I love this series. It is unique and clever and always contains a very fun mystery. I hope he keeps writing these.

This is a favorite series from a favorite publisher. Dundurn publishes Canadian authors writing both fiction and nonfiction. They’re not as well known in the U.S. as they deserve to be, and Steve Burrows’ birder murder mysteries are some of their best. Chief Inspector Dominic Jejeune is a brilliant, taciturn character, an immigrant from Canada to the United Kingdom, and an avid birder. His colleagues find him inscrutable and incommunicative, but they respect his intellect. As a character, Jejeune is on a par with P. D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh, simultaneously opaque and engaging. This volume in the series is melancholy, revisiting old cases (and shortcomings?) in Jejeune’s past. Read it not just for the tighly plotted mystery, but also for the quality of the prose and the richly depicted characters.

Bird watching detective being investigated and doing an investigation simultaneously

What I found most interesting about this book is Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune being investigated himself and at the same time investigating a murder. Being questioned and investigated when an old case was strangely reopened appeared to be a slight irritation to him because he had a few other issues in his life that were more important to him.

His bird watching took a priority in his life and may have been the cause of him being under investigation. But his family troubles also took priority in his life and he was waiting for answers that were very important to him. He did not seem to realise the importance of his girlfriend, Lindy, in his life and because of that, he may lose her. Lindy also had issues that were potentially frightening. They are both interesting characters that made me want to get to know them better.

Jejeune has to rely on his colleague, Sergeant Danny Maik, more than ever in the internal investigation and the current murder investigation. But can he? The murder of a Polish national draws the reader into the dynamics of the entire Polish community and the locals. Steve Burrows has integrated this very interesting current issue in most countries with foreigners working in a new land because of serious issues in their own countries of origin.

DCI Domenic Jejeune is interesting. I would suggest though that the murder series is read from the first one so that the reader can get to know all the characters. It would also help when mention is made in this book of incidents from previous books in the series.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

So much happens in this episode, from the emergence of doubts and new ideas about the wrap up of the case that made Jejeune’s career and fame with the MET; to the threat posed by the release of a man convicted due to Jejeune’s police work which now poses threats to his and Lindy’s happiness and safety; to the current crime, a person, male, found shot and burned with no other information available. There are so many twists and turns in this novel. Loyalties are seen fraying and tested and relationships...will they recover?

As this is a part of the birder mystery series, there are the requisite references to expected and surprising species in this north of England setting. The descriptions of the natural world are evocative of mood, place. They reflect and sometimes foretold the future. Jejeune is a detective who lives much of his life in his head. He is not an action hero but more cerebral (although the last book involved a lot of physical action in South America).

I continue to recommend this series to mystery readers. While this can be read as a stand-alone, it would likely be better appreciated if you were to read one of the earlier books, perhaps the last.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I very much liked the one earlier book in this series that I've read but this one left me at sea. Unfortunately, at least for me, I kept feeling like I was missing information about the characters and the plot that no doubt had been revealed in an earlier book. That said, I liked the combination of birding and a murder mystery. Jejune and Maik are your basic procedural detectives, with a twist. They have a better relationship, I think, than Jejune has with his partner Lindy, who has troubles of her own. There's some twists and turns, and good scenery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I was disappointed in this book since I enjoy a good mystery and am fond of nature and birds. I found the cross between the current mystery and the previous mystery confusing, particularly since I was not familiar with the previous one and not enough details were given to clarify it for me. I also found the ending unsatisfying. I will not be including this in my website blog since I only blog about books I can heartily recommend. Thanks for letting me read the book that had possibilities of being entertaining.

This is a good police detective novel. It's the 5th in the birder murder mystery series featuring DCI Domenic JeJeune and is set in on the east coast of England, north of London. Jejeune is off to a "fresh start" in his police career as a result of events in the previous books in the series. He is presented with a new murder case when a burned body of a man is found at a construction site. At the same time he is dealing with a formal review of one of his early cases which involved the kidnapping of Britain's Home Secretary's daughter and her boyfriend. In addition, there are some legacy issues from earlier books in the series, e.g. his girlfriend's life is threatened by the mysterious Ray Hayes who really wants revenge against Jejeune.

Despite a slow start, it's a busy action-filled novel with all of the several storylines playing out at more or less the same time. Some of the activity, narrative and characters will make more sense to those who have read the series' other books. This is the first of the series I read and I learned that I missed some of the nuances. To avoid that, I'd strongly recommend reading the previous birder murder mysteries before starting this one.

Outstanding for me is the cast of supporting characters. Sgt Danny Maik and Constable Holland are great recurring characters. Maik is definite star material and Holland plays the class clown. The perfectionist medical examiner Dr. Mansfield Jones and the super intelligent "Empowered Investigator" Constable Des Gill (who abruptly disappears from the novel) add colour to the story, Several other characters sprinkled throughout the book (like the Polish "count") make for interesting colour too. On the other hand, Jejeune is a bit of an enigma -- we are told that he's a whiz kid but there's little demonstration of his superior abilities. Lindy Hey's character is really under-developed and it's difficult to see any spark between her and Jejeune. Perhaps that was dealt with in earlier books before this one.

The ending is total melodrama, although it brings the novel to a soft landing. The stage is set for the next birder murder mystery -- there's plenty of scope to move the series along in new directions, if the author chooses to do so.

Finally, there's clever use of the birding theme throughout the story. The magpie's role in the kidnapping story is interesting, and the government sponsored "bounty-hunting" of the ducks is bittersweet. The birding is the educational portion of the story, and provides local colour.

In the final analysis, this is an enjoyable read, although it's a challenge to follow the story at times. It's heavy on plot with some weakness on character development. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy of this book. The views expressed above are my own.

Note: I read this as an ARC from Dundurn, who is also my publisher. I don't write mysteries but Canadian nonfiction.
A Tiding of Magpies is author, Steve, Burrows, lastest birder murder mystery. I've enjoyed the previous books in the series and this one, no less. All are page turners and most satisfying.
Canadian DCI, Domenic Jejeune, is having a hard time of it as he is under investigation for one of his earlier cases and cannot unravel the current murder. Lindy, his partner, is under threat and his DS is beginning to doubt his boss.
The wild and remote parts of Norfolk in England are the setting once more and, as one reads, one can see the vast sky and hear the wind whistling. The characters are as well-drawn, as always. Tension crackles as the frustration rises. Danger lurks.
Readers will not be disappointed in "Magpies" — it's as good, if not better, than Burrows's earlier birder mysteries. Highly recommended.

This is book 5 in the Birder Murder Mysteries series. I must admit that I’m always fearful to read books in a series, especially when I haven’t read the previous books. Occasionally books can stand on their own and you don’t really need to have read the previous books. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this novel. What first attracted me to this book was the fact that I’m also a bird watcher and I thought it would be cool to read a mystery that brought together both of my passions.
The book starts with Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune working together with Sergeant Danny Maik to resolve a murder of a young man in a Polish community in Canada. The positive aspects of this book are the fact that the mystery starts off strong and really picks up midway through the book. The extensive descriptions of birds, and I particularly enjoyed the explanation on Eurasian magpies. Unfortunately, the fact that most of the important characters had been introduced in previous books really made understanding and even sympathizing with them extremely difficult to me. Jejeune seemed flat and unrealistic as a character, and I spent most of the book trying to understand the references to events from previous books. It is almost unfair to properly rate a book that I could have enjoyed better had I read at least one of the previous books.
My advice is to read the other books in the series to get a better appreciation for this novel.
I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book #5, in the Birder Murder Mystery

No doubts, reading this book you will soon see how the author’s passion for birds is the driving force throughout the mystery. Mr. Burrows knows how to spin a very intricate web of intrigue and weave the threads in a very particular way. It may take some time to get familiar with his style. I admit to have had a bit of trouble staying focused with “A Tiding of Magpies” and by the end this story never truly gelled.

To enjoy this book (and series) at its maximum I highly suggest reading the previous installments in order first. I have yet to read book 2 and 3 and I must say I missed out and was a bit lost at time not to have done so. This is the main reason I did not enjoy the story to the max. The author barely goes back in time so you are left out.

This latest continues the saga in Detective Chief Inspector Jejeune when his most celebrated case is suddenly reopened and his long-buried secrets threaten to come to light. Skillfully written, neatly constructed police procedural and a mystery centered on an inexplicably confounding murder of a young man. At the same time, his girlfriend, Lindy faces threat of her own and Jejeune needs to go all out to protect her.

This is one convoluted mystery that unfolds through the eyes of a bird loving Canadian detective extraordinaire. He is still unenthusiastic about his work but solving puzzles is his forte and Jejeune this smart detective will get his man at any cost…..or will he.

I have mixed feelings about this book, my fault I should have read the installments I missed, no excuses I have them in hands and I should definitely have read them sooner. I felt lost at times and often questioned where things came from, although I finally understood where all of this was going. Slow in pacing, this story trots along like a tired but stubborn old mule and like the mule needs a good push and less fuss. The characterization is good but trying to remember where they fit in is a challenge, some are recurring players. The plot is interesting, suspenseful in its own way and has some surprises to twist things around. Creating a captivating story around birds is an enterprise not all can master and weaving it into an entertaining mystery is a feat in itself, Mr. Burrows does hold up as an expert in both. This book may not have been my preferred by this author but I am not giving up on him…oh yes I will catch up before the next installment comes out.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the fifth in the Birder series which, perhaps more than any other series I am currently enjoying, requires you to read each novel in order to make sense of the next. I have previously read only the first and second instalments, so, while the story of the kidnapping of the Home Secretary's daughter is (finally!) laid out here, I have no idea who Ray Hayes is and I missed all the drama with Jejeune's brother Damian.

Jejeune, the main character, is opaque and impossible as before and, again as previously, I found it hard really to believe in his relationship with Lindy. All the other police officers were likeable and fairly well-developed characters, especially Maik. At times the plot moved reasonably fast and I became engrossed in the solving of the various mysteries, particularly the kidnapping story, but I am handicapped by my lack of interest in birds.

The ending was a huge disappointment to me on many levels. Jejeune's purported plan seemed highly unlikely to have gained approval from any of the authorities involved, and his actual plan was depressing and cruel. Again, who is Ray Hayes anyway?! Jejeune's decision to keep the discovery of the bookmark to himself was a questionable and selfish one in my opinion. I wonder if this series is now at an end...