'There’s mystery & clues that bug you when the protagonist ignores them & a bird with a physic link.' #Review

For The Birds: a Tall Pines Mystery

by Aaron Paul Lazar

Genre: Paranormal Mystery

Book Synopsis

What happens when a parakeet named Ruby gets an unexpected mind-meld with Marcella Hollister's quarrelsome mother, Thelma? After Thelma is kidnapped from her hospital bed, Marcella must find her -- somewhere in the tall pines of the six-million-acre Adirondack Park. With the help of her Native American husband Quinn and bizarre ""tips"" from Ruby, Marcella butts heads with quirky bird psychic Earl Tiramisu, much to the chagrin of the FBI, who wants her to stay out of the investigation.

Why is Tiramisu asking questions about Thelma's past and the money she's been spending? The FBI agents hint that it may be related to an unsolved fifty-year-old bank heist, but Marcella can't believe her annoying, but honest-to-a-fault mother could be involved.

Across the rugged Adirondack park landscape, a brutal scenario evolves, where the good guys aren't what they seem, and only Ruby's newly acquired talents provide slim hope for survival.

Bec's Rating

Bec's Review

The middle half of For the Birds is an intriguing and suspenseful story that has you wanting to read the next chapter. Sadly however the book starts slow and ends even slower. It took some time for the mystery or danger of this book to even develop, beyond being followed by a white van not much of interest happens in the start of the book. It isn’t until a fair bit of time after the connection is formed between Ruby and Thelma that the mystery itself sets in, and then the suspense and good read begins.

The same is true with the end as well. 75% percent (or ¾) of the way through the book, much of the story had been wrapped up. We knew who all our main perpetrators were and the bad guys had been taken care of. And yet there was still ¼ of a book left to deal with the last minor twists, twists that probably didn’t need so much space devoted to them. In fact I found myself beginning to skip large, unnecessary bits of story trying to speed up the end of a book which should already have ended. Surely there had to be a more concise way to wrap up the details?

However if you manage to get through the slow start and if you can stick out the even slower end, the middle half of this book is a great read. There’s mystery and clues (clues that bug you when the protagonist ignores them) and of course a bird with a physic link of some form to Marcella’s mother. There’s enough in the middle to make this book a good read. It’s just a shame that the end and the start have to let it down.

Disclaimer: May not be appropriate for children due to violence and sex.