I loved this book! Belinda Bauer has created something new and unique with this dual-timeline mystery revolving around the (now illegal in the UK) egg collecting (some would say stealing) "industry". An ensemble cast--including a few familiar faces from her 2013 novel, Rubbernecker--propels us vividly through the intrigue, politics, and crime revolving around the near-mythical "Metland Eggs" and stir they caused between the wars, and again when one is rediscovered. With a little romance thrown in, this book has everything--love, murder, hope, history, and enough humor to make you laugh out loud.

You would think the egg on the cover of this book would give some clue that the story is about eggs, but I didn't clue into that, not that it detracted from the story, just wasn't sure why there was an egg on the cover. This story is told in two timelines, in 1920's and in 2020's, in the 1920's certain cliffs around Yorkshire England are accessed by some very brave men to collect eggs from sea faring birds, not to eat, but to collect and sell for the color of their shell, some are more desirable than others, and one young girl, has collected a red one from a remote cliff long thought inaccessible. A man purchases it for a pound, a lot of money in those days. In the 2020's a young man and his mom have been robbed at home by masked intruders, all they took was an item the man had been selling on ebay, something he had no idea was worth a lot of money, a red egg. This leads the young man, Nick and his friend, Patrick to tracking down the egg, and into the world of egg trafficking. There is a lot that goes on in this book and it took me a bit to get into the flow, but once I did the story just flew, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and to #Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

Belinda Bauer’s The Impossible Thing is a riveting exploration of the forgotten and harrowing practice of egg collecting in 1920s Yorkshire. Men risk their lives to plunder rare bird eggs from cliffside nests, driven by the greed of wealthy collectors, while the birds face potential extinction. At the heart of the story is Celie, a neglected young girl from Metland Farm, whose small size and bravery make her the perfect candidate for this dangerous work. Her discovery of a vivid red guillemot egg changes her life—and sets the stage for an intricate web of obsession, danger, and loss.

Decades later, Patrick Ford (from Rubberneckers) and his eccentric friend Weird Nick are drawn into a modern-day mystery when Nick’s prized scarlet egg is stolen during a home invasion. Their search unravels a deeper secret tied to Celie’s past and the thirty eggs she may have retrieved. The story weaves suspense, danger, and hope, with a nod to modern conservation efforts. Though the large cast of characters can be a bit overwhelming, the thrilling narrative and unique subject matter make this an unforgettable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really think Bauer is an excellent writer and a teller of unusual and original stories. And this novel is no different. My only complaint is that, as an American, I think this book was very “British” and as a result I am sure there was nuance I missed. It was also a little hard to follow. But I guarantee that you will never read a book about the subject matter of this book. Give it a try, I think it will be worth your while. And look up Bauer’s other books while you are at it.

4.75⭐️

I love this authors books, her characterisation is superb.

The storyline is highly original. I learnt quite a lot about Gulliemots, and the illeg@l trade in eggs. This book covers a 100 years, and looks at ste@ling birds eggs. A topic as a bird watcher I find very upsetting. My heart went out to the sea birds as their distress was seen by the reader. I loved how briefly we were put into the guillemot’s perspective.

It is so beautifully written, I love the main characters from both time frames, the children Robert (whose kind nature melted my heart)and Ceile from the 1920’s which extended over quite a long period also in the present Patrick makes a reappearance from Rubbernecker (my favourite Bauer book) with his friend Weird Nick. It had me chuckling at their interactions.
I did get myself a little confused over the golden eagle nest and eggs, and the situation that surrounded it which is the only reason it’s not a full 5⭐️

I’d describe this as a character driven mystery which is partly historical. Because of the subject matter it might have a more niche appeal, I am interested in the topic, so it was a great subject for me. I was very interested to see that it is based on a true story.

Moving and swooping and sailing through sky and sea, just like the cliff birds, Bauer's story moves and moves until it ends and in the meantime it hooks me in and I don't want to leave.

She delves into the fascinating obsession with eggs, beautiful eggs, stolen eggs. She adds in poverty, family and repercussions and lets us once again be present to part of Patrick and Nick's story. In this one she had me counting eggs and feeling sad and angry about the little guillemot.

Like always her characters and through them their story is what keep me there. With her people I always find myself wanting more, wanting to be there, to see what they are doing. So it's good that she likes to revisit her characters in following books.

‘The Impossible Thing’ by Belinda Bauer sees the return of this author with a bang.

Set in the world of egg collecting and associated crimes, you really do not see the story turning into the thriller that it is.

I absolutely loved the character development in this book. They were so well described you could see them.

The plot is compulsive and so cleverly plotted.

A great novel and highly recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read for a review.

Belinda Bauer is one of my favourite authors so I was so excited to read this!
To be honest, I really didn’t enjoy it.
It’s safe to say I have no interest in egg trafficking so did not get on with this book.
Chapters flick between past (around the fictional history around egg trafficking) and the present (two boys going to steal back an egg that was stolen from them).
It was an easy read, as all of Bauer’s books are, but unfortunately this was not her best.

I liked Weird Nick and Patrick’s characters.

I found myself getting rather uninterested quite a lot but managed to finish it.

In the year 1926, men were going to great lengths to obtain birds eggs, coloured eggs, the most beautiful eggs, stealing them from nesting birds to be sold. The men dangled off cliffs, took risks so they could line their pockets with silver and the men who bought them were obsessed with getting the best egg to have bragging rights. There was one section of the Cliff they could not reach, a narrow over hang with a wedge shaped crevice that loomed high over the sea. Celie Shepparton is tiny and always hungry and the perfect size to be lowered through the crevice. Here she takes the most beautiful egg, a red egg and it will change her life.
A hundred years later Patrick Fort finds his friend Nick and Nicks mother tied up. It seems he had a red egg and it has been stolen. Patrick and Nick (both a bit “odd” ) decide to find the egg and in the process uncover a greedy cruel world where one certain man will do anything to guard his priceless collection.

#TheImpossibleThing #NetGalley

Any work by Belinda Bauer is a joy to read and this one is no exception. Twists and turns abound with the trademark humor of the author.

Absolutely wonderful

While reading the blurb I was wondering what could be written about bird eggs. The author has done a good job of incorporating the events of a century ago into the present day and woven a good plot. I didn’t know there were collectors of birds eggs and there was an oology society. The conclusion felt rushed and some threads were brought together hastily. Overall 4.5 stars

“The Impossible Thing” by Belinda Bauer was an absolutely brilliant book, brilliant in every way possible! The historical mystery is about the little known topic of egg collecting. It speaks to the cruel and dangerous trafficking of these precious eggs during the 1920s. Most of these eggs were found on the cliffs of Yorkshire and sold to worldwide collectors and museums for huge profits. This book is about the most precious eggs which were collected each year by a tiny and very undernourished girl lowered on a rope through a small cliff hole until she became pregnant at age 30. This is her journey as well as the incredible story of the 30 red Metland eggs.
This book is totally engrossing filled with drama, unexpected twists, intrigue and believable characters. If I could give it 10 stars I would!

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm glad egg hunting is not a tradition in Sweden. I have loved Bauers work since her debut and this book don't disappoint. A good plot with twists and turns and in a environment that is perfect. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Impossible Thing.

I've read Ms. Bauer's books and have enjoyed most of them so I was excited my request was approved.

Sadly, this wasn't for me, mostly due to the narrative.

Who knew egg hunting was so dangerous?

I didn't care about the premise or the various nefarious characters involved, but the narrative contains the author's trademark style:

A plucky female character
A mysterious death or two
How each character ties together

The author wraps up everyone's storyline more or less neatly with a plausible explanation but I found the plot super boring and dull.

In the 1920s off the Yorkshire cliffs, rare eggs are retrieved amidst the bird parents' angry protests. Because the eggs are highly collectible and therefore valuable, climmers (climbers) incur great risk in securing their prize. One such climber is a young girl who finds the rarest egg of all and thus alters her life's course.

This book alternates between 1926 and present day, where a young man finds a rare egg among his late father's possessions, but until the egg is stolen, he doesn't really know what it is. Thus begins his quest to learn the identity of the thief and reclaim his egg.

Every element of this book is skillfully woven -- plot, characters, settings -- into a story that's difficult to classify but impossible to put down. Readers are quickly invested in the life of the little girl who receives no advantages in life, and 100 years later, the awkward young man who tries to help his friend find the stolen egg. A well-crafted masterpiece!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for this ARC of 'The Impossible Thing' by Belinda Bauer.

What an absolutely enthralling book.

Two parallel and intertwined timelines (if that's even possible), starting nearly a century apart, and revolving around a much-desired red guillemot egg.

In between the wars, we follow the goings on in the rabid egg-collecting world in England where eggs are stolen from their parents and traded among the wealthy at a time when they're serious status symbols. In the 2020s, we follow the goings on among thieves, museums, charities, and individuals where eggs are still being stolen and traded in a time when it's illegal to even own them.

Populated by wonderfully drawn characters in both timelines - Celie, Patrick, Weird Nick predominantly - and thoroughly laced with humour throughout, as well as violence and social commentary I was completely pulled into the story. Really engrossing.

This would make a wonderful 'small' film. I can see Hugh Grant in one of the roles and at least a cameo from Olivia Colman!

I'm away off to find Belinda Bauer's other books now.

This uses the historical element that I was expecting and hoped from the description. The concept worked overall and had that element that I wanted. It uses the time-period perfectly and had characters that felt like they belonged in this world. Belinda Bauer wrote this well and left me wanting more.

There are villains and heroes, mystery and crime, dangers and tragedy, abandonment and mistreatment, ambition and greed, family and friendship, death and remorse as well as love and forgiveness.
There is a dog named Patch …
There is a feeling of a guardian angel protecting a child …
There is ‘coming-of-age’ - inspiration-growth-misery-
sadness, tears and laughter-hoarders and obsessiveness-
fears and hope as well as joyful humanitarian warmth throughout….
….and true earned happiness.
There is also Belinda Bauer’s ‘one-of-a-kind’ memorable characters and fascinating historical-fiction storytelling about birds eggs — stealing birds’ eggs.
As Nick said, “who knew the world of eggs was so cut-throat!”
Beautiful Guillemot eggs — all shades of blue… brown, green, pale, dark scribbled, spotted, splashed . . . red …

There were a million seabirds — each and everyone of them drawn back every summer to same place— The North Yorkshire cliffs — the same tiny ledge, where it would lay its eggs and raise its chicks . . .
A thousand birds - maybe ten thousand. Gulls and fulmars and guillemots and puffins and gannets and kittiwakes and razorbills.
Eggs were being stollen …. being sold to wealthy greedy collectors.

Celie Sheppard’s father, John Sheppard, left when she was born.
“The four older, darker children wanted no part of Celie. They didn’t know what she done wrong — only that she had come and their father had left, and they considered it a very bad exchange”.
Celie, was tiny …really tiny. She looked like a three year old when she was six years old.
Enid Sheppard, now a single mother to five children, hired a helper - Robert - to work on their farm…..’The Metland Farm’.
Robert was slow, but responsible. Robert was loyal. He was only eight years of age when he first came to work at the Metland Farm. He had food - a blanket - and slept in the barn with his dog, Patch.
Enid appointed Robert as caretaker to Celie. The older siblings usually shunned Celie.
Between feeds, Robert, carried tiny Celie all over the farm from job to job.
As Celie grew older — she still followed Robert around from job to job.
The Sheppard family was poor - barely making ends meet.
Further into the story we discover just how brave this tiny girl is.
“Celie remembered with a start that there was another egg still in the deep pocket of the old leather apron”.
“And even though she had no way of knowing it that night — and wouldn’t properly understand it for a good while yet — that was the egg that would change your life”.

Nextdoor to the Sheppard’s was another single mother, Jen Brecon Beacons. Her son, Nick, was friends with a character we got to know from her novel, Rubberneckers:
Patrick Fort….(autistic). Patrick was slower to react and fully understand the context of situations.
One day when Patrick went over to Nick’s house ….(he called his friend “Weird Nick”). Patrick saw the door open.
“Hello Mrs. Nick”
“He knew something was wrong. And he had muddy shoes. His friend’s mother was super fussy about shoes in the house.
But he kept his shoes on in case he had to run”.
The house was in shambles. Weird Nick’s mother was lying face down on the floor by the fire, which had gone out.
Her mouth had been covered by a piece of broad silver tape. Her wrist were bound.Her ankles were also bound”.
“Where’s Nicky?”
“Weird Nick was also tied up and bound in plastic under his bed in his bedroom”.
“Patrick untied both of them”.
The robbers stole a scarlet egg tucked inside a carved box.
Nick and Patrick set out with a plan to get the egg back. It was a valuable egg— and illegal to sell bird’s eggs.

The narrative weaves past and present stories together …. giving us a very entertaining story about the stealing of bird eggs.
I knew nothing about the history of smuggling rare bird eggs.
I knew nothing about criminal collectors (oologists), who stole eggs from wild clutches to build collections of different species and trade with one another.
It’s an absolute trip to learn about something I knew nothing.

“The Impossible Thing” is a FABULOUS HISTORICAL FICTION novel. Its idiosyncrasy is eccentric and deliciously strangely outlandish…… utterly unique…..entertaining!!!
The characters are what make this novel so endearing….funny …and touching.

Congrats to Belinda Bauer
….for another outstanding -educational-entertaining crime novel.
Belinda Bauer, writes intelligent-brilliant crime novels.
She’s been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for “Snap”. …as well as having received many other well-deserving awards.
This makes the seventh book I’ve read (each more distinct than the next), by this very gifted author, who grew up in England and South Africa. She now lives in Wales.

I found a small quote by Belinda that I’d like to share….(I see it - have seen it - in all her books):
“According to Belinda Bauer, crime is actually the story of how lives of people can change by the misdeeds of others. From the pensioner who may loose his savings in a crash in stock market, to a refugee, to a mugging victim. Life is a river and crime is the rocks. And it is just when people hit the rock, that they are capable of finding out whether they are the ones of life’s swimmers or sinkers.
The famous writer focuses on survival and recovery— the rock itself is almost incidental”.

Wonderful on soooo many levels!!!

I’ve been a fan of Belinda Bauer since I read Rubbernecks. I was thrilled to see she had a new book coming out. I have to say she is incredibly talented and took a unique and perhaps dull subject matter of egg collecting and made it riveting and touching. I devoured this story in a day and was sad when it ended. She is one of the very best.

4.5 Stars raised to 5. When I first discovered a book by Belinda Bauer on Goodreads, I was enthralled with its original storyline and memorable characters This led me to read and enjoy all her books in rapid succession, and I considered her a must-read favourite crime writer. It has been a long time since her last book, and I was worried that she had retired from writing. I was excited to learn that she has a new book, 'The Impossible Thing,' coming soon, and was thrilled to obtain the ARC through NetGalley and the publisher. This went to the top of my reading list, and I neglected everything else to read it in one day.

The book introduced me to the obscure, mostly forgotten topic of egg collecting, and the story was riveting. The story examines the cruel world of egg trafficking on the cliffs of Yorkshire in the 1920s. Men are lowered on ropes over the cliffs where sea birds build their nests, putting some species in danger of extinction. Rival egg traffickers await them on the cliff above. They offer payment for the eggs retrieved and resell them to wealthy collectors and scientific institutions for a huge profit. It is a story of greed and the obsessive quest by wealthy men to obtain unique, priceless eggs valued for their colours and markings. The nesting birds are made frantic by their loss, and with their eggs being stolen, extinction is forthcoming.

The most desired and priceless eggs have been retrieved by Celie, a tiny neglected girl from nearby Metland farm. She did not resemble her siblings, so the father left when she was born, leaving her mother to struggle on an impoverished farm. Her mother blamed Celie for everything, and the girl was undernourished and tiny, about the size of children half her age. Her small size and bravery led to her being lowered through a small opening on the cliff, where she obtained an unusual treasure, a vivid red egg from a guillemot pair that is highly coveted. By the late 1930s, Matland Farm had prospered due to money Celie received for her efforts, and she decided she was finished retrieving the precious eggs for the traffickers.

Later, Patrick Ford ( an autistic man from Rubberneckers) visits his friend Weird Nick. He finds Nick and his mother tied up in their remote home following a home invasion. The only thing stolen in the robbery was an elaborately carved case containing a scarlet egg. Nick had advertised the egg briefly on eBay but discovered that the selling bird's eggs was now prohibited by law.

The two young men decide to go on a quest to find the stolen egg Nick is brave and reckless, and Patrick's unique thought patterns make him invaluable in the search. He decides there is not just one egg missing but thirty eggs, according to the number of times Celie had been lowered through the small crevice. Very few have guessed this number exists, and the precious eggs may be hidden and forever lost to history. There are so many places where the eggs may have been kept secretly. Where to start looking? Patrick and Nick may be putting their lives in danger. Also, Celie, now married and pregnant, is at risk.
I found the characters to be fascinating, but their vast numbers and names tended to confuse me. There were the names of children, workers on nearby farms, rival traffickers, obsessive and dangerous collectors, etc. I wish I had kept notes. Nevertheless, I was absorbed in the thrills and suspense of the story. I was happy to see hope in the present day that the extinction of wild sea birds may be avoided through the efforts of conservationists.

I highly recommend this book and Bauer's previous books. 'The Impossible Thing' is due to be published on April 08. 2025.