THE BIRDWATCHER

When her childhood best friend is accused of committing double murder, a fashion reporter tests her skills as an investigative journalist in hopes of discovering what really happened.

The book opens as middling fashion reporter Irene Bigelow watches her old friend Felicity Wild suffer through her arraignment. The charges allege that while working as a professional escort, Felicity manipulated two clients into naming her as beneficiary of their life-insurance policies before killing them. Reenie hasn’t seen Felicity in years, but she knows in her gut that her old friend, a bird-lover who’d wanted to be a biologist, couldn’t have committed the acts of which she’s accused. When catching sight of Reenie in the courtroom, Felicity mouths one message: “Go away.” Reenie doesn’t buy it. Thus begins her quest to find information she can use in an article intended to clear Felicity’s name. The only problem is that nobody wants her to proceed—not Reenie’s boss at the fashion magazine, not Felicity’s handsome attorney, and, most especially, not any of the people in Felicity’s life who might actually possess useful information. Even so, Reenie won’t be deterred, and she begins investigating Felicity’s personal history as well as the crimes, no matter what it might cost her. Narrated in the first person, the book follows Reenie as she knocks on doors, tracking down Felicity’s family members and old acquaintances. The novel includes a preponderance of dialogue, which, though often witty and insightful, slows the pace in a story meant to deliver heightened drama and suspense. Likewise, the large cast of characters proves difficult to follow as most supporting characters fail to distinguish themselves. Despite the slow pace, the author does an admirable job of creating a complex criminal scenario and portraying characters with nuanced feelings about old friendships, while also highlighting the interplay between sex, money, and power.

An unhurried crime story that pulls between friendship and secrets.