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THE BIRD WHISPERER

Book 3 in The Mattie Saunders Series

Love on the rocks, cultures in conflict, climate in crisis,

women at risk, birds on the brink.

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Love on the rocks, cultures in conflict, climate in crisis, women at risk, birds on the brink. Romance, action and environmental issues combine for an entertaining and exciting exploration of provocative themes and contemporary culture.

The end of her relationship with rock star partner, Bodine, has left Mattie feeling unsettled and the death of a close friend has heightened her vulnerability. She hopes her fieldwork studying hummingbirds in The Rockies will allow her the peace to heal, but a #MeToo episode with her college professor forces her to flee into the wilderness.

She's rescued by Simon, an Indigenous person and activist for First Nations causes. His care and concern are comforting, and she finds herself attracted to him. But the attraction abruptly ends when they confront an eagle poacher who sells the feathers and body parts on the black market.

The poacher is Simon's cousin and he's not about to turn him over to the authorities. Cultural differences emerge and principles clash as Mattie realizes she has to decide between justice for the bird and her feelings for Simon.

“A very entertaining story with plenty of action and a strong female main character. The storyline is very good and contains several subplots. All the characters “gets” are realistic. A highly recommended novella that was very enjoyable.”

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#birding #birdlovers #parrots #birds #eagles #environment #conservation #animalrescue #pets #FirstNations #MeToo #drugs #IndigenousPeople #pipelines #climatechange #Multicultural #interracial #romance #action #adventure

I kept hearing whispers about this book. People were SO excited and wanted it so badly and those whispers stuck in my head but I hadn’t read the author and I REFUSED to visit Netgalley because I have absolutely zero willpower when it comes to their offerings. But then a few super early reviews came in and naturally I had a weak moment and hit up NetGalley and I am not at all sorry. Well, perhaps a wee bit because there was some animal stuff in here that was hard to read (prepare thyself) but trust me when I say this book is an experience that has the power to take your damn breath away. I don’t say that about a lot of books, hardly any at all actually, but this one managed to do it several times.

It’s about a horrifically bleak and terrible dark deed done by a few over-zealous young punks on a part of the reservation that did not belong to them. This memory will follow and haunt them (as well it should if you ask me). This book is painful to read but truly hard to put down at the same time. Whenever I had to put it aside to return to reality it lingered at the edges of my brain.

“When the whole world hurts, you bite it, don’t you?”

I struggled with this review. I kept starting it and stopping it fearing I’d never be able to do any kind of justice to it without spoiling the hell out of it and I am not going to do that. This book shocked me even though I was warned that it was going to do just that. I figured, “Nah it’s not going to get ME” but I was wrong. The writing is engaging and harrowing, the characters flawed and hard to look away from and it’s simply a beautifully tragic masterpiece of horror on so many levels with anguish so strong you can feel it stain your soul. Read it if you want your heart ripped out of your chest, chewed up, spit out, rubbed in the bloody dirt, and then super glued back together with your tears.

Brilliantly breath-stealing. Just go read it if this is at all something that you think you’re into. I'm giving this one a rare five star because it is deserving and this book is the reason why I am so miserly with my five stars!

Ten years ago, four young Native American men poach elk on tribal lands set aside for elders. They are caught. There is more to the story.

'The Only Good Indians' is a brilliant, slow build, of a novel. Once events start really going wrong in the first section it just keeps coming. A reset for the second and third part of the novel build even faster. Very unnerving, and not for anyone still traumatized by 'Where the Red Fern Grows' or 'Bambi'.

Unfortunately for my husband, I am often a movie talker. At least when viewing at home, don't get me started on those youths talking to each other through a movie up front. Just exit and smoke behind the building like decent folk. Your parents will never know. ANYWAY, at home, I ask questions no one could possibly answer for me, I gesticulate, I shout. I stand up and leave the room only to turn around, stand on the threshold, and ask more questions. Books don't often do that to me, but this was one of them.

These characters were amazing. i should say more about the book, but read the other reviews! This book nails it. I am going to check out more from Jones and, with encouragement from the excellent 'Empire of Wild', I'm going to need to read more horror from First Nations authors, too.

I liked how this book had an eerie feeling to it as I read it. When I finish reading a novel, I always take a few minutes to look at the novel’s cover to see if what I had just read, matches what the outside looks like.  When I looked at this book’s cover, I realized that this cover described this book perfectly.  It was everything: from that deer, to the variety of texts, to the use of shadowing and the dark colors chosen on the cover, this was the novel.  I thought this novel had a taunting, shadowy feeling which I really enjoyed.  I never knew what would happen when I turned the next page. 

The novel is about what happened when four Native American guys were out hunting one day.  It was the last time these four guys would be together hunting.  Cass was driving, the weather was getting bad, but they couldn’t stop now, they wanted to end their season on a high note.  They were hunting elk and they went into an area that was off-limits to them.  Yeah, I was thinking all kinds of problems now but nothing like what was coming. 

It’s been ten years since that day that the boys went hunting. Out hunting that day, Cass told his friends that he would take the heat for whatever happened that day but it doesn’t work that way because every single one of them was involved and they’ll all pay a price. 

I like how Jones lets us get to know the characters. Jones has a unique style of writing.  I love the times when I get so involved in my reading that I yearn to be inside the book and get the full effect. With Jones’ writing, I wanted to jump inside his book and witness first-hand what was transpiring.  I wanted to see the characters faces, see exactly everything that they’re seeing and witness the events.  This was an entertaining read for me.

Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 

This is a truly strange book, and I like that about it. Jones really nails the whole creeping dread, slow burn, unhinged reality thing. And I am here for it. I also appreciated how much of this story was tied to Native American experiences and storytelling. This book couldn't have been written by, or about, white people and been even remotely similar. The horror, characters, and narrative all tie so tightly into native topics that you could never pull them apart. It was probably my favorite part.

I don't want to say too much about this one because I'm so glad I went into it blind, and I recommend avoiding spoilers as much as possible. All you need to know is this is a uniquely Native American take on the horror genre and it is chock full of tragedy, humanity, striking visuals, creeping dread, and a supernatural element that will chill you to your core. I was gritting my teeth and fighting the urge to look away, even as I read past my bedtime. If any of that sounds like it might be up your alley give this book a try.

The Only Good Indians hits shelves in April of 2020.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!