As a bird nerd, this mystery was highly enjoyable. It was clever and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out the whodunit.

This is a clever and captivating debut novel. Rachael Gray takes all the tropes of a classic Agatha Christie whodunit and adds some very cunning plot devices of her own.
Elderwick Hall and its gardens are a perfect setting, and the combination of its dark and unlucky history, a fake priest hole, a missing servant girl, and the discovery of bones in the grounds, all enable the author to introduce some deliciously creepy moments.
Character and plot are perfectly balanced and it really is a guessing game throughout until an exceptionally masterful twist or two at the end.
I do hope this is the beginning of a series. It would be nice to revisit Elderwick and its inhabitants.

Laurel is taking a mental health break from her position as a palliative care psychologist and has moved to the small town of Elderwick. A few things about this part confused me. She is super new to town yet her house seems rather established. Did she buy it fully furnished and I missed that part? Anyway, other than that little kink in the storyline for me, I loved how the reader met the characters as Laurel did. No sneaky background relationship that we didn't know about. I will admit that the murderer surprised me quite a bit and felt a little out of left field. But otherwise, this was a great introduction to what is hopefully a nice new cozy series in a town I wouldn't mind spending some time in.