Rare Birds

How it reads

Rare Birds is mystery (small-town mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a small town setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are secrets, friendship and loss and grief. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. At 344 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.