The Bird Yard [Import] [Paperback]

J. Wallis Martin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: New English Library; Re-issue edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340689293
• ISBN-13: 978-0340689295
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,761,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A grim and compelling thriller, November 9, 1999

By 

W. Oliver (Alabama) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bird Yard: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book left me breathless! It is a tightly paced and beautifully written novel that is as fascinating as it is disturbing. The well developed characters really pull you into the story and the author's depiction of Brogan, a lonely and abandoned boy haunted by the memories of his dead mother, is poignant. It is a human story but one that dwells on the dark thoughts that reside in the human mind. Martin has been compared to Minette Walters and while I have not read enough of Walters book to agree to the comparison, I will say that Martin's writing is as compelling as Ruth Rendell, my favorite mystery writer. I think Martin has a bright writing career ahead of her, and I can't wait to read her next book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DEATH AND HORROR AMID THE BEATS OF SPARROW WINGS, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bird Yard: A Novel (Hardcover)

THIS IS A THOUGHTFUL AND WELL PACED MYSTERY WHICH DOES NOT SCIMP ON CHARACTER AND PLACE DEVELOPMENT AS IT TIGHTENS THE SCREWS OF FEAR. A WONDERFUL READ FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE FACE OF EVIL IN THE MOST ORDINARY OF THOSE AMONGST US, AND HAVE NOT TURNED AWAY. THE WRITING IS FLUID. THE ATMOSPHERE IS PERMEATING. AND THE END RESULT IS A TALE LIKELY TO KEEP EVEN THE MOST HARDENED MYSTERY FAN AWAKE AT NIGHT LONG AFTER THE FINAL PAGE IS TURNED.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong, but not as good as her last book, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bird Yard: A Novel (Hardcover)

The writing's not quite as vivid and the scenes aren't as memorable as A LIKENESS IN STONE. It's a very good book, but not quite as stunning as her first novel. The characters are three-dimensional but generic (generic troubled detective, generic abused kid, generic crazed pedophile) and the abducted child theme is getting a bit overdone (see also last year's STOLEN AWAY and GONE, BABY, GONE. Where the ending of the first book was a shocker, this one comes to its inexorable conclusion exactly in the way you expect, which is appropriate but not all that satisfying. Worth buying, worth reading, but not the A+ her first book was.