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.
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