About me

Murdoch's writing style reminds me of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett's humour but at the same time it has its own sense of quirkiness. — BCF Book Reviews

[Jim Murdoch's] work is like a mantelpiece filled with fascinating things for the reader to pick up or not at they choose — Kay Sexton

Jim Murdoch has a genuine natural talent and it as well for all of us that he has both recognised this fact and ... managed now to arrange his life in such a way that he will have more time to write in the future. That's good news for everybody. — Guy Fraser-Sampson

 Living with the Truth

Conceptually, and in tone and texture, the story is wonderful, for those who enjoy literary works of the dark and penitent, peppered with sarcasm variety, which I do. — Cheryl Anne Gardner

[T]he most stylish, thoughtful and downright original novel I had read for a long time. — Guy Fraser-Sampson

Jim Murdoch's debut is an intelligent, funny and moving novel that any discerning reader should enjoy. — Steve Kane

Jim Murdoch has created a fascinating novel that has deep meaning beyond its face value. — Inkweaver Review

 Stranger than Fiction

[P]erhaps each reader will come to it differently, but what I did find was that much in this book could be taken in any of a number of ways. It was possible at times to see it as metaphor, parable, maybe allegory. No doubt you could read nothing into it and just enjoy what would then be a rather far-fetched story. [...] I do believe it not impossible to imagine a cult following somewhere down the road one day. — Dave King

Stranger than Fiction might be served up with humour and filled with bizarre situations but, at its core, it is a moral tale and Murdoch's deceptively simple prose is perfect for the story he tells. — Sam Sattler

I tried to come up with one of those pithy one-liners that you are supposed to use to encapsulate a project for the movie industry (which is popularly supposed not to be able to cope with more than a sentence of information at a time) and what I decided on was Alan Bennett meets Douglas Adams! [...] I loved it. — Kay Sexton

 Milligan and Murphy

Jim's unique voice shines through ... and just as well since he is a very fine writer indeed. [...] I really recommend this book. — Guy Fraser-Sampson

[N]o one can deny Murdoch's writing chops. Milligan and Murphy is some kind of funny. — Loren Eaton

 This Is Not About What You Think

This is a fine collection by a thoughtful, subtle and perceptive writer, and it deserves to be widely read. — Colin Will

The poems collected together like this strike chords that resonate beyond the single note of a solitary poem. They enhance each other and spark new significances from each other. I realise now that his work is more varied and subtle and its meaning (for me!) more deeply hidden than I had realised. And the simpler the surface appears to the eye, the more it seems to promise treasure beneath. — Dave King