Birds of Wonder Cynthia Robinson A Mysterious and Intriguing Book!

Mystery, Death, and Human Nature...

Birds of Wonder by author Cynthia Robinson is an intriguing and mysterious story about the interactions of people in a small community, especially after the death of a young teenage girl. Beatrice is walking her dog one morning and discovers the body of a teenage girl who was to play the leading part in her production of 'The Duchess of Malfi'. Beatrice is devastated. She immediately calls her daughter Jesca who is an investigator with the local law enforcement.
As I read the book, I found the relationship between Jes and her mother is disappointing. They both have had sadness in their lives and now Beatrice is older and a bit forgetful and Jes seems to blame her mother for secrets of the past which will be revealed as you read the book. It seems Jes is very unforgiving of anyone who disappoints her expectations. By the ending of the book, I understood why Jes is bitter, but could not like her. This may sound a bit odd, but read the book, her story unfolds a little at a time!
As the investigation into the death of Amber progresses, it seems the whole community has a secret and some motive to hide their recent actions. The characters are cleverly written, although they each have some bit of brokenness in their lives. They have faults, they are human, some are guilty of bad choices, and some are caught in suspicious circumstances.
I enjoyed the references to the different birds and the artful way the author wove information and action of the birds into the story. I would love to have seen the watercolors Jes' father had painted of the exotic birds. When Liam thinks of Jesca as a Kestrel, he is Right! The Kestrel is a very independent bird, stays mostly alone except for mating season, is very fast, and trusts no one. In fact, it is one of the hardest birds I have tried to photograph in the wild.  The cover graphics are beautiful!
Thank you to NetGalley and The Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Art Images and Photographs by Diane Lochala-All Rights Reserved

"Jesca"