A
Murmuration of Starlings (Durndurn Press, September 2026) is the tenth book
in the Birder Murder Mysteries by Canadian Steve Burrows. The first title, A
Siege of Bitterns, 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. Burrows has pursued his birdwatching interest on eight
continents so far and has published articles on travel and environmental issues
around the world.
In this
newest story with a multi-layered approach Detective Chief Inspector Dominic Jejeune
visits a former superior, Detective Chief Superintendent Colleen Shepherd, now in
the Australian outback, to discuss his future career and becomes enmeshed in
the kidnapping and death of the Environmental Compliance Officer of a large
mining firm. Meanwhile his team back in Norfolk has the sudden death of the CEO
of the largest lithium battery production facility in the country to
investigate. It could have been an accident but the timing was entirely too
convenient for some people not to suspect foul play.
Relationships
are in high focus in this story, both personal and professional, and the
outcome of both cases lead to major turning points for several of the
characters. What is even more prominent is the discussion of present-day
Australian environmental concerns, their history, current impact, and possible
solutions. An aboriginal elder adds a strand of mysticism to the narrative. The
descriptions of the Australian landscape, the animals, and of course the birds
are wonderful and make the book worth reading for the travelogue alone.
Usually I
have no trouble collecting enough back story to understand the context of a
mid-series title but just identifying the location of action, Norfolk or
Australia, wasn’t always clear in this book. This is not the right place to
start the series. Environmentalists and nature lovers will likely already know
this author, but if not, they definitely should. Police procedural fans will
enjoy the complex plot and the careful work of both the Norfolk and the
Australian investigation teams to unravel the mystery. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Dundurn Press
·
Publication date: September 22, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 360 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1459756592
·
ISBN-13: 978-1459756595
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4rd08xw
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night
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