Customer Reviews

Bird (Macmillan Crime)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bird is an understated, exciting chiller which captivated me the whole way through until the clever ending. Jane Adams' writing style is deceptively simple but she creates an intriguing atmosphere that draws the reader in. There are interesting flashbacks every few pages as the past is key in uncovering the present day mystery and these add to the tension.

The characters are very believable. Marcie is the lead, a young married woman who has become estranged from her family after they treated her badly. Now she has returned to stay with them for a while as her grandfather Jack is dying. However Jack keeps seeing the ghost of a woman called Rebekkah and eventually this ghost begins to haunt the entire family. Marcie begins to research into who this woman was and she comes to some pretty disturbing conclusions. The ending is surprising and wonderful with some deep psychological insight.

Overall Bird is a fast paced psychological chiller that I would recommend to anyone who likes thrillers, regardless of whether they enjoy a supernatural element or not. The English setting and characters are realistic, especially the cold and stilted relationship between Marcie and her grandmother and aunt Alice. The ending is memorable, making you question the motives of some of the characters.

JoAnne

Bird was a last minute purchase in my favorite used book store. I actually thought it would be more of a spooky/thriller, but Bird actually turned out to be a study of disfunctional family dynamics and hidden secrets that refuse to be taken to the grave.

Marcie is a young mother returning to her grandfather's deathbed to say her goodbyes. Estranged from her family since she ran away at 16, she has very ambivilent feelings for them all, but senses that she needs to air out these conflicts so that she can move on confidently with her new life, husband and twin babies. Unbeknownest to her, her grandfather Jack needs to do a bit of unloading himself. You see, Jack is being haunted by the ghost of Rebekkah, a woman that stands near his deathbed at the hospice with a rope around her neck. Very soon Marcie, her husband Michael and her father Alec start seeing Rebekkah too.

Regardless of the ghost aspect, this isn't the paranormal thriller it seems to be as much as it's a phychological study of a broken family. Through the progression of Bird, you see that things aren't always what they appear, people are not what they initially seem, and secrets, if left untold, can wreck havoc on a soul.

For anyone who wonders about skeletons in their family closets...this is for you.

A well written, modern novel for people interested in the past.

For anyone who wonders about skeletons in their family closets...this is for you.

A well written, modern novel for people interested in the past.