that played out over a few weeks years ago, no matter how signif...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Karol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Darling Jim is a mysterious biker who charms women with his penetrating stare and his hypnotic storytelling, effortlessly luring the young Fiona Walsh away from her boyfriend only to choose Fiona's forty-something aunt instead. He quickly moves into the aunt's boarding house, while Fiona becomes obsessed with Jim who arrives just as women begin to turn up dead. He seems untouchable, as the seductive storyteller at the local pub, but Fiona keeps a diary about the dangerous stranger and mails it t...more

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Dec 30, 2008 Sandie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-books, thrillers-and-mystery

This modern Gothic novel will grab you and whisk you away on a reading adventure you will not soon forget. The author of DARLING JIM presents his readers with an elaborate and sumptuous tale, some finely tuned dialogue, a tightly crafted plot plus some memorable and engaging characters.

The story begins with a bang as an inquisitive Dublin mailman discovers the bodies of three females at a home along his route.
Who are these women and how did the meet their untimely end? Author, Christian Moerk ha...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Darling Jim, the intense new thriller from Christian Moerk, opens with a mystery: On his daily rounds, a mailman discovers the body of a woman, dead in her home. When the police arrive, they discover much more: There are 2 more dead bodies hidden in rooms behind locked doors. The bodies come to be identified as those of Moira Hegarty and her two young nieces, Fiona and Roisin Walsh. As the story behind these brutal murders deepens, Fiona's diary is discovered by cartoonist and postal sorter Nial...more Darling Jim, the intense new thriller from Christian Moerk, opens with a mystery: On his daily rounds, a mailman discovers the body of a woman, dead in her home. When the police arrive, they discover much more: There are 2 more dead bodies hidden in rooms behind locked doors. The bodies come to be identified as those of Moira Hegarty and her two young nieces, Fiona and Roisin Walsh. As the story behind these brutal murders deepens, Fiona's diary is discovered by cartoonist and postal sorter Niall. Niall, entranced with the diary of the dead woman, embarks on a journey to the Walsh's sisters hometown in Ireland to discover the answers to the cryptic clues Fiona left behind. And what he discovers is the family's link to Jim, an itinerant storyteller traveling throughout the area telling his stories at local pubs each night. As Niall follows the clues, he learns of the complicated and cruel fate that Jim spins among the women and of his legion of female fans that follow him all over the country. But there is more to Darling Jim, as he comes to be known. Jim spins an elaborate fable that not only draws his listeners in, but also houses the keys to his dark soul and wicked intentions. Niall's search becomes a race against time after discovering the existence a third missing sister, who may have escaped the fate of her family but who still may be in danger. Niall's journey becomes a long and difficult odyssey as he comes face to face with peril and jeopardy with every step he takes in order to save the surviving sister's honor, and possibly even her life.

This was an extraordinarily clever book, and it was a pleasure to relish each and every twist and turn in the story. Written with verve and acuity, the author seemed to have a great handle on timing, believability and dialogue. The characters were quirky and atypical, and each held their own distinctive personality and style throughout the story. The sisters' voices, coming from beyond the grave, expertly captured both their outrage at their situation and their determination for escape.

I admit, I didn't think this book was going to be as fun as it ended up being. I mean, with a triple murder haunting the opening pages, one does not expect fun. But the narrative had definite humor mixed with its pathos in a way I didn't expect. I found myself laughing at the oddness and eccentricities within the pages, especially the colorful colloquialisms in the sisters' wordplay. I really liked Niall, who began the story as a lonely loser but soon came to be an adventuresome and unlikely hero. Niall's commitment to the sisters he had never met was touching, and I felt it impossible not to root for this lovable and bumbling character. Jim, too, was interesting, a deliberate and dastardly foe, and his presence resonated through the pages, even when he wasn't the focus of the narrative. He had a dark charisma that made even the most stalwart of women smitten with him.

One of the winning things about this story were the sections of the book devoted to the ominous fairy tale that Jim created. This technique was particularly inventive, essentially hiding a story within a story. In fact, this book actually contained three stories: the main narrative, Jim's story, and the back story related by Fiona's dairy. Each of these stories was captivating in different ways, but all worked together and blended well and kept the level of suspense tight and controlled throughout the book. Another thing that I liked was the author's command of the elements and language of his story. He was aptly descriptive without being verbose, and the action and grist of the plot never veered off into unbelievability or precociousness. Though I did guess at one of the aspects of the conclusion of the novel, I wasn't at all disappointed because I thoroughly enjoyed the ride that took me there and appreciated the thought and creativity that the author put into this book.

This was not a common story, it had a lot of spunk and vivacity, and kept me turning the pages in anticipation. This is the first novel from Moerk, and based on this book, I will be on the lookout for his next work. I would recommend this book to those who like quick witted mysteries/thrillers with a generous helping of humor. A really fun read.
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Jul 22, 2012 Eccentrika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, adult, mystery

"Darling Jim" è un romanzo davvero particolare, ne sono rimasta magneticamente attratta fin dalle primissime pagine e leggerlo mi ha dato l'impressione di cadere in un vortice turbinoso tra la favola e la realtà. Scritto da un autore danese, ma interamente ambientato in un Irlanda carica di fascino e leggende, il romanzo prende spunto da un cruento fatto di cronaca per poi tessergli attorno una ricostruzione dei fatti che ha dell'incredibile. Una donna ha tenuto incatenete in casa le sue due nip...more "Darling Jim" è un romanzo davvero particolare, ne sono rimasta magneticamente attratta fin dalle primissime pagine e leggerlo mi ha dato l'impressione di cadere in un vortice turbinoso tra la favola e la realtà. Scritto da un autore danese, ma interamente ambientato in un Irlanda carica di fascino e leggende, il romanzo prende spunto da un cruento fatto di cronaca per poi tessergli attorno una ricostruzione dei fatti che ha dell'incredibile. Una donna ha tenuto incatenete in casa le sue due nipoti fino alla morte, e lei stessa è strata ritrovata morta, probabilmente per mano di una delle due che si era ribellata nonostante fosse in fin di vita. La polizia ha già archiviato il caso, ma improvvisamente un giovane postino trova nella cassetta delle lettere da buttare al macero una busta con all'interno il diario di una delle due ragazze morte. E' così che inizia questo misterioso romanzo. E l'elemento davvero particolare (e che personalmente ho apprezzato tantissimo) è che non vi sono investigatori e poliziotti ad indagare sulla strana tragedia familiare, ma un semplice e comune ragazzo che ritrovandosi tra le mani questo diario, decide di scoprire per conto proprio come si sono svolti i fatti.
La storia che scoprirà sarà talmente strana e al tempo stesso appassionante che spinto dalla curiosità farà di tutto per riuscire a mettere assieme i tasselli necessari che porteranno alla verità. E non sarà assolutamente un percorso facile, perché man mano che alcuni particolari verranno alla luce moltissimi altri staranno sepolti nell'ombra e ben nascosti. E, come anticipano subito le primissime parole del diario ritrovato, non è l'odio ad aver innescato tutta la triste vicenda con un violento epilogo, ma bensì l'amore. L'amore per un uomo carismatico e misterioso senza però conoscerlo veramente. Perché, come narrano le leggende irlandesi, ci sono nelle foreste tantissimi pericoli in agguato, uomini-lupo pronti ad azzannare la loro preda, uomini-lupo che giunti davanti a una bellissima donna hanno un solo quesito dinnanzi a loro: l'ameranno o la uccideranno?
Sempre in bilico tra realtà e fantasia questo romanzo mischia al suo interno le classiche caratteristiche dei thriller e dei noir, arricchite poi da una importante componente gotica che aumenta esponenzialmente la sua carica attrattiva sul lettore, facendogli più volte venire il dubbio che all'interno del romanzo ci siano alcuni elementi paranormali. Ma è davvero così, oppure è la realtà a superare la fantasia? Potrete scoprirlo solo leggendolo!
Intenso, ricco di avvenimenti concatenati tra loro, suspence e mistero, "Darling Jim" è stato un libro capace di appassionarmi, convolgermi e sedurmi, come solo il "male" è capace di fare. La trama è molto ben congeniata e nulla sembra essere come appare. Fino alla fine rimarranno misteri irrisolti, che indurranno il lettore a non staccare gli occhi dalle pagine. Lo reputo davvero un ottimo romanzo, uno dei più interessanti letti negli ultimi anni. Ma vi ho trovato un difetto abbastanza sostanziale nello stile di scrittura che purtroppo mi induce a dare un voto di un punto più basso di quello che si sarebbe meritato.
Infatti, nonostante il libro alterni pagine di diario scritte da persone diverse, parti in terza persona e parti in prima persona, lo stile di scrittura sembra essere sempre lo stesso, non si differenzia, anche quando si leggono le pagine del diario non rende bene l'idea di leggere un diario, scritto nella fretta, quasi sul punto di morte, ma sembra di leggere una narrazione assolutamente ordinaria, calma, precisa, ricca di particolari che anche divagano piacevolmente dal punto focale... e la storia da questo punto di vista rimane quindi poco credibile.(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Victoria Caplinger rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okay, this book was completely silly. It started off on a very promising note – two young women found dead in their aunt’s house, having apparently been kept captive (handcuffed, locked up, & chained) for an extended period, yet having managed to kill their aunt at the same time as they broke their bonds, and were killed themselves. Pure carnage – what’s not to like, right?

But then it just got completely silly – the postal worker finding the diary of one of the dead sisters that got mailed (...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Paula rated it 1 of 5 stars

Darling Jim é uma narrativa que conta com vários géneros, são eles, o policial, o histórico e o fantástico. No seu início, a linguagem é simples e cheia de suspense, logo nas primeiras páginas prende o leitor pela curiosidade em volta das acções cheias de mistério.
Christian Mørk, descreve com mestria todo um cenário onde foi cometido um horrível crime em contraste com uma sociedade aparentemente pacífica e pacata. Tendo estes acontecimentos como pano de fundo, o leitor prossegue para as linhas s...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 10, 2011 sabisteb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: buch, krimi-thriller

Eigentlich erzählt dieses Buch nur eine Geschichte sondern 4 ineinander verwobene Geschichten, die sich gegenseitig ergänzen. Da ist die Geschichte des Briefträgers Desmond, der 3 Leichen findet und so zum geächteten in seinem Dorf wird. Die Geschichte von Niall, der verarmte Künster, der als Postbeamter arbeitet und auf seiner Suche nach der Inspiration für eine graphische Novelle (Comic) über Fiona Walsh Tagebuch stolpert. Fiona Walshs Geschichte über ihre Liebe zu Jim und wie diese sie und ih...more Eigentlich erzählt dieses Buch nur eine Geschichte sondern 4 ineinander verwobene Geschichten, die sich gegenseitig ergänzen. Da ist die Geschichte des Briefträgers Desmond, der 3 Leichen findet und so zum geächteten in seinem Dorf wird. Die Geschichte von Niall, der verarmte Künster, der als Postbeamter arbeitet und auf seiner Suche nach der Inspiration für eine graphische Novelle (Comic) über Fiona Walsh Tagebuch stolpert. Fiona Walshs Geschichte über ihre Liebe zu Jim und wie diese sie und ihre Schwestern ins Unglück stürtzt. Rosie Walshs Geschichte der Rache der Walsh Schwestern an Jim Quick und zuletzt das Märchen, welches Jim den faszinierten Frauen erzählt, welches ein verzerrtes Spiegelbild seiner Vergangeheit und seines Lebens ist.
Jim Quick ist ein Blender, der alle Menschen verzaubert, "denn Propheten und Verrückte benutzen das gleiche Fenster, um in die Seelen der Menschen zu gelangen, [...]. Sie packen dich bei deiner Hoffnung und klopfen so lange an, bis du sie hereinlässt, ob du willst oder nicht (S. 224)". Der Leitspruch "Wird er sie lieben oder töten" zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch das ganze Buch. Erst als es zu spät ist erkennen die Menschen, wie er wirklich ist, aber da ist es zu spät und manche erkennen es nie.
Probleme hatte ich mit dem Kasten für "tote Post". Die Deutsche Post schickt unfrankierte Briefe oder zu wenig frankierte an den Absender zurück, wegwerfen darf man da sicherlich gar nichts...
Sehr genossen habe ich die IKEA Querschläger und ich frage mich die ganze Zeit ob man mit einem IKEA Gemüsemesser überhaupt jemanden töten kann oder das Messer vorher kaputt geht. Überhaupt, dass es nach 3 Jahren im Erdboden noch nicht komplett verrottet ist ist schon verwunderlich.
Irgendwie prophetisch, dass nur diejenige überlebt, die ihn nicht getötet hat, aber sie hatte auch einen besonderen Grund zu überleben.
Fragewürdig fand ich jedoch das Alter der Walsh Schwestern. Die älteste war 24, die Geschichte spielt also hauptsächlich als sie noch 21 war. Wie kann man da bereits Lehrerin sein? Da liegen doch eigentlich noch einige Jahre Studium vor einem? Rosie und Aoife (wie auch immer sich der Name ausspricht) waren 18 als sich alles zutrug und da war Rosie schon an der Uni, bzw. schon wieder gegangen?!(less)

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Jul 03, 2010 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book starts with the ending - this is not something I usually like and I wasn't sure I would keep reading. But I did, and I found that I really wanted (and needed) to know the circumstances that brought us to the ending. The story takes place in a small Irish town. The main characters are 3 sisters, the aunt who raised them, and Darling Jim who wanders the country as a seanchai (story teller). Most of the story is told through the diaries written by two of the sisters after meeting Jim and a...more

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Oct 13, 2009 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, really-bad, horror, didnt-finish

I picked up Darling Jim at the library this afternoon and just "finished" it, which in this case means I stopped really reading it early on and just skimmed through the rest to see if it could be that bad all the way through. It was. Now I feel like my brain needs a breath mint.

A handsome, sexy drifter rides his bright red antique motorcycle into a sleepy Irish town. Think Paul Newman in Long Hot Summer but on a bike - although in this case instead of being a blue-eyed blond, the drifter has "bl...more I picked up Darling Jim at the library this afternoon and just "finished" it, which in this case means I stopped really reading it early on and just skimmed through the rest to see if it could be that bad all the way through. It was. Now I feel like my brain needs a breath mint.

A handsome, sexy drifter rides his bright red antique motorcycle into a sleepy Irish town. Think Paul Newman in Long Hot Summer but on a bike - although in this case instead of being a blue-eyed blond, the drifter has "black Keanu Reeves hair" and eyes like "black pools". Oh, and he's also got a "sugar coated" voice "as smooth as a cat's." And not only does our Darling Jim ooze sex appeal but he can apparently mesmerize women from across the street with only a glance, "read [their:] desires with his eyes closed" and set sisters at each others throats in jealousy after only one day.

And his amazing powers don't end with women, either. Like a weird combination of Charles Manson and John F. Kennedy, Jim's charismatic personality and good looks ensnare the entire town. Although the evidence is overwhelming that Darling Jim is a rapist and killer, everyone but the victims turn a blind eye to it because they are so enamored with him and his amazing storytelling abilities. In fact, his loss drives one woman (who admittedly was eccentric to begin with) over the edge of insanity, causing her to imprison and torture her nieces.

And this summary doesn't even touch on the ridiculous subplot of the highly literate and thoughtful diaries written by the nieces as they are dying of rat poisoning and starvation. Would anyone who is waiting to be violently murdered take the time to write that "time has run out" and "here she comes...my dear aunt, dragging her miserable self up the stairs"? Moerk's characters do. They also have ways of getting those diaries mailed posthumously, to be found and read by a small-town postal worker who, instead of taking the information to the police, decides to "unravel" the mystery himself.

Because I am trying to be fair, I will say that on the plus side, there is a cat named Oscar in the book. Other than that...well, I suppose it could have been longer.

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Apr 30, 2009 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

Moerk, Christian. DARLING JIM. (2009). **. Two young women, sisters, are found dead, along with their aunt, in her home in suburban Dublin. The sisters had been locked in rooms and tortured, starved and poisoned. The aunt had been battered to death. It seemed as if the secret of their bizarre relationship would never be discovered, until Niall, the local postman, discovers the diary of one of the young women in the dead letter box at his post office. This diary, written by Fiona, one of the sist...more

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Apr 22, 2009 Colleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

In this story within a story, postman Niall finds the diary of a young woman at the center of a murder mystery, and begins to reconstruct the torrid tale behind the murder house and a series of missing women in the west of Ireland. As we learn more about the three Walsh sisters, their Aunt Moira, and the diabolical itinerant storyteller Darling Jim, a brooding sense of foreboding develops that sets the tone for the entire novel.

Between the story within a story within a story format, the mystical...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Debut novelist Christian Moerk has written a fascinating tale of three sisters, their deranged aunt, and the lethal charmer who ensnares them all. Darling Jim will hold you in its grip until the satisfying conclusion. Suspense, love, and murder: this story offers you all three on a plate along with a pint of Guinness. The Irish setting adds to the mystique when the narrative jumps between sisters and to the postman who finds their diaries after their tragic deaths. How did they die? Why did thei...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 11, 2012 Filipa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blogring, borrowed, not-own, policial-thriller-mystery, portuguese-books, 2012-reads

(http://labirinto-livros.blogspot.pt/2...)

Três cadáveres são encontrados dentro de uma casa em Malahide, na Irlanda. A investigação que a polícia leva a cabo decifra parte do mistério - percebe-se que dois dos cadáveres são de mulheres jovens, na flor da idade e os seus corpos eram testemunhas de alguns maus tratos e a evidência é que ambas viveram por um período considerável encarceradas naquela casa. Como prisioneiras. Sabe-se também que o terceiro cadáver, uma mulher mais velha que as outras...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Andreia Silva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: leituras-de-2012, outros-blogrings, 5-estrelas-2012

Depois de todo o alarido à volta deste livro é óbvio que fiquei com a curiosidade afiada e com as expectativas baixas, pois quando o alarido é muito, geralmente isso não coincide com a qualidade do livro. Mas enganei-me, neste caso. O livro é absolutamente fantástico. A história é completamente macabra e os pormenores são de meter medo. Pelo menos a mim arrepiou-me em algumas partes. O facto de se passar na Irlanda, o facto de o Jim ser um forasteiro que aparece do nada (já percebi o porquê do t...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Nidia (Dark-Tales) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When everything seemed to progress normally in the peaceful village Malahide, behold, there is a gruesome crime, is found 3 cadaver,2 young people with obvious signs of mistreatment and another older woman, with the evidence that someone else was also incarcerated in the House, but that apparently will have managed to escape. It is from the discovery of these corpses that begins the unraveling of the whole story. Although the police have been trying to find out what really happened, all this cri...more

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May 17, 2010 Renee rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The premise intrigued me: an Irish murder mystery of sorts beginning with 3 women found dead in your average suburban home. The women are Moira and her nieces Fiona and Roisin, and the sisters look to have been kept prisoner in their aunt's house for quite some time. A young postman finds Fiona's diary, in which she claims the whole situation was caused by love for one man who was known as Darling Jim.

However, the writing of the story failed me. The blurb in the back said the author was formerly...more The premise intrigued me: an Irish murder mystery of sorts beginning with 3 women found dead in your average suburban home. The women are Moira and her nieces Fiona and Roisin, and the sisters look to have been kept prisoner in their aunt's house for quite some time. A young postman finds Fiona's diary, in which she claims the whole situation was caused by love for one man who was known as Darling Jim.

However, the writing of the story failed me. The blurb in the back said the author was formerly a movie writer and executive, which does explain things a bit. This is only his first novel and it feels very contrived to me. Maybe once he writes more fiction, he'll get a better feel for it. The details of the story were a little odd and the characters weren't exactly believable, especially Aunt Moira. I get that she had a difficult time with a man in the past, but does that mean, in exchange for a declaration of love, she'll overlook the fact that Jim has already slept with one of her nieces, supposedly raped the other, and was involved with thievery and murder in the past? She couldn't possibly be that desperate! And she didn't seem completely off the wall . . .

Postman Niall's quest was also not very believable to me. I can't imagine he'd be on the run just a day into entering the sisters' hometown. Does everyone really listen to an 11-year-old smart alec's allegations so quickly? The whole thing just felt silly and contrived. His talking to himself didn't help either (and made it feel even more like a very badly written, old school mystery story).

There are more unbelievable plot points (Jim's crazy brother?) but the thing that most annoyed me was the author's characterization. It felt like he wrote down each character's name on a piece of paper and then gave them two personality/appearance details that he repeated whenever he could:

Fiona= pharaohs, schoolteacher
Aoife= hippie, sleeps around
Roisin= goth, radios, lesbian
Jim= wolf, storyteller, handsome

They all felt very flat, boring, and unreal. Few people are so easily described in one or two words and for good reason. There's a lot more to a person than that.

Luckily, the intrigue of the murder mystery made up for a few of these flaws. Even if the plot and characters are very contrived, I couldn't help but be drawn in a bit to the craziness of it- murders, storytelling, prisoners and all. An okay read.(less)

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Jun 27, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read a lot of serial killer themed mysteries-I mean, A LOT! For a while there it felt like all I ever read was mysteries and thrillers, so my serial killer quotient was pretty high. But I have never come across a mystery quite like Christian Moerk's Darling Jim.

Darling Jim a multi-layered story of deception, obsession, and madness. Two sisters and their aunt are found dead in a house in rural Ireland. The townspeople are shocked to discover that the aunt had been holding her nieces prisoner...more I've read a lot of serial killer themed mysteries-I mean, A LOT! For a while there it felt like all I ever read was mysteries and thrillers, so my serial killer quotient was pretty high. But I have never come across a mystery quite like Christian Moerk's Darling Jim.

Darling Jim a multi-layered story of deception, obsession, and madness. Two sisters and their aunt are found dead in a house in rural Ireland. The townspeople are shocked to discover that the aunt had been holding her nieces prisoner, slowly poisoning them. In a final showdown, it appeared that the sisters had managed to kill their aunt before succumbing themselves. There was evidence that a third girl was also held hostage, but she was nowhere to be found when the bodies were discovered. A few weeks later, a postal worker, Niall, finds a diary in the post, written by one of the two slain sisters. It details the extraordinary events that led up to her death. Between the pages of her journal lies the tale of Darling Jim, a traveling storyteller who enchants the villagers in each town with macabre tales of love, obsession, and death-stories that eerily resemble real life crimes that happen in each place he stops. How the sisters get tangled in Jim's web becomes tragically apparent as Niall reads. As he is drawn into their story, Niall searches for the truth about Jim-and the elusive third sister-in a quest that brings him closer to danger than he ever expected.

This book was mesmerizing. Jim is beguiling, and ruthless. The sisters are strong and fiercely loyal to each other, but they are not immune to Jim's power to enchant. The whole novel is tied together by the macabre story that Jim tells as he travels across Ireland-a tale of betrayal, lust, and madness. As the story progresses it becomes more and more sinister, until the true face of Jim is shown, savage and deadly. The narrators-Fiona and Roisin-are deeply flawed, but honest in their account of their part in the events that led to their deaths. A modern Gothic novel, this book is a great read for anyone who prefers their mysteries on the sinister side.(less)

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Oct 10, 2009 Charlie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pros:

A dark tale told successfully from a feminine point of view by a male author. It is a story within a story within a story. The perspective does change, but the author makes transitions easy to follow and does it seamlessly without creating any disjointed jolt in time. It held my interest all the way through and I thought all the characters were fully developed and engaging.

Cons:

Although this was a story within a story within a story, I would have liked the main tale to remain the forward...more

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Aug 17, 2009 Cayleigh rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book starts out with a mailman finding the bodies of two sisters and their aunt in the aunt’s house, with the knowledge that a third sister seems to have escaped. The aunt was keeping them captive and starving them as punishment. The book follows along the story as told by each of the sisters through diaries that a young mailman finds at the postoffice. The central conflict follows after one sister falls in love with a wandering storyteller but he then marries the aunt. It follows that the...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Danish author Christian Moerk has done something that I, honestly, would have wagered against: created a brilliant modern gothic novel that combines the best of suspense and the ancient Irish art of the seanchai, or storyteller.

With his semi-epistolary novel "Darling Jim," Moerk introduces us to Jim Quick, a charismatic storyteller, and three of the women whom he seduces (two sisters and their aunt). The sisters' two posthumous diaries are found by a local postman, and it is he who ultimately un...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Patrícia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: clube-blogring, foreign-literature, leituras-2012

Uma notícia num jornal já amarelado dava conta de quatro cadáveres, três irmãs e uma tia, que se teriam deixado suicidado, morrendo a fome. Esta notícia perseguiu Christian Mørk durante anos, até que ele decidiu que era daí que viria a primeira história da sua autoria. Darling Jim, nascido de factos reais, é um thriller psicológico que não esquece as lendas e o sobrenatural, que vendeu mais de 38 000 exemplares na Dinamarca e foi traduzido para mais de trinta países.
Christian nasceu em Copenhag...more Uma notícia num jornal já amarelado dava conta de quatro cadáveres, três irmãs e uma tia, que se teriam deixado suicidado, morrendo a fome. Esta notícia perseguiu Christian Mørk durante anos, até que ele decidiu que era daí que viria a primeira história da sua autoria. Darling Jim, nascido de factos reais, é um thriller psicológico que não esquece as lendas e o sobrenatural, que vendeu mais de 38 000 exemplares na Dinamarca e foi traduzido para mais de trinta países.
Christian nasceu em Copenhaga mas aos 21 anos partiu para os Estados Unidos. Concluiu os estudos em História, Sociologia e Jornalismo, escreveu na Variety, foi crítico de cinema e também fez parte dele na Warner Bros. Pictures. Nasceu numa família de actores e quase foi um académico mas o seu desejo de escrever um livro falou mais alto. Este é o livro.
Quando Darling Jim enlouqueceu os leitores pelo Facebook, antes da sua publicação, eu só pensava que ia ter de arranjar o livro porque se todos estavam loucos por ele, era porque era bom, mesmo bom. Li a sinopse tantas vezes que quase a decorei e, admito, estava quase a morrer de curiosidade mas não consegui comprá-lo na pré-venda e, aos poucos, com as opiniões após publicação comecei a duvidar do facto de querer o livro, até ele ficar esquecido no meio de tantos outros que eu queria, até ter esta oportunidade para o ler.
Este livro é uma junção de conceitos, géneros e ideias, onde o thriller psicológico e o sobrenatural se evidenciam. No início da leitura temos uma premissa que consegue suster a curiosidade do leitor, muito devido a escrita bem conseguida do autor, que, através de diálogos fluídos e de uma narrativa directa, consegue manter o leitor interessado. Sendo um livro simples, sem entrar em grandes dilemas, onde a história central é a única na qual o livro se concentra, seria de esperar uma história tão bem conseguida como as questões técnicas mas confesso que me senti algo desiludida.
Apesar da acção contínua e de ser um livro que é fácil de ler, não é um livro que marque e que recordaremos para o resto da vida. Conforme vamos conhecendo as três irmãs através dos diários, vamos percebendo o mistério a volta das mortes macabras mas, também, rapidamente, chegámos a todas as conclusões. O livro está bem construído mas não é espectacular, e talvez daí a minha desilusão pois a meio do livro já tinha deslindado a história toda. Era simples de mais, quando podia e tinha material para ser maior, sem entrar nos exageros em que entrou. O amor pode levar aos actos mais insanos mas para mim, o rumo da história, a dada altura, não fazia grande sentido, tinha de haver outra explicação, tinha de haver ali mais alguma coisa mas não houve. Queria mais drama, mais horror, mais segredos obscuros mas eles não apareceram.
A grande falha, é a falta daquele que era, a meu ver, o diário mais importante, o da personagem mistério que acabámos por nunca chegar realmente a conhecer. Apesar de já desconfiar de qual seria o seu segredo, sinto que teria enriquecido a história, tê-la-ia tornado mais densa, mais real e teria alterado um pouco o sentido do livro. As três irmãs foram o ponto mais alto do livro pois até a mais forte das mulheres pode cair na cantiga do bandido, e estas irmãs eram personagens fortes que susteram toda a narrativa e a tornaram muito mais interessante através dos seus diários e diferentes perspectivas e personalidades, longe de clichés aborrecidos. Tirando as três irmãs, não achei que as restantes personagens tivessem presença suficiente para sentirmos alguma coisa nem com Jim. Parece que ao lado dos acontecimentos estavam todos meio apagados, só apareciam para fazer o que tinham a fazer e não havia mais nada.
O fim só veio confirmar tudo aquilo que eu já tinha percebido e, por isso, não me deu qualquer satisfação. A única coisa que saliento, é que tem uma parte estranha que um dia tenho que reler porque continuo sem perceber o sentido daquilo e acho que nunca vou perceber, sinceramente ou então já não estava mesmo com vontade de perceber. Por último, a parte sobrenatural, que foi o que gostei mais e durou tão pouco. Aí estava o sinistro, o obscuro, a negritude que devia ter povoado o resto do livro, mesmo que depois tenha sido usada para a parte muito estranha do final que eu não percebi.
A conclusão que tiro é que gosto de ser surpreendida, de grandes enredos e de não ter razão no final. Gosto de um livro forte e equilibrado, com pés e cabeça e não consegui identificar-me com esta leitura. A juntar as expectativas demasiado elevadas a tudo isso, não consegui sentir-me cativada por esta leitura. Esperava muito mais e melhor da história, não basta um escritor escrever bem para o livro ser bom. Parece que afinal, não fiz parte da febre Darling Jim.

http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.pt...(less)

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Aug 09, 2010 Laura C. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Why couldn't I love this book? It had such enticing reviews. I kept waiting for it to happen. I read far into the night, which is risky for me, considering I was promised “a chilling bedtime story for adults” by “an astonishingly gifted storyteller”. I will say that I do think Christian Moderk got the rhythm of the Irish language right, which is pretty good for a guy raised in Denmark, and schooled in New York. He writes witty conversation , as befitting a former movie executive. And the story h...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Doreen Fritz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: rb-book-club

Three dead women are found by the postman in a house at the end of a lane, in a small town just outside Dublin. One woman died from having her head bashed in, presumably by the shovel found upstairs, next to the emaciated bodies of her two nieces who had been imprisoned, fed rat poison, and slowly starved to death. Shortly after the grisly discovery, Niall, an aspiring graphic artist who works at the post office, finds an unclaimed package in the dead letter bin, mailed by Fiona Walsh (one of th...more

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May 07, 2010 Collin Shea rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very interested to read this book written by a Danish-born and raised author who has spent the last 20+ years living in the U.S.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book had what I thought was an authentically Irish feel - traveling story-tellers, a sense of the mysterious and very mystical, and fairytales. Not just any fairytales, but scary fairytales that evolve from real-life, as well as real-life unknowingly mimicking fairytales.

The sense that there is something sacred about t...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I received the book as an advanced reader copy through Library Thing and had requested it because it looked like something I would enjoy.

The book begins when it is discovered that a woman has been murdered in her home in the town of Malahide, but the mystery thickens as her two emaciated nieces are found upstairs. Later a bored postal clerk finds the diary of one of the girls in the dead letter box and sets out by himself to solve the mystery of the girl’s death and trace the footsteps of Jim, a...more

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About Christian Mørk

Christian Moerk has always told stories. Born into a family of actors, he realized when he was quite young that he’d rather tell the tales himself than interpret other people’s words on stage. But he sucked in the words. From Richard III to Faust.

At 21, he left his hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark, and moved to southeastern state of Vermont, deep in the Green Mountains, where he stayed long enough...more Christian Moerk has always told stories. Born into a family of actors, he realized when he was quite young that he’d rather tell the tales himself than interpret other people’s words on stage. But he sucked in the words. From Richard III to Faust.

At 21, he left his hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark, and moved to southeastern state of Vermont, deep in the Green Mountains, where he stayed long enough in the mud and the cold to graduate summa cum laude in History and Sociology from Marlboro College, 1991. They gave him the Margaret Mead Prize for the best social sciences thesis, which dealt with the British Empire in India. He didn’t want to be an academic, though. He wanted to write a book. But didn’t feel the time was right yet. Vermont was too cozy.

So he next went to New York City, where he spent enough time riding along with the police department and the ambulance services, and scouring the darkest alleyways he could find to attain his master’s degree in 1992 from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He was awarded the Henry N. Taylor Award as the best foreign student in his class for his thesis “Alien Nation,” which dealt with the lives of illegal Irish immigrants in New York. He began formulating ideas for a book. But it still wasn’t ready to tell it.

Before he could work on it, he got a job at Variety, the entertainment industry’s trade paper of record, where he first covered independent and European film before moving to Los Angeles. Once there, he was quickly headhunted by Warner Bros. Pictures then-President of production Bruce Berman, who gave him the chance to learn the movie production trade. He was given an office on the Warner lot, and couldn’t believe it.

For the next several years, Christian was awash in stories – but they were still other people’s stories. He was involved in the production of small art pictures, such as Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy, and also held a hand in the making of bigger blockbusters like Eraser, The Devil’s Advocate, and Outbreak.

Christian moved back to New York City, and began to write stories for The New York Times, interviewing directors like Wes Anderson (Darjeeling Limited) and Bennett Miller (Capote), while preparing to make the leap from journalist to novelist.

A story kept tapping him on the shoulder. He rummaged through his old files and found a yellowed newspaper clipping he’d kept from years back. It was an article detailing the strange and mysterious death of three nieces and their aunt, who were found in their suburban house in Ireland after months of living like shut-ins.

From there, Christian imagined a different story, in which the tragic end in that house was merely the conclusion of a gothic love story that began in a tiny fishing village on Ireland’s ragged, beautiful western coast. And he finally began to write his own words.

Darling Jim swept the Danish critics in September of 2007, selling more than 38,000 copies there to date, with rights sold to thirteen other countries, so far. It reached number four on the local bestseller list. His genre is best described as intelligent suspense with an emotional core.

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