I loved this book on so many levels. A tantalizing opening, a gripping storyline, characters facing ripped-from-the-headlines dilemmas...

Maybe it's the former high school teacher in me, but I found myself on the edge of my seat as Moretti's tale weaved between teachers and students, between peer pressure and family pressure and a toxic live-streaming culture that makes a permanent record of too many worst moments.

Highly recommended!

This nerve-wracking, surprising novel about a small town in Pennsylvania, whose citizens are torn about with secrets, worry, scandal and mystery is as twisty and mysterious as the cover hints to.

How can people not possibly notice or forget thousands of birds falling to their death straight from the sky? Maybe it's the troubled missing girl, maybe it's the possibly inappropriate relationship between a teacher and his sturdent?

This twisted story of lives gone wrong is a page turner!

I have been a fan of Kate Moretti, ever since she drew me in with her debut, Thought I Knew You. Since then, she has written some powerful and intense psychological suspense novels that keep me (along with her other readers) riveted. The Blackbird Season is no exception, as it had me guessing the outcome the entire time.

Kate’s latest novel is unpredictable, and I had no idea where it was going. The jumps around in time helped in this way, as the story was not told in chronological order. While that made things confusing sometimes, I can understand why Kate chose to write her story this way. The characters were complex and well thought-out. The dialogue was realistic, and the settings were easy to visualize without feeling overwhelming.

I’d give this novel 4.5 stars, as it felt anti-climactic at the end, even with all the build-up and surprises. I felt things wrapped up a bit too neatly by then. I still enjoyed the story a lot and found it engrossing. I kept wondering who I should trust more, Nate or Lucia. While Kate is a natural at writing psychological suspense novels, I would love to see her write more general women's fiction like her debut. She's strong in both genres and I'm excited to see what she comes out with next, no matter what.

If this novel were made into a movie, this is who I’d cast:
Lucia: Elena Kampouris
Taylor: Bea Miller
Nate: Justin Hartley
Alecia: Mena Suvari
Bridget: Lake Bell
Tripp: Devon Sawa

I received this book for a review from NetGalley.

I had seen this book for awhile under the author's Goodread bio and I had it in my queue since April! I thought this was a much better novel than her earlier 'Vanishing Year'. The writing was tighter, more believable, and the characters had more depth. I was more interested in the character development than the "mystery" portion, but it still had a twist at the end.

I just couldn't get into this book even though I tried a couple of times.

Kate Moretti is a new author for me and I love her controlled and thoughtful writing style. The Blackbird Season is a dark and suspenseful psychological read that you are drawn in from the first page.

The story is centralized around a dying town and an abandoned mill whose small town inhabitants know everyone and everything around them. When dead birds fall from the sky and a girl goes missing, the town begins to turn on each other and question everyone and everything around them.

Moretti does a great job of layering several points of view and independent story lines into the suspenseful conclusion of the novel. This is a haunting and while not necessarily over the top suspenseful book, is satisfying in its read.

Thank you, NetGalley, Atria Books and Kate Moretti for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for my opinion.

Really good who dunnit story. Full of twists and turns. I liked the characters and could picture this whole town. The end was really good and a little bit creepy.

Despite the unlikable characters, this was a decent story. I think that I expected more - this was not a "gripping/psychological" mystery. I was interested but also sort of bored- it never really pulled at me like I needed to keep going. I like reading from different characters POV but I wish at the end she wrote a chapter from Taylor (the best friend that killed Lucia).

This book took a while for me to get into. Even though there was a lot of backstory and detailed descriptions, I never quite connected to any of the characters. The story was told from alternating POVs of four characters, none of which were first person. I think the story would have been much better if at least one of the characters was given a voice. The story was good and the writing was decent but it's not one that I would buy and re-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this great read!

This suspense novel covers so many things ~ bullying in school, possible improper teacher/student relationships, the effects on a town when the main employer shuts down, blackmail...and the dynamics of it all are woven around the fact that a troubled teenager is missing.

Told from four different POVs, this book will keep you guessing about whom to trust and the domino effect on their lives from each wrong decision made.

This really read like a typical, formulaic he said/she said. Disappointing, unlikable characters.

The blackbird season is a unique thriller set in a small town, it has a great storyline and is packed with drama. However, I found it to be quite slow moving and at times it struggled to keep my interest. Although I think that may be more to do with my concentration abilities rather than the book:
Overall an enjoyable read.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This book was amazing! The cover intrigued me from the start. I love the authors writing style. At first it was a little difficult to keep up with switching dates but after about 3 chapters it was easy to keep up with. I am not a fan of reviewing an entire story in my review, but this one had me hooked from the beginning. I enjoyed the development of each character and liked that there were multiple people involved, not just one or two like some books. I would classify this book as a suspense thriller but with an actual storyline not just a "who done it". The grief of Bridget and the trials Alecia and Nate had to endure in their marriage only added to the story. I was also very happy with how the author spun the ending. I highly recommend!

This is the first book I've read by Moretti. It's pretty good. I like the characters and the nonlinear timeline.

A story about a small town mystery. It is easy to fall prey to gossip. When rumors fly about a teacher and a student, a community is changed as the story unfolds. A family is torn apart because of allegations. What happens when the truth finally comes to light? Are the rumors true or was it easier to just believe all the gossip?

Just like Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, The Black Bird Season is very well written but not engaging for me. I couldn't stand Nate (the teacher) and his stupidity.

So a student, Lucia, called Nate to meet up at a motel because she was in trouble and he went there. I know this book is a work of fiction but... come one. What struggling (very short on money) teacher pays for a hotel room for a student, twice? Just so the student could have a place to crash or whatever.

Then we have Alicia, Nate's wife who is going through a lot because their son is autistic.

Bridget, Nate's friend who solves Lucia's mysterious disappearance (yes, once again the police is useless).

We have some back and forth in time, I guess to make the story longer.

And Lucia, your typical poor (literally) white girl that wants to fit in but nobody pays attention to. Well, she is gonna make sure she gets attention now! No, no, no. I have read this plot many times before that I lost interest.

As I said before, very well written, it just wasn't interesting for me.

Why do characters have to be so unlikable in psychological thrillers? These were probably my least favorite psychological thriller characters ever. I almost put this down - I almost put the entire genre down - but I decided to carry on and see what kind of pay out would happen.

There were some positives. I thought the multiple points of view were handled well especially since there were four different perspectives. One of the characters was a mom to an autistic boy. I didn't like her, but I appreciated the dynamics there. I enjoyed the writing and the atmosphere in The Blackbird Season.

The biggest issue for me was obviously the characters. I know I've been harping on unlikable characters lately, but my issue goes beyond the characters just being unlikable. Some of the best characters I've come across this year have been absolutely hideous, but I was given reasons to care about them. That's the difference. In books like The Blackbird Season, we are given awful characters that are just that: awful.

This wasn't a hit for me, but I would read another Kate Moretti novel. I feel like The Blackbird Season was following a definite trend with the current thrillers, and I'm starting to have my fill of them.

The Blackbird Season isn't going to be one of the books I recommend to folks looking for a thriller. There's a lot of small town drama that may appeal to some readers, but I prefer to have an emotional stake in the outcome rather than being a bystander.

3.25* Stars (rounded down).

Could you imagine a thousand starlings falling on you, while out watching a game? Would you call it a natural phenomenon, toxic poisoning or would you blame a young teenage girl who no one likes and several kids in her High School refer to as a witch?

In Mt. Oanoke, a small Pennsylvania town, as soon as the birds fall, things go from bad to worse. Lucia Hamm, is a teenager who is a social outcast. If it weren’t for the support of best friend Taylor and her teacher Nate Winters, she wouldn’t have anyone. It’s the support of her teacher however, that throws a wrench in everything as you can imagine. Nate is the cool Teacher and Coach. The guy who has his finger on the pulse of the High School. He has fake Facebook and Twitter accounts and knows what is going on with everyone. The parents in town love him. He’s Mr. Popular. The only person he’s not all that popular with is his wife Alecia. The reason? He’s hardly ever home and doesn’t seem all that interested in helping her take care of their special needs son, Gabe. Needless to say, it puts a strain on their marriage.

After Nate is accused of having an affair with Lucia, well things get worse. Once she disappears, well you can imagine how things might go from there. The outlook for Nate? It’s not very good.

Bridget Peterson is a teacher at the High School. She is also one of Nate and Alecia’s closest friends. She is the only one who believes Nate and she will stop at nothing to find out what happened to Lucia and prove Nate’s innocence.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints: Lucia’s, Alecia’s, Bridget’s and Nate’s. It is very effective. That being said, “The Blackbird Season” was an enjoyable mystery which held my attention until the end, when my interest waned. I felt that there was just something missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on what. On the whole, I did enjoy it and would read other books by Ms. Moretti.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Kate Moretti for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook on 10.22.17.

My Takeaway

"Where did they come from? Why did they fall? The question would be asked a thousand times…"
Kate Moretti, The Blackbird Season

The Blackbird Season has been receiving lots of buzz and I was expecting to love it, but the book just didn't quite do it for me. I felt the plot moved too slow and it was more of a mystery than a psychological thriller. I was never at the edge of my seat and the ending was not as exciting as I like. The story revolves around several scandals in a small town in Pennsylvania. It involves the mysterious death of a thousand blackbirds, a marriage in trouble (husband accused of having an affair with one of his students), unstable teenage relationships, and the case of a missing girl no one seems to care about. There is definitely a lot going on in this town and Moretti does a nice job at capturing the main characters perspectives and rationale. Although this wasn't the suspense thriller I was expecting, Moretti is a great storyteller and I would certainly give her books another try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Turned out this was not a good fit for my reading tastes - no formal review published, no stars assigned.

Due to Netgalley rules - one star assigned so review can be completed - not a valid rating for the book.