Take a photo of a barcode or cover
This one was slow moving but I wasn’t able to put it down. As a Tallahassee local and a wildlife conservationist, the imagery was unmatched. This book felt like home.
This book was beautiful and very visually written. Loni Mae lost her father when she was young. When she grew up she took the one thing her father and her shared, their love of the marsh and nature and she became a natural history artist. She drew birds for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. One day, her brother calls her to tell her that her mother is having problems and they need her at home. She discovers her mom already moved into a living facility and that she has been losing her memory. Her brother and wife have already begun packing her things and have been thoughtless about including her until now. As she begins to pack up her mothers life, a mysterious letter is found that mentions someone knowing the truth about her father's death.
Now Loni is back in Florida and the circumstances around her fathers death are coming to the surface. Can she find out the truth? and can she do it without anyone else getting hurt?
Now Loni is back in Florida and the circumstances around her fathers death are coming to the surface. Can she find out the truth? and can she do it without anyone else getting hurt?
Loni Murrow lives in Washington, D.C. working at the Smithsonian as an accomplished bird artist. Her life is structured, contained, without close friends and fits her to a tee. When her younger brother, Phillip, asks her to come home as their mother has had an accident, Loni returns to the South to a home and a life she left many years ago. Loni will face her past including her father’s death, the lingering questions that haunt her and renew her uncertainty about the events in her past. Digging into her father’s death will bring up more than just feelings; it will expose long buried secrets that someone wants those secrets to remain hidden.
This story is about family, about choices, about seeing things from a different perspective and about being your true self. This is the first time, I’ve read the author. She does a good job of telling a story, pulling you in with tibits just enough to intrigue you without giving away the entire mystery. The story builds at a gradual pace, learning the history of the characters, seeing how the characters interact. I especially like the friendship between Loni and Estelle. Estelle is the kind of friend who calls Loni on her self-sabotaging ways, she is also the friend who will answer the 1:00 am phone call without hesitation. We all need an Estelle in our lives. The writing is enjoyable and the mystery kept me turning pages. Overall, this is a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book by Virginia Hartman.
This story is about family, about choices, about seeing things from a different perspective and about being your true self. This is the first time, I’ve read the author. She does a good job of telling a story, pulling you in with tibits just enough to intrigue you without giving away the entire mystery. The story builds at a gradual pace, learning the history of the characters, seeing how the characters interact. I especially like the friendship between Loni and Estelle. Estelle is the kind of friend who calls Loni on her self-sabotaging ways, she is also the friend who will answer the 1:00 am phone call without hesitation. We all need an Estelle in our lives. The writing is enjoyable and the mystery kept me turning pages. Overall, this is a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book by Virginia Hartman.
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book but the overall pacing felt strange to me. The author did a great job with the atmosphere.
I did not enjoy this book. It was very slow and the main character is not very likable, which makes for a pretty tedious read. The only reason I kept up with it, is that it is part of a reading challenge that I am doing.
The plot and pacing seemed awkward, for lack of a better term. It seemed like the author was very precise and verbose about some points (so many unnecessary canoe trips), and then other points seemed rushed or random (the climax and resolution were like 30 pages of this 370 page book).
I am giving this two stars instead of one, because it seemed like the author put a lot of work into this and was passionate about it, but I just don’t think it’s well written.
The plot and pacing seemed awkward, for lack of a better term. It seemed like the author was very precise and verbose about some points (so many unnecessary canoe trips), and then other points seemed rushed or random (the climax and resolution were like 30 pages of this 370 page book).
I am giving this two stars instead of one, because it seemed like the author put a lot of work into this and was passionate about it, but I just don’t think it’s well written.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I’m between a 1 and 2 star for this…it was so boring and literally emotionless, the characters were dull and unimaginative. I skimmed the last 50%
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lonie Murrow is a bird artist at the Smithsonian. When her mother falls ill, she's drawn back to the marshy area of Florida where she's from, and she finds a clue that her father's death, so many years before, was possibly not what it seemed at the time.
This is a slow-burn novel with family drama and the mystery of what happened to Loni's father, and who wants to drive her out of town. It's been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, which I loved! This book, however, did not meet that expectation. Much of the book is overwrought with descriptions of birds and drawing birds. It is slow and burdened with description.
Lonie Murrow is a bird artist at the Smithsonian. When her mother falls ill, she's drawn back to the marshy area of Florida where she's from, and she finds a clue that her father's death, so many years before, was possibly not what it seemed at the time.
This is a slow-burn novel with family drama and the mystery of what happened to Loni's father, and who wants to drive her out of town. It's been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, which I loved! This book, however, did not meet that expectation. Much of the book is overwrought with descriptions of birds and drawing birds. It is slow and burdened with description.
I started this one and wanted to get into it. When life got busy and I had to put it down, I wasn't inspired to pick it up again. Didn't finish.