The Bird Yard: A Novel [Hardcover]

Julia Wallis Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1999

When 12-year-old Joseph Coyne is missing and is assumed to have been abducted, Detective Parker makes a promise to the boy's mother: We'll get him back, alive. It proves to be a promise that Parker cannot keep. When another young boy is missing under similar circumstances, the evidence leads Parker to an aviary or bird yard attached to an abandoned house. While the finches imprisoned in the aviary exert a magical appeal to the young boys who surreptitiously come to watch them, its owner is a shadowy figure whose hold over his young visitors seems far more sinister. Convinced that the killer is stalking his third victim, a child Parker knows, he enlists the help of a child psychologist to unravel a dark secret.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grim and intense, this novel gives readers an instant jolt with its stark depiction of evil lurking in the decaying back alleys and crumbling infrastructure of Manchester, England. When 12-year-old Gary disappears from his home, Detective Superintendent Parker quickly recognizes that his disappearance is eerily similar to one that occurred five years earlier, in 1992, when another 12-year-old boy, Joseph, vanished. As Parker and his team try to locate Gary, they are deeply disturbed to discover Joseph's skeleton in a remote woods. The pathology report suggests he was murdered in a ritualistic manner. Parker, with the aid of criminal psychologist Murray Hanson, intensifies the hunt for Gary and soon discovers that the two boys, who were both neglected by their parents, had worked for a pet-shop owner who has ties to two other suspects: a reclusive breeder of exotic finches and a convicted pedophile. The streetwise Parker aims to strengthen the fragile links between the three men before a third victim disappears. Parker is a winning protagonist, shrewd and compassionate, but Hanson's character is not as convincingly developed, for he is nearly smothered in a distracting subplot. Even so, Martin, whose last book, A Likeness in Stone, was nominated for an Edgar Award, has worked a keen note of malevolence into her novel and created a gripping story that has firm psychological underpinnings. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Detective Parker is a fine, upstanding Englishman and the father of two young sonsAwhich means that the discovery of the dismembered body of 12-year-old Joseph profoundly disturbs him. Fearing for the lives of his own boys, Parker sets out on a passionate quest to find the devious killer. In his efforts to catch the criminal, Parker enlists Murray Hanson, an experienced psychological profiler. After a second boy disappears, Parker and Hanson find the "Bird Yard," a ramshackle aviary located in a derelict section of town that seems to entice young boys. Now the race is on to find the missing Gary and the murderer. Martin (A Likeness in Stone) follows in the steps of Minette Walters here, writing about disturbing subject matter in intelligent and interesting prose. Lots of suspense and a surprising conclusion make The Bird Yard a good read. Recommended for all public libraries.AMarianne Fitzgerald, P.L. of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Cty., Charlotte, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; 1st edition (September 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312205007
• ISBN-13: 978-0312205003
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,935,212 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.