A Siege Of Bitterns by Steve Burrows

A Siege of Bitterns: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days (on and off)

Pages - 352

Publisher - Oneworld Publishers

Blurb from Goodreads

Newly appointed police inspector Domenic Jejeune doesn’t mind ruffling a few feathers to flush out suspects in the brutal murder of a renowned ecological activist.


Inspector Domenic Jejeune’s success has made him a poster boy for the U.K. police service. The problem is Jejeune doesn’t really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.


Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, located in the heart of Britain’s premier birding country, Jejeune’s two worlds collide when he investigates the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious police superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, but she begins to have her doubts when Jejeune’s most promising theory involves a feud over birdwatching lists. A second murder only complicates matters.


To unravel this mystery, Jejeune must deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues, and his own insecurities. In the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties.


My Review

First off, I need to say this is not a book I would normally be drawn to or pick up myself. I am so so glad RealReaders sent me a copy of this, otherwise I would have missed a great into to a new author (for me) and a new series. I loved birds as a child and enjoy viewing them as an adult but generally wouldn't pick up a book that features them so much.

Inspector Domenic Jejeune is relatively new to the small English town of Saltmarsh and finding his feet among the people. When an ecological activist is murdered, Jejeune needs to get to the bottom of it, but small towns have their secrets and not everyone wants to tell all to our officer. As the investigation progresses Jejeune gets to indulge in his love of birds and try and piece together possible motives and suspects for the murder.

I really enjoyed reading the bird aspect of the novel, so much so afterwards I read up a bit on the kind of activities of the spotters mentioned in the story. The murder itself was well written as was the show of how the inspectors mindset was focusing. One of the things I didn't like was how sometimes the characters would be called by their first name, other times by their surnames. I personally found this quite confusing at times and for the first while had to kept checking which character it was I was reading about.

I didn't see the twists coming which is always a good thing although I was a bit surprised at how quick it wrapped up and how it all played out. An impressive new way of going about crime, certainly for me. 3/5 for me this time, thanks so much to RealReaders for sending me a copy to review in exchange for an honest review. I hadn't read this author before but I certainly would read him again and more in this series.

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ARC - The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman

The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Penguin

Pages - 435

Blurb from Goodreads

A poignant and touching portrayal of love and loss told from a wonderfully original perspective.

Rachel and Max met eleven years ago. They were the perfect couple - best friends, lovers and partners - and when their daughter, Ellie, came along they thought their family was complete. The last thing they expected was that one celebratory night out would change their lives forever.

But fate had other plans.

Now Max is doing his best to adapt to his new life without Rachel - he might forget which day Ellie needs her sports kit and the name of her favourite teacher but he's trying his hardest - and the last thing he wants is more change.

Lonely and alone, Rachel is stuck in a place between worlds. Grieving everything she has lost and everything she won't experience, she has no choice but to watch helplessly as her family face a future without her. But what Rachel doesn't realise is that love is so strong that the one thing that will break her heart may become the one thing she wishes for more than anything.


My Review

The story opens up with a powerful line from Rachel, our main character leaving you with no delusions that she is in fact dead. What follows is Rachel's thoughts, feelings and views as she watches her family, when permitted, trying to recover from her sudden departure. Alongside this Rachel is going through the different stages of grieving, for the life she had and that which she will never have. We get to see her family through her eyes as they also try to recover and deal with a life without Rachel. Max is devastated trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife, Ellie their wee girl and Rachels's mum who has already suffered a big loss. The family deals with it in different ways and we get to view this as and when Rachel does.

This story is very different from anything I have ever read, initially I didn't think I would like it. Rachel is in a place between our world and where you imagine spirits would go after they die. There isn't a how or why, we are given as much info as Rachel is which is nothing. At first I thought this was a cop out by the author, but actually it added to the "realism" of the story. We don't know what happens to us when we pass and Rachel is there with as much understanding as we have, learning as we do with her.

She gets to "visit" her family with no seeming pattern to it, access is when it is given. Rachel is limited in many ways which adds to her anger, loneliness and frustration.

This is a lovely, sad and heart breaking story that hits you on subtle levels provoking big reactions, deep thoughts and emotions as you can't help, well I couldn't, but think about people you have lost. A very powerful book, not because of the tale itself which is very different and well put together story but because of the chain of thought and emotions it may evoke from you. I think it is a fantastic debut novel, done in a unique way and I would be happy to read this author again. 4/5 for me this time and thank you to RealReaders for an ARC of this book and introducing me to a new author. This book is available for release on 13th of February 2014.

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