The Red Bird Sings

LoveReading Says

Set in West Virginia in 1897, and based on the true story of the trial of Trout Shue for the murder of his young wife, Aoife Fitzpatrick’s The Red Bird Sings rings with vibrant storytelling vim.

Compelling, and laced with tremendous atmosphere and period detail, it’s a masterclass in character-driven historic fiction, with a glorious Southern Gothic vibe and brilliantly unexpected courtroom twist. It’s also a haunting story of motherly love, grief and justice that exposes how women are not listened to or believed by men in power.

After her daughter, Zona, died mere months after marrying the handsome local blacksmith, Mary Jane experiences a vision that has her thinking her daughter was murdered by said handsome husband. No one in town believes her, with the exception of Zona’s friend Lucy, who already had her doubts about Trout. With everyone against them, Mary Jane and Lucy face a high-risk decision – should they expose Zona’s secret in order to see justice done?

With an astonishing courtroom revelation coming in the wake of Mary Jane pronouncing, “Only reason I came here is to talk, and you need to listen” to the male jury, The Red Bird Sings is an electrifyingly whip-smart novel.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen’s lifelong love of reading and writing began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, and very much wished that witches (and Mrs Pepperpot) were real.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About The Red Bird Sings

A prize-winning, spine-tingling gothic suspense novel based on a real-life murder trial in 1897 West VirginiaA SUNDAY TIMES BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 IRISH BOOK AWARDS'A novel that demands you turn the pages' THE TIMES, BEST HISTORICAL FICTION'A gothic mystery pulsing with suspense' MAIL ON SUNDAY'An intense, memorable tale' SUNDAY TIMES'Brilliant' IRISH TIMES'I was tenterhooked from the very first to the very last page' JO BROWNING WROE, author of A Terrible Kindness'Compelling' ANNE ENRIGHT'A glorious tour de force - gorgeous and moving' IRISH AMERICA'Truly superb' VICTORIA MACKENZIE, author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little PainWest Virginia, 1897. Young newlywed Zona Heaster Shue is found dead in her house, in what seems to have been a tragic accident. However, her mother, Mary Jane, is convinced Zona was murdered - and by none other than Zona's husband, Trout, the handsome blacksmith beloved in their small Southern town.But when Trout is put on trial, no one believes he could have done it, apart from Mary Jane and Zona's best friend Lucy, who was always suspicious of Trout. As the trial raises to fever pitch and the men of Greenbrier County stand aligned against them, Mary Jane and Lucy must decide whether to reveal Zona's greatest secret in the service of justice. But it's Zona herself, from beyond the grave, who still has one last revelation to make.*The Red Bird Sings was announced as the winner of the Kate O'Brien Award 2024 on 25/02/24Readers love THE RED BIRD SINGS:'Amazing' READER REVIEW ?????'This book has so much: feisty feminist characters ahead of their time, ghosts, historical drama, justice,beautiful writing' READER REVIEW ?????'Very compelling . . . not one to be missed!' READER REVIEW ?????'A haunting story of love, revenge and grief' READER REVIEW ?????'Difficult to put down' READER REVIEW ?????

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