Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows

Steve Burrows has an interesting background for a crime fiction writer. He has conducted birdwatching activities on all continents, according to his website. He was editor of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society magazine and was a contributing field editor with Asian Geographic. His freelance articles on travel, writing, and environmental issues have appeared in publications all around the world. He is a past recipient of a “Nature Writer of the Year” award from BBC Wildlife. His first mystery A Siege of Bitterns (Dundurn Press Limited, 2014) won the Crime Writers of Canada award for Best First Novel and was selected as one of the Globe & Mail’s top 100 books of the year. The seventh book in the series was released in June 2022.

A Siege of Bitterns introduces Detective Chief Inspector Jejeune to the North Norfolk Constabulary, fresh from a front-page case in London involving the daughter of the Home Secretary. He arrives just as the body of a local celebrity and ecological activist is found hanging from a tree near his home. Cameron Brae was a well-known birder and protector of the delicate regional wetlands where he lived. He was not above angering the area developers if it meant the marsh with its precious habitat would be preserved. Jejeune, an enthusiastic birder himself, understood Brae’s motivation and began checking alibis for the local growth advocates and builders, the obvious culprits.

The second death throws his theories awry and increases the pressure from his new supervisor to charge someone, regardless of the evidence or lack thereof.

It’s hard to believe this book is a first mystery. Excellent police procedural with rounded interesting characters and an original context. The politics associated with local law enforcement was spot on. Confidently plotted with deft placement of red herrings and an assortment of motives for mayhem. The writing is lyrical. Burrows loves the Norfolk landscape and it shows. He also knows birds and by the end of the book the reader knows much more about them too.

A fascinating subject and a good read. Recommended especially for fans of crime fiction involving environmental and ecological issues, wildlife, or natural resources.

·         Publisher: ‎Point Blank (February 6, 2018)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Paperback: ‎368 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1786074265

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1786074263

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.