It took me a while to get into this book,but once I did I couldn’t put it down and I finished it in a few days.The main character,Heather ,is a woman in her 50s who works for the Secret Service and is forced to go on the run for reasons that don’t become apparent until quite far on in the story.She has to use all the inner resources and skills she’s acquired in order to survive and in the process ,to look back at her life and some of the decisions she’s made.
It’s hard to say too much about the story without giving away the plot,but it’s very cleverly planned to drop in clues about the reasons for Heather’s escape as the story unfolds.
Very enjoyable for anyone who enjoys spy thrillers.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty

Heather, a former British soldier, now working for The Intelligence Service, finds herself isolated and on the run. What has led her into this situation, staying under the radar and fearing for her life? The chase is on!

This is a beautifully constructed thriller, fully engaging the reader with its immersive sense of place and danger. Heather is a character I didn’t want to leave by the end of the book.

One quote tickled me;

“he's a handsome potato of a man, but how much carbohydrate does any woman want?”

Warmly recommended.

#ABirdinWinter #LouiseDoughty #thriller

A Bird in Winter follows Heather ( Bird was a childhood nickname) as she flees from her position at British Intelligence after being wrongly accused of corruption.
As always Louise Doughty’s writing is astonishing and her sense of place second to none. Heather travels to the furthest Scottish isles and then onto Norway and Iceland, and you are able to visualise every aspect of her journey. However, the book is strangely muted and I was left unsure whether her intention was to to examine a middle aged rather lonely woman as she is forced into isolation and assesses what has bought her here, or to write a spy story about her flight. As the latter if doesn’t have enough peril to be a page turner. I did enjoy A Bird in Winter but didn’t love it, and the rather unsatisfactory ended just left me confused.

A Bird in Winter is an unusual read, a spy story with a protagonist on the run which somehow isn't as suspenseful as the genre would suggest. The Bird of the title refers to the childhood nickname of Heather, now middle aged and working for the mysterious Service, a UK intelligence agency. Bird takes flight in the middle of a workplace meeting, and it isn't until much later in the story that we begin to understand why.

A lot of this novel is focused on Heather's travels through the north of Scotland and on to Norway and Iceland as she tries to avoid detection, changing her appearance and going through a wide range of experiences along the way, including sleeping rough as well as booking into guest houses in remote locations. She also visits an important location from her past, and we learn about her history with her ex-Army colleague and friend Flavia. I found this part of the story frustrating. It's hinted at as a great love story, but ends unsatisfyingly.

A Bird in Winter is a very well-written, strangely slow-paced novel. There are some reveals and we do begin to understand what has led Heather to go on the run, but it's somehow all too subtle. The ending left me unsure that I had understood everything I needed to. This is a novel I will remember more for its descriptions of bleak and strange landscapes than for the plot.

I loved “Apple Tree Yard” by this author and so was looking forward to this book, but found I was bored and just could not engage with it, sorry!

''Killers come in all shapes and sizes after all. Sometimes they wear uniforms. Sometimes they wear soft white shirts.''

When we first meet Heather Berriman she's in Alaska. That's not 'Alaska' as in most northern state of America but a particularly cold part of an office building in Birmingham. It will be from here that she flees when she finds herself under threat. But I'm getting ahead of myself, Heather - known since childhood as 'Bird' - is deputy head of the Department of Standards a shadowy part of the security services tasked with investigating what might broadly be termed as spies who have gone rogue. Now Heather isn't bent: she made one or two unwise financial decisions and what started out as a manageable debt has got out of hand.

She allowed herself to become involved with her boss, Kieran Blythe, who ''is'' bent. Bird's effectively colluding with Kieran in hiding financial assets whilst his divorce is going through. She knows that she could be at risk of dismissal and when she hears that the Department of Standards is to be investigated, she runs. Most of ''A Bird in Winter'' is the story of how Bird came to be in this position. We work our way through her childhood (the daughter of a spy - if she did but know it) to joining the army (the WRAC - courses in flower arranging a speciality) and leaving the service when she hit a senior officer. Yes - he did deserve it. He'd had an affair with Bird's best friend, Flavia, and when she found that she was pregnant, told her to get an abortion.

We find out what's behind Bird's flight in easy stages. It ''is'' slow burn but it's brilliantly done and totally compelling. We learn a great deal about the tradecraft of a spy by seeing it applied practically and it's fascinating not least because you sense that this is only the surface of what Bird knows. The pace really picks up when Bird heads north and then abroad. I was particularly struck by the descriptions of the loneliness of someone on the run. Brilliant stuff.

As well as reading the copy sent to me by the publishers I listened to an audio download, which I bought myself. The narration is done by Clare Corbett and is excellent. The range of voices is well done and I was never in any doubt as to which character I was listening to. The pacing is equally good and I would happily listen to anything else narrated by Corbett.

I thought this was a brilliant tale, which kept me guessing until the end. I loved the character Bird, so resilient, honest and raw, as she goes on the run to keep her life. I really enjoyed the imperfect ending too, and was still thinking about her character and the things she had found out long after I had closed the last page. Utterly gripping.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Heather works for UK Secret Service and suddenly goes on the run. Why she does it is what is revealed as the story unfolds. A series of flashbacks help us understand Heather and why she thinks and behaves in a certain way. It is refreshing to have a woman as the protagonist in a thriller and this will appeal both men and women.

Heather (known as Bird) is in the meeting room Alaska, so called because it is the coldest room in the office. Kieron makes an announcement that they are good g to be investigated - yet, they are the investigators!
Bird immediately takes flight. Part 1 follows her intrepid escape from the known world. Part 2 reveals the backstory. Part 3 continues in the present.
On the run from what, she doesn’t know. Who, she doesn’t know. All she knows is she is compelled to keep moving.
The story kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know where each thread was leading, pulling the backstory helped with understanding.
Moving and heartbreaking.

Sometimes, it takes a few days of reflecting on a book before you really feel able to articulate your thoughts. Doughty has created a character in Heather that I am still thinking about and wondering if she could ever be happy again. As the action built, I found myself rooting for this middle-aged woman who although flawed, is clearly willing to do what it takes in this spy thriller.

Heather or the titular "Bird" is sitting in a meeting in a Birmingham office known colloquially as Alaska because of the glacial temperatures, when she abruptly gets up, leaves and goes on the run. We have no inkling as to why she has done this but as the story unfolds, we go back and forth in time and discover what is the catalyst for her fleeing a seemingly innocuous meeting. Bird gradually makes her way north using multiple disguises, and tries to figure out who might be following her and why. As more of the story is revealed, the pace of the story quickens and the landscape becomes more bleak and threatening which adds to the sense of drama.

Doughty has created a spy mystery which grips through the use of an unlikely lead character, and the twists and turns as the story progresses, leaving you guessing as to who can be trusted. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the arc.

This was a page-turning espionage thriller, yet written in a sensitive, engaging way. I enjoyed the reveal of the story, and found Heather's character interesting, if not always likeable. I really liked that our protagonist is an older woman on the run. It's refreshing that she is so capable, and fit, and clever. I felt like I was guessing at what was happening all along, and although it did start to run just a little long at the end I thought overall the pacing was good.

This story is a slow burner and follows the life of Heather Bird and her job as a spy (of sorts). It opens with her fleeing her office and the subsequent journey she has to make to keep one step ahead of those following her. It highlights what a lonely life these people lead, not being able to put down roots, never really trusting anyone and always looking over their shoulder. With that in mind the story does jump back and forth telling aspects of her early years, her youth and her adult time in various jobs. It does have a good twist at the end albeit a bit vague, so if you are unsure when reading it, I would urge that you do keep going.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Contains spoilers!

This is marketed as a crime thriller but I think it’s written more as a spy novel. Some of the story doesn’t really make sense to me - Bird is portrayed as highly intelligent but for example doesn’t use a burner phone with a passcode, leading to discovery of her phone number. One minute we are being told they are in a middle of a huge storm in the middle of the North Sea then a few sentences later she’s in Norway,

The writing of the scenery is brilliantly done and it was easy to image the bleakness.

The ending just seemed really off to me too.

Not one I’d recommend really!

Heather. affectionately named Bird by her father, is not who you would normally think of as a spy. She's in her 50s and has followed in the footsteps of her father who also worked for the Secret Service. She.is working in the office in Birmingham when she realises she's been set up as the fall guy by her boss and immediately decides to go on the run. She's already got a bag packed with essentials stashed at a local shop and so begins her new life. This is certainly not the usual type of spy story but it was extremely enjoyable and the author managed to perfectly convey how awful it must be to be constantly on your guard, never able to settle anywhere and distrusting almost everyone you meet.

Bird is on the run, but from whom and where to? Completely gripped by this unlikely heroine, 5o years old, fit as a butcher's dog and trained to detect espionage. Unlike most spy thrillers, Bird's chase is set in the mundane, her character (and others) so well drawn as we are taken through her life, her friendships, her relationships and her family. Her flight is a rollercoaster as she heads north to wintery lands, always looking over her shoulder by train, boat, car and on foot in perpetual motion. More please!

I am a fan of Louise Doughty as her books are usually well-written and original, which sets them apart from ordinary thrillers. A Bird in Winter proved to be no exception, although it diverged somewhat from my initial expectations based on the synopsis, turning out to be a blend of an intelligent espionage thriller and an introspective journey of a middle aged lonely woman. The plot was unhurried yet immersive, the unfolding of events occurring deliberately, gradually peeling back intricate layers of a multifaceted story. I did find that the glorious descriptions of various settings occasionally contributed to a deceleration in pacing, particularly towards the conclusion. On the whole, this was an original, interesting and thought

From the moment Heather, a British Intelligence officer tasked with investigating corruption within her agency, goes on the run to avoid being framed by her superiors, she has to be permanently one step ahead of both the legitimate and the corrupt authorities who pursue her in tandem. Her flight has been carefully planned, her preparations laid months in advance, but she’s still often only a hair’s breadth away from being caught, or worse.

Initially tense and compelling, A Bird In Winter changes pace a third of the way in and becomes reflective, filling in Heather’s background, detailing the events that led to her joining the service and those that ultimately made her vulnerable. But, in a technique that owes something to Le Carré,
Louise Doughty only ever releases information on a need-to-know basis, leaving the reader constantly trying to work out exactly what is going on while, at the same time, always bracing for the approaching threat.

Strong characterisation, a constant sense of jeopardy, clever handling of plot all combine to make this a highly enjoyable thriller.

Excellent read which I finished in two days and was hooked from the start. Completely absorbed with wanting to know what was coming next and really being surprised at all the turns throughout the story. It is a great spy thriller.
This older woman has given her life once she left the army o the Secret Service, as did her father before her. Heather, also referred to as Bird, is a very strong character and this helped her throughout the story. She was a good candidate because she had few ties in life other than her parents. Good to see an older protagonist in a book where she has to very quickly change her whole life and disappear and live a very solitary life in many different places while continually looking over her shoulder.
Wonderful read and highly recommend it.

A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty is a story about Bird who is working for the secret service, as her father did and the day comes when she works out of her office and goes on the run. Her own life then is about who will come after her.
I found it a difficult book to follow and I am not sure that I understood the purpose of the story, other than someone running from everything she has ever known..
A heavy, bleak story about a lonely woman who lived her life for her job, which she then had to leave and go on the run.

Whilst undoubtedly the author is a great writer, unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. The book started off well with a tense storyline and a great pace, but for me the middle section was too slow in pace and the the latter part of the book more like a travelogue than a novel and so didn't deliver the pace and plot that I was anticipating. However, I did enjoy some of the book, and it was a great premise. Thanks to nergalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.