I found the first in a new series of "Birder Murder" mysteries at a book sale. Steve Burrows, a British nature writer (and birder) now living in Canada has created an engaging detective in Inspector Dominic JeJeune, a Canadian Detective Chief Inspector newly appointed to the UK police service.
DCI Dominic JeJeune has been newly posted to the Norfolk town of Saltmarsh - the heart of the birding community in SW Britain. Before he is settled, a local and famous ecologist is murdered, and Dominic investigates with his partner, Danny Maik. One of the only clues is a list of unique birds, an unofficial contest to see who can total the most individual bird sightings. The ecologist also stirred up resentments and ruffled feathers in the community, so there are many who are pleased he's gone. Being an outsider to the ways of birding, JeJeune has the task of sorting out the case while being rebuffed by most of the locals. It's the usual outsider (and authority figure) disrupting what purports to be a tranquil landscape, perked up with enough surprise twists to make me pay attention.
The idea of a Birder Murder series is unique and, along with the pockets of humour throughout that had me burst out laughing, made this a real treat to read. Burrows peppers the novel with insights a non-Brit like myself can relate to. This mystery was not only well constructed, with memorable characters and sense of place, the quality of his writing was pleasantly surprising - when you read a lot of mysteries it can be hit or miss, it's hard to stand out in such a large field - I found this well above grade. A real winner and a pleasure to sit on the couch and have it check the boxes across the board.
A Siege of Bitterns won the 2015 Arthur Ellis award for best novel and was a Globe & Mail top 100 book of 2014. Along with this title, the series includes A Pitying of Doves, A Cast of Falcons, and A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, each dealing with a mystery in the bird watching community.
2014 / Tradeback / 352 pages
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