This is a dark tale, and O’Donnell doesn’t shy away from showing the evil lurking in us. It’s a sequel to The House on Vesper Sands, which I have not read but has been on my TBR. It was fine, for me, as a stand-alone but I’m sure I would have gotten more out of it if I knew the history and backstory.

There’s an Inspector, Henry Cutter, and a Sergeant, Gideon Bliss, living in London and solving crimes in the 1840’s. There are a string of disturbing murders with a history that goes back decades. Bliss teams up with journalist Octavia Hillingdon to find out what is going on before there’s another victim.

Haunting and mysterious, at the core was the question of Justice and how it is served. Who is truly good and who is evil? Can the victim also be the perpetrator? At times almost theatrical in style, this slow paced thriller really came together at the end. To be honest, the middle was less thrilling to me and I considered not finishing it. But I’m really glad I stuck through it until the end. There was a slow build up and a thoughtful finale. Worth the read.

The Naming of the Birds is the second book by the author Paraic O'Donnell featuring the verbally bombastic Inspector Cutter and his awkward, timid Sergeant , Gideon Bliss. I loved the first book, The House on Vesper Sands and you should definitely get your hands on it as well if you missed it. In this second book, Cutter and Bliss become caught up in an investigation of a series of ritualistic slayings of some of the British Empire's most prominent elder citizens. The chilling case is doggedly pursued by Cutter, whose colorful dialogue is highly entertaining even if it does go on at some length at times. Sergeant Bliss whose mind is sharper than his reflexes more often than not, joins in as well as fearless newspaper reporter Octavia Hillingdon. The trio will unearth a shocking history of cruelty, brutality, depravity, and madness that define the very word Empire itself. The definition of Justice is perhaps more elusive.... I loved this book. The author has a wonderful gift for dialog and his characters truly come alive like flesh and blood from the page. I do occasionally want to tell Inspector Cutter to shut the hall up and felt as a reader that the story was bogged down in his Minolta at times. The conclusion of the book quite honestly left me stunned and awed by the power of storytelling. No are facts history book can do this, no matter how shocking and grim those facts are. Only powerful storytelling can knock the breath out of you in this way. Although the events of this book are fictional, they are True.

Love this book! It's suspenseful and will keep you hooked. I was not a fan of the repeat cover. There are at least two other book that have this same cover.

After a devastating fire a group of children are rehoused in a remote, secretive and abusive facility. Some time later, Inspector Cutter and (almost) Sergeant Bliss are working a very unusual case which seems to be related. Fans of gothic suspense and historical fiction might enjoy it.

This is the sequel to The House on Vesper Sands and It was just as good if not better. We are still following Inspector Cutter and Sergeant Bliss along with Octavia. In this book they are trying to solve the murders of prominent people that were involved in deaths of children in an asylum in 1872. The Naming of the Birds by Paraic O’Donnell. 4.5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was perfect for the spooky season. It was a dark and twisted gothic read that I enjoyed very much. I thought the author did an amazing job through characters and story line. I look forward to reading more from O'Donnell. I will definitely be recommending this book to others.
Thank you Net Galley ARC

This was a very strange read. It was gothic and dark and some parts did not make sense. I think the writing was decent but the story itself was just weird and felt like it had no point. Not my type of book

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!