This was a very entertaining read. Our main character, Patrick Bird, is a very endearing and one gets the impression he wants to be more worldly than he actually is. The setting is 1960s Toronto, which feels very exotic to this Irish millennial reader. It is certainly very atmospheric and the supporting characters are, in general, intriguing. There’s a great interplay between classes and generations and the story did not go in the direction I had anticipated and that is no bad thing. While the relationships grow ever more convoluted, this is written well enough that it kept me hooked, and the pacing is just right.

A sign of a good mystery is one that keeps you reading and this certainly succeeds. I would absolutely read more stories about Patrick Bird, and more books by Alexis Stevanovich-Thomson. A four-star read - it does exactly what I wanted, and then some.

Can you imagine, being the type of investigator who normally goes and catches people cheating on their partners, now having to deal with finding a missing sixteen year old girl in 1960s Toronto? Well, Patrick Bird sure can! And when he's on the case, you can be sure no stone will be left unturned. Mostly for his own curiosity's sake though, but still.

It was evident I'd like Mr Bird from the start, Stefanovich-Thomson gave him such a distinct (and funny) inner voice, that it was a hoot following him around.

I loved seeing his investigative methods, the way he interviewed people, the details he noticed, and how the universe never seemed to give him a break.

The book could be slow in parts, but it had the right vibes which is all that matters, really. It felt like a noir for sure.

Naturally, finding Abbie wasn't the only mystery Patrick had to solve here, and there were plenty of twists to keep the reader entertained. I did see a few coming, but not the ending ones.

The writing style made for an easy read, I had no trouble getting into the world, not even when I had to take days long breaks because of real world stuff. And the overall flow of the story was good.

I'd like to follow this sarcastic detective on more cases, hopefully the next book will be out soon.

*Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This easy to read mystery is set in Toronto and follows detective Patrick Bird and his new case to find a missing girl. I lived in Toronto for a while, so it was nice to read about familiar places. The book started out fairly strong, but I found that the mystery ended up unraveling super fast towards the end, which detracted from its overall plot and pacing. However, overall a solid book.

When Trent Linklater reports his daughter Abigail missing, Patrick Bird, Private Investigator is sent to the Mansion, and finds himself in a very dysfunctional household. Patrick is hired as both Trent and his wife Jane seem utterly self absorbed In themselves and are not too concerned about their missing daughter.
Patrick was a Police Officer, but dropped out of the Academy. He has a distinct lack of people skills and his harshness and abrasive questions really annoy Trent and Jane. Patrick soon finds himself embroiled in a case where everything is a lie, anyone with information has a chance of being found dead, ant there are some quite stunning twists and turns before a rather complex and satisfying murder is solved.
I found the 1965 setting to be very atmospheric.
I liked the characters of Patrick and Abigail, both capable of asking questions to get under the skin, they have fiery tempers as well.
The other characters are rather untrustworthy, shady and very secretive, which is what is needed in a murder mystery. I didn’t find Trent and Jane likeable, they had no flesh on their bones.
This is a debut novel and I really enjoyed it. Not quite “ just the facts ma’am “, apologies to Dragnet, but I can imagine the laconic drawl and disinterested face of Patrick Bird already.
A five star read. I am looking forward to the next book in this series very much.
My thanks to Netgalley and Dundern Press for my advanced copy freely given in exchange for my honest review. I will post to Goodreads and Amazon Uk upon publication.

4.5 Stars. I want to thank NetGaley and Dundurn Press for the ARC of this debut novel which I enjoyed. This was the first novel by author Alexis Stefanovich-Thompson and it involved very twisted and dysfunctional family dynamics. Their sixteen-year-old daughter, Abbie, is missing. A young detective, Patrick Bird, has been assigned to investigate and undergoes trials and tribulations in his search and in conducting interviews in his effort to find the missing girl.

I thought the book was well-written with a great choice of words, description of characters, and the steps in the detective's criminal procedure. It was taut and well-paced, without unnecessary fillers. The story takes place in Toronto in the mid-1960s. The location describing the streets and neighbourhoods of Toronto would have greater meaning for readers familiar with the city, but this didn't interfere with my reading pleasure.

Detective Bird is a young, dedicated private detective, but seems very unlucky. He had been dismissed from Police Academy training. He tries to control his anger and can be rude and outspoken, but still likeable. His work as a private detective has involved spying on unfaithful spouses, but now has been assigned to his first missing person case. He is determined to prove himself in the new role, but is unaware of how complex the case will become and all the mishaps he will encounter along the way.

Abbie's father is a wealthy businessman who wishes to avoid the police and any publicity resulting from the search for his daughter. He reminds Bird that he is paying for his search and demands that she be brought home quickly. He does not seem interested in reasons she may have disappeared, just that she be brought home quietly. Has she been abducted and killed? Has she been hanging out at coffee shops with hippies? Did she run away with a boyfriend?
Her stepmother says that she went away to get an abortion. Her twin brother believes she is hanging out in the library. A former best friend says they had barely any recent contact, denied Abbie had a boyfriend, and that she spent most of her time working on a secret project. Bird sees a dishevelled man in the paren't yard, chases him but without results. He learns that Abbie is alive and well and in town accompanied by a young man. Once thy are with the man whom Bird chased from the yard. When he sights them, he has never been able to intercept them. He notices Abbie entering a church, but the preacher orders security guards to drag him outside without finding her. Abbie's father learns that she is now at her grandmother's about 2.5 hours distant by car. Bird is ordered to go immediately and bring her home.

The book has a classic noir feel. The investigation is conducted without GPS, tracking devices, surveillance cameras, old library copies of newspapers not microfilmed, and no smart phones. Pay phone booths must be fund.

I sympathized with Bird, but was amused at his streak of bad luck. His bosses are losing faith in his abilities. It takes some time to discover the very complicated answers to what is going on with Abbie and within her family. The case is finally solved after a murder. Bird finds the body ad has become a main suspect. The solution to the mysteries follows many twists and turns and violence, with another killing. Bird's life and career are in danger.

This was the first of a Patrick Bird series, and will definitely read the next one. The date of publication is July 23/2024.

Washed out of the police academy, Patrick Bird works for a private detective, and spends his time photographing cheating spouses. Then his boss assigns him to a missing persons case, and Patrick is introduced to the wealthy Linklater family. Sixteen-year-old daughter Abbie has disappeared, and her father is convinced Bird can quickly find her at some café, without the need to delve into the family’s relationships and past.

Bird is unimpressed with the man and his arrogant, dismissive attitude, but learns more about Abbie from her twin brother and stepmother. They, respectively, think Abbie is working on some secretive project, or is getting an abortion.

As Bird searches the Parkdale neighbourhood, he comes across a variety of different people: a rough-looking man trying to get into the Linklater home, a priest helping people suffering from trauma, a librarian whose help enlightens Bird as to what has occupied so much of Abbie’s time, and could be the impetus for her disappearance: a tragedy in the Linklater’s past.

Bird senses that unless he can understand that past incident, he won’t be able to resolve the real reason behind the strange silences in the family, much to the Linklater patriarch’s and his boss Sid's frustration.

Bird does get his answers, but multiple secrets come out and tragedies ensue, leaving Bird worn out and dismayed.

It was a pleasure to read an historical mystery set in 1965 Toronto. The Toronto Bird inhabits is gritty in parts, and well-off in others, and is also the stuffy place I remember when I first visited the city in my childhood, many years after this story is set.

Patrick Bird has a chip on his shoulder, is quick to respond with insolence or truculence. He’s not enjoying trapping cheating spouses, and dislikes talking to clients. He had to leave the police academy for reasons undisclosed initially, but from that we know he wants to help and protect others. And though more likely to use sarcasm in his interactions, it does not mean that he’s necessarily a bad investigator. His instincts tell him there is something behind the wealthy, attractive façade of the Linklaters; this is proven to be right in this first slightly awkward start of a series: events and interactions did not always flow well. Also, the author had Bird inferring longstanding character traits or behaviours from just a few statements exchanged with characters, which felt implausible.

Bird is no Sherlock, being more of a plodder towards the truth, but his instincts that there is more going on under the surface of a situation is spot on. That he was right is this story is actually sad, considering the terrible outcomes of his first real investigation. I think it would be interesting to read more in this series, particularly as Patrick Bird shows hints of developing into a complicated character as time goes on.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Dundurn Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Police academy burnout turned private eye Patrick Bird works divorce cases, using his camera to catch the unfaithful and the lonely looking for love in rented rooms. But his easy routine is shattered by a new case involving a missing girl.

I loved this book; great writing style. Superb three-dimensional characters. Great pace and story. I enjoyed the way the writer adds layers as the story progresses plus the descriptions are brilliant. Lots of twists and turns. It’s a terrific read.

*3.5 stars*

Parkdale, Toronto in the mid 1960’s, where Patrick Bird is a police academy cadet burnout turned PI, who works divorce cases and catches people with his camera doing dirty deeds in dark rooms. But his easy routine is shattered when his boss hands him the Linklater case.

16 year old Abbie Linklater has been missing for three days. Her mother believes Abbie’s getting an abortion. Her twin brother thinks she’s studying at the library. Her best friend could care less. Her father has no idea, but has an aversion to involving the police, hence employing a PI.

Bird’s investigations lead to many secrets that were meant to stay buried, so expect some twists. A little slow at times but I liked Bird - he’s outspoken and downright rude at times, but somehow he had me rooting for him. If you like mysteries set before the advent of technology then you’ll very likely enjoy this one.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

An okay read though lagging a bit in the middle. I liked the ending leaving it wide open for this new series to jump right into a new adventure for this somewhat troubled private detective Patrick Bird.

3.25☆

Really enjoyed the old timey feel of this book. The private detective actually doing the work to figure out a case of a missing girl and all the complications and twists.

I did not care to finish this book, unfortunately. The Road to Heaven did not grab my attention the way I would have liked so I could not keep reading. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.

I DNF'd this one at 67%—I felt like Stefanovich-Thomson tried to do a lot with this book, and I couldn't stick with it. I felt like it was quite predictable and even though it was well-written, I didn't care much for the story of characters.

Thank you to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was a decent book if you enjoy reading crime novels. This was well written and kept me engaged. I enjoyed the characters. I thought this was very predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read.

It's July 1965 and Patrick Bird is a private detective in Toronto, specializing in catching unfaithful spouses in compromising situations. His next case is finding a missing teenager named Abbie. Her father hires the detective agency rather than contacting the police because he wants it to be kept quiet. Patrick starts tracking Abbie's movements and realizes she is still in their neighbourhood. As Patrick keeps digging, he realizes her disappearance has something to do with a bank robbery in their neighbourhood about 10 years earlier.

This is the first in the Patrick Bird series. It is written in first person perspective in Patrick's voice. I liked the writing style but found it got a bit draggy at times, for example when Patrick visited the church and the minister's sermon was repeated word for word. I thought it started out interesting but then got a bit convoluted and farfetched (especially the scene in the old Seahorse Motel). I liked that it was set in the High Park and Parkdale neighbourhoods of Toronto ... I don't live far from them so know the places Patrick checked out. As a head's up, there is swearing.

I enjoyed the premise and the start of the book but didn't really like where it ended up. In particular I didn't like Abbie's storyline or (without giving too much away) when that person was explaining the history to Bird and what was going on while they were explaining it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

An excellent historical noir featuring a well developed and interesting characters.
Plenty of twists, a fascinating atmosphere and a solid plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

1965 in Canada, a teenage girl, Abigail Linklater, goes missing and her father employs a private detective, Bird, to find her and bring her home. This makes a change for Bird from his usual catch-them-in-the act divorce proceedings work. Only thing wrong with the scenario, is that no-one except the father is worried about Abigail, and she is not really ‘missing’ as so many people have seen her out and about.
As you would expect, there are plenty of secrets in the Linklater family, which slowly come out. There is a femme fatale, using sex to get her own way, and a rich man using his money and arrogance to get his. Twist and turns – some guessable, others not.
So, all the right ingredients, but somehow this book did not grab my attention as much as it should have. It did get better approaching the end. Case is solved – but I doubt anyone lives happily ever after.
A good read – but not great. I probably won’t continue with the series.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by either the author or publisher.

This was, to me, an incredibly slow story about a bunch of characters with decrepit morals. It was disturbing to read about the lying, cheating, etc that went on in this book. There is a way to insinuate such things and have the plot move on and be very interesting and engaging, but this author chose to give great attention and detail to those points and it ruined the story. I would say this book was 10% poorly formed mystery and 90% ick.

This was a wonderful surprising great read. If your looking for and old fashing detective set in the 60's then this is the book for you.
I believe author is working on a follow up. Highly recommend this one.
Thanks NetGalley for advance copy

Set in 1965 it was good to meet Patrick bird who works divorce cases. He is tasked with looking for a sixteen year old girl who is missing. There's more to the story than meets the eye however and soon all hell kicks off. Plenty of twists and shocks to keep you going. And what a messed up family this was!