Whispers Through the Trees (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #1) [Paperback]

Susan Plunkett (Author), Krysteen Seelen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2007

Abby Stanton, a noted East Coast bird specialist, rushes home to the magnificent San Jan Islands in Pacific Northwest after a terrible car accident leaves her sister Mary paralysed from the waist down. While there, Abby spots a rare and endangered marbled murrelet and its mate. Determined to save them, she finds herself caught up in fascinating intrigue and one of the long-time families on Sparrow Island. Will Abby's quest for the birds draw her back home? What adventures await her in this marvellous place of serene beauty? Join Abby as she begins her new calling as an amateur sleuth, with God's still, soft voice guiding her way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Guideposts Books; Retail edition (February 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824947118
• ISBN-13: 978-0824947118
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The joys of family ties and the importance of faith in everyday life, June 6, 2007

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whispers Through the Trees (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #1) (Paperback)

If you love your mysteries gentle, bloodless and with a heaping helping of scripture and inspiration, then try curling up with WHISPERS THROUGH THE TREES, the first installment in the 14-book Mysteries of Sparrow Island series with multiple authors.

Sisters Susan Plunkett and Krysteen Seelen team up for book one, which introduces Abigail "Abby" Stanton, a Cornell ornithologist and godly 55-year-old career woman who has made a name for herself in the birding world. When her widowed sister Mary, a florist, is in a terrible car accident, Abby takes a sabbatical from her job. She returns home to the fictional Sparrow Island (just off the coast of Washington State in the real-life San Juan Islands) to help care for Mary until she can live alone again.

Mary's accident costs her the use of her legs, and even with rehabilitation it will take months for her to adjust to a wheelchair and build up her strength. As Abby works with Mary to help her regain her independence, the enforced closeness is a catalyst for them to work through old grudges they've nurtured since high school.

Abby, self-reliant and single, discovers the joys of living near to her aging parents and reconnecting with old friends. The slower pace of island life, the kindness of the island people and the gradually deepening relationship with her sister cause her to put off returning to her beloved job at Cornell.

Conservation themes and a delight in the beauty of creation permeate the story. You don't have to enjoy birding to like this book, but bird lovers will find Abby's search for the marbled murrelet an interesting facet of the plot. The marbled murrelet, for non-birders, is a real-life endangered little brown seabird. When Abby discovers that a pair may be nesting in old growth timber on Sparrow Island, their presence might give her the final reason she needs to stay. "God worked all things for His purpose," muses Abby. "If the appearance of the rarities bought her more time with Mary, He had made it happen."

Indeed, God oversees every aspect of Abby's life in the novel, from praying for patience with her sister, to "stepping out in faith" to share details of a possible rare bird, to God's timely intervention in sending a strong guy to carry her grocery bags to the car. Sometimes the faith elements feel a little overdone, and Scripture verses are sprinkled throughout. However, conservative Christian readers will find that the lack of profanity, sex and violence makes this a restful read.

The middle-aged police officer, Sergeant Henry Cobb, provides a nice, light romantic note in the plot. Mary's own conflicts about beginning a new romance while wheelchair-bound (and wondering if Cobb's interest is only pity) provide more interest. And a mysterious man who leaves a journal and drawings for Abby to find adds a small amount of suspense to the story. Be warned, however --- this is not an Agatha Christie-type detective novel. Rather, it is a gentle, homespun tale with the dash of suspense serving as a secondary element. Nothing in this cozy will give you bad dreams, and most readers will figure out the mystery man before the closing pages unveil his identity.

Guideposts originally released this series through its hardcover book club and only recently began making these mysteries available to a general audience. Readers who love the wonder of creation, the joys of family ties and the importance of faith in everyday life will appreciate Abby's continuing story.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally about the great Northwest!, February 27, 2009

By 

gleem "mthigh" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whispers Through the Trees (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #1) (Paperback)

What a nice change to have a series of books about a location other than the eastern or southern part of the U.S. I really appreciate these stories about the Pacific Coast, WA state and the San Juan Islands to be more specific. Thank you, Guidepost, for this very welcome change!

5.0 out of 5 stars Love these books, June 11, 2010

By 

Linda Deriso (Ellaville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Whispers Through the Trees (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #1) (Paperback)

I have read 6 of these books now and am hungry for more. I love mysteries and how inspiration comes from them also is great. I can read one in a day if I had a whole day free to read.