Customer Reviews

Night of the Blackbird

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Every time I read this author, I'm amazed that she could be a "best-selling author." This book was probably one of the worst I've ever read.

Since her stories are usually good for a light read, I continue to read them. However, this one was so full of politics and history that I skipped over a lot of it, something I rarely do. And her attempt to authenticate it with the Irish dialect was distracting and made it even harder to follow.

One thing I wish this author would get a grasp on is the basics of writing. I'm a writer and one of the first things I was taught was that "said" is the best way to describe conversation - it's short, sweet and to the point. This author should be used as an example of what not to do by every writing professor in the world as far as this subject. The characters wailed, breathed, muttered, responded, cried, questioned, murmurered, retorted, and just about every other word you can possibly think of to excess. It was very annoying, as were the pages and pages of "filler" that really said nothing and did nothing to move the story along (i.e. "Where were you?" "What are you, my mother?" "I asked where you were." "I was out." "Out where?" "Why are you questioning me?" etc.)

Another thing that's very annoying with this author is her overuse of characters. She packs so many into each story that it's nearly impossible to keep track of who's who. And in every scene, the details are painstakingly described, and every character must be accounted for. Frankly, I really don't care who sat next to who at dinner, who rode in whose car to church, what everyone wore to sleep and where each member of the family was while Grandma was cooking breakfast.

A very poor effort from a very mediocre author.

Moira Kelly gets a guilt ridden phone call from her mother begging her to come back to Boston for St. Patrick's Day. For the very Irish Kelly family, this holiday is even more important than Christmas. Knowing that her father's health is failing and wanting to please her mother, Moira decides to change her plans to film her travel show in Florida, to a full look at St. Patrick's day celebrations in Boston.

Unfortunately, her visit is not a pleasant event. Dan O'Hara broke her heart some years ago, but he is back and ready to make a change. Moira has already moved on with the gorgeous Michael, whom she works with and who dotes on her lovingly.

Something is going on in her family's pub. The politics of Ireland are now in full force and someone among her is planning an assasination. The one person who knows anything mysteriously dies and Moira is left to suspect the one man she has loved nearly her whole life. Not knowing who to trust, Moira does some investigating of her own to find the killer, but what will it cost her?

This romantic suspense/mystery was a little more political than I enjoyed. The issues seemed to drone on about the Irish issues as if reading a text book concerning the continuing conflicts surrounding the dividing of Ireland.

Even with a number of red herrings, the plot was fairly predictable. Even the romance was not up to other Heather Graham novels.

Is it worth buying?

Unless you are very interested in Irish politics, the average reader may find this novel to be more wordy than it is suspenseful. Therefore, I do not recommend paying full price for Night of the Blackbird.

Kelly's Pub, a family-owned establishment in Boston, becomes the center of a family reunion and possible terrorist plot during a St. Patrick's Day celebration. When her mother calls warning that her father's health isn't well, TV producer Moira Kelly changes her plans and brings she show to Boston. The plans for the pub and her family provide insight for viewers into the way of the Irish from recipes to lore. When Moira learns that a certain Belfast politician plans to celebrate the holiday with Bostonians, she also decides to invite him to her show. Soon Moira finds herself thrust into danger and intrigue, as she learns that "Blackbird" represents more than the name of the band or Kelly invented beverage, it also seems to be a code word linking pub patrons to political ideologies and dangerous plots.

In addition to professional concerns, Moira also finds her loyalties challenged in her private life. She brings her new love, Michael McLean to Boston, despite the fact that her old flame Daniel O'Hara is also visiting her family. Torn between stability and passion, Moira struggles with her common sense and her heart. Worse, she also feels her loyalties challenged by her brother's frequent mysterious absences, secrets whispered in the darkness, and new revelations about Danny's past. Add a killer of prostitutes that seems connected to the conspiracy, as well as her father's best friend's death, and Moira finds herself in imminent danger.

Heather Graham strikes the perfect balance between romance and suspense in NIGHT OF THE BLACKBIRD. While terrorist plots may be a bit difficult to read in the wake of the recent US bombing, for those with an appetite for intrigue, NIGHT OF THE BLACKBIRD will prove quite satisfying. The complexity of plot, richness of historical detail, and multitude of suspects keeps the reader enthralled. Further, the heroine struggles with first generation Irish-American, including family idiosyncrasies, political entanglements and multiple loyalties, thereby adding tremendous richness of this novel. Combined with a beautifully written love story and thought provoking philosophical asides, NIGHT OF THE BLACKBIRD comes very highly recommended.

I finished reading the book, but I was not that impressed with this one. The plot and the characters were not that interesting. I have read 5 of her books so far, and I loved the other 4.

It's nice when romance authors do research, but sometimes I'm left with the feeling that they think that they must use it all in a single book. That happens here. Great characters, good plot, then - we keep getting sermons and history lessons. I agree with the author's views on the Irish situation, but I was looking for entertainment, not a seminar.

Although the introduction was quite promising, the rest of the book left much to be desired, like an interesting plot, developed characters, and other trivial matters.

This book reads like a dumbed-down mystery (think "Mystery for Romance Fans 101"), and the plot crawls along oh-so-painfully. The first half is spent detailing just HOW Irish the Kelly family is: multiple renditions of the song "Danny Boy," the truth and the fairy tale of St. Patrick, Irish politics, leprechauns, banshees, fairies, etc. In fact, everyone would be content to be coated in green paint, except for the heroine, who cannot let a day go by, without insisting that she's American and not Irish. No insight is given as to WHY she feels the need to make such a distinction, although an embarrassing childhood episode might have helped to give the character SOME dimension.

Save yourself the trouble and pick up one of her historical romances. Mystery is NOT where this author's talents lie.

Found it a very interesting book, wasn't sure at first but as I read on I found it most compelling. I am never certain I am going to enjoy present day causes but Heather Graham knows how to keep her readers in suspense

This book was wayyy to political. I tried reading rather than skimming the political and historical parts, but there were too many. I think more thank half this book was just politics and history. Unless your into that, don't bother reading the book.

Also, there is no real plot. Let me rephrase that, there is a plot - Moira goes home for St. Patrick's Day with her current boyfriend and sees her old flame at home with her family. Then the author throws in an assassination attempt, but she keeps all the details hidden, so you have no idea what's going on till the last couple of pages - and it wasn't even a surprise - in fact, it was really obvious.

The author also has wayyy too many characters for one to keep track of who's who. And finally, there are alot of loose ends - like who killed Seamus and what was Patrick really up to.

Don't bother reading this book unless you have nothing better to do. And even then, just avoid it. It was that bad.

I would give his book 0 stars, but that wasn't an option

Ms. Graham writes very engrossing suspense novels and this one is no exception. The characters are well developed and the story line full of twists and turns. She just doesn't have a real feel for the ethnicity of the characters, or so I feel. In spite of claims by some of the characters that they are not, she paints the Irish as revolutionaries to a man, most of them violent. Other than that, I recommend the book.

This was a great book. I have never heard of this author, but she really came through. I would have never picked up this book because of the political nature of it, but it doesn't overwhelm the book too much. A great love story and shocker at the end!