I really wanted to like this story but I was confused most of the time. The vagueness of the plot and the skipping around in time, made the book difficult to keep my attention. It was not a book for me, unfortunately.

Things I liked:
The 1970s flashback scenes are atmospheric with almost a filmic quality to them. In my mind I imagined a hazy sepia filter across the settings. I also liked the tender and close relationship between Robyn and her brother Kit as children, then into adulthood.

Marriane Holmes switches between descriptions of mundane observations like picking a scab or noticing a plaster floating in a pool to thoughtful and dreamlike depictions of memories and grief:

“The emptiness in each room cries out to be filled up with the sounds we used to make, and the memories drive me out into the garden. It’s heavy with overblown flowers and the fullness of branches damp with still-green leaves.”

I appreciated that the story dealt with difficult subjects like marital abuse, childhood bullying and the impact of an abusive relationship on a child. It definitely gave the book a gritty realism in parts.

I thought Robyn as a young, naiive child was credible due to the fact she is unwilling to believe that the mysterious cowboy hat man, who protects her from bullies and brings her secret gifts, could be anything other than good. Robyn’s frustration and confusion at her mum for letting strangers (abused women and families) stay in her house is well portrayed and has a certain innocent charm.

Any issues?
I never quite got into the story, the plight of the main character Robyn didn’t grab me and I found I didn’t really care what happened to her. I can’t quite put my finger on it but the writing style seemed quite unusual in places, a little rushed and disjointed which made it difficult to connect with the characters.

The teasing and holding back of information in the first half of the book was initially intriguing and dragged out suspense but it quickly became frustrating. Unfortunately, for me the ending didn’t have the exciting climax I was hoping for.

Why you should read this book:
There are some beautifully written parts to this book and interesting subject matter but it wasn’t really for me. However, definitely check out other reviews for this book as it has been well-received by other readers. Maybe it’s a bit of a marmite book, which always makes for good discussion!

I was sent an uncorrected proof of A Little Bird Told Me by Marianne Holmes to read and review by NetGalley.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough! It’s beautifully written with a great sense of time and place – the chapters of 1976 and protagonist Robyn’s childhood really resonate with me. The novel is written in the first person, which I love, and this carries throughout. The story is intricate and evocative and for me totally unputdownable! Enjoy!

Loved this book! The writing is beautiful and worth the time to read. Starts off sort of slow (but not boring) and then gets right into the heart of it. The perfect summer read.

A Little Bird Told Me is a story in which the tension builds, and builds until the final chapter when we get to know the reason behind the mystery which has affected all the members of the family. We see how things are moving along over three different time scale snapshots, how family dynamics change and how lies and secrets come out into the open. Its a gripping tale that has you on the edge of your seat, three years we visit keeping moving just as you seem to be getting to the centre of the mystery. A good read which you can't see the ending of until its on the final few pages. Some lovely writing too with beautiful description. One book to be savoured.

I cannot write a review because I couldn't get passed the first 40 pages...........unusual for me not to want to finish a book!

Having only completed 'A little bird told me' a couple of weeks ago I have hardly any recollection of what it was about. I remember the basic plot but can't remember specifics or the characters names etc. I think that in itself, speaks volumes. So to sum this book up for me, it is . . Forgettable.

I like to still give a description of books for others even if I haven't enjoyed them myself but nothing at all stands out to me that I should mention. Sorry for such a disappointing review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a fantastic read. Well done to the author who has recreated the long hot summer of 1976 and turned it into a novel of suspicion, misunderstandings and mystery

This was a good debut novel. An interesting and unusual plot line with suspicions and tensions running through it.

A Little Bird Told Me was a really gripping read that I read over a matter of days. The story focuses on Robyn and Christopher and the telling of what happened to them in the summer of 1976, during until recently, the hottest summer of record. The book switches between that stupendous heatwave and 12 years later when they're all grown up and trying to unravel what has come to pass.

Marianne Holmes not only created deeply multi-layered characters, but she also captured the blistering heat brilliantly and wove it into the story. Whilst reading the book I felt I could feel the heat coming off of the tarmac with the characters, and it made me crave hiding out at a lido to recover. Robyn and Kit have a great relationship, that's flawed and complex, like most normal relationships. I do feel that some of the decisions that characters made were questionable, and it suspended belief for me at times. However, this is a really gripping and enjoyable read. All of the twists and turns I had guessed, but that didn't make them less enjoyable.

Marianne Holmes' A Little Bird Told Me is a masterful evocation of the sticky, endless heat of the summer of 1976. The year seems to be a popular setting for books like this one - those with something lurking in the shadows - but it is one that makes perfect sense; throughout A Little Bird Told Me, you can feel the stifling heat, the laziness, the lethargy, the endless days under the beating sun... It builds tension and atmosphere, and makes it even more difficult to see the mystery through the haziness of the saturated summer air.
And what a mystery it was!
The book sweeps effortlessly back and forth in time from 1976 to 1988 when as young adults, Robyn and her brother return to the small town of their childhood so that she can try and make amends for an injustice she blames herself for; work out what truly happened and finally, lay it to rest. But it is in 1976 where A Little Bird Told Me really shines.
Constantly barred and ushered away from the conversations of the adults going on around her, Robyn has heard too much of them to be completely oblivious, and too little to protect herself from the danger of the situation unfolding around her. She is the perfect point-of-view character for a plot like this, as her innocence and vulnerability only increases the tension of the novel, and makes the reader want nothing more than to stand in her corner and protect her.
The danger reaching its apex almost feels like a storm rolling in, the tension of the novel being such that it reached something akin to a crescendo. I was on the edge of my seat, I had gritted my teeth, I couldn't put it down until I knew that Robyn and her brother were safe (even though I knew that, logically, they were both alive in the later time-line and therefore obviously alive).
Brimming with lyrical, haunting prose, an abundance of tension, and artfully-crafted, truly alive characters, A Little Bird Told Me is a truly accomplished and dazzling debut. And it makes, Marianne Holmes one of my authors to keep an eye on for the appearance of future brilliance.

Likeable characters and a brilliantly written book this is an amazing debut. Will look out for more from this author in the future.

This book really had me hooked from the beginning. At first I was a little confused what was happening with the time switches but not long into the book it finally clicked and I found them very important to the story line. The story is all about a brother and a sister Robin, and Chris who return to their childhood home to try to piece together what actually happened on that awful day back in 1976. I liked the childhood innocence that is written from the past points of view and I really liked how the author gives you just enough information to keep you guessing but not enough to flood your brain with meaningless facts that don't matter to the story line at all it helps to keep the transitions smooth. This story had a very slow start but it merged amazingly into a very powerful story. Each page was filled with questions and I had to turn to the next page to see what was going to happen. I really enjoyed this book partly because of how amazing the story was but also because of the way it was written I found it simplistic but not boring, actually it was captivating. There were lots of details but not enough to overpower the reader. This book was like a mystery where the main person involved had to figure out what happened to them, and it was nice to see the past and the present come together in the end. Very well done. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Great book and the ending was really intense I never saw any of that coming.

Loved it , a beautifully well written suspense novel.. For a debut novel an amazing start cant wait to read more by this author. Already recommended to friends !

This book is all about family secrets and what happens when things come to a head. It goes from the past (the 1970’s) to the present (the 1980’s)
It's about how Kit and his sister find out about the family secret bit by bit. I didn't really warm to this book and j can't really put my finger on why. It did take a while to really get going and even then I struggled with it. But saying that I read it in one sitting and what's to know what the ending was going to be.
Not. a very long book.

This novel is a powerful, well written first piece by a new author. I think this may be the best debut novel that I've read so far in 2018. Once I started the story, I could not put it down; I loved how the book was able to flow smoothly throughout the main character's childhood. It was able to able to dip in and out of the past and present that I was able to keep up with the story, even on those nights when I felt so tired I couldn't pay much attention to the storyline.
I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Something happened in the summer of 1976 that changed the lives of Robyn, then nine years old, her older brother Christopher, aka "Kit," their mother, Jemima, and stepfather, Matthew. Robyn and Kit spent their days swimming and spending time with their best friends. Until Jemima brought home a crying woman and her young son who were, soon enough, followed by her enraged husband. And Robyn encountered a strange man in a cowboy hat at the pool. Even though she knew better than to talk to strangers, she accepted his gift: two smooth pieces of wood carved into the shape of babies and swaddled in cloth. From that point on, nothing was ever the same again. The cowboy continued following Robyn, Jemima became the focus of gossip about her attempt to help the woman and her interactions with the police, and Robyn knew that her family members were keeping secrets from her. Despite her repeated questioning, she received no answers.

It's 1988, and Robyn and Kit have returned home to face the past. Robyn remains haunted by guilt, convinced that she played a part in the tragic events that unfolded so long ago. Ironically, she has kept her feelings a secret from everyone, including Kit. Robyn is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened during that fateful summer and will not stop until she learns the truth.

The story is told from Robyn's perspective, alternating between her experiences in 1976 and 12 years later in 1988 when she and Kit have returned to their home. Author Marianne Holmes keeps readers in suspense about what happened that caused them to leave, revealing clues at deftly-timed intervals. The character of Robyn has been tormented for 12 years by what she believes was her role in whatever occurred that summer. And what actually happened is shrouded by Holmes in mystery until the book's action-packed conclusion, permitting readers a look at the torment that so many secrets have caused Robyn for so long. When the truth is finally revealed, not all questions are answered, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions. Robyn's emotional journey is the focus of a moving story that examines the measures desperate people employ to keep their loved ones safe, the power of malevolence to force hasty and short-sighted decisions that have a lasting impact upon all concerned, and the need for answers in order to make peace with and move on from the consequences of an unspeakable tragedy. The book would benefit from deeper analysis of the manner in which the events of 1976 have damaged Robyn -- perhaps irreparably. It's greatest strength is the depiction of the relationship between Robyn and Kit -- they squabble but protect each other in a manner that is both believable and heart-breaking. A Little Bird Told Me is an impressive debut novel.

An enjoyable novel which had quite a few twists and turns didn't expect the ending at all some quite interesting characters and liked the way the story was told a good read

A Little Bird Told Me' is a heartfelt debut from Marianne Holmes. Holmes has crafted an evocative narrative and a dark, twisty and unpredictable story. I was quickly immersed in the story and characters, and the atmosphere Holmes created was fabulous and compelling , posing lots and lots of questions. In fact, she was so good at engaging me with unfinished loops and threads, the ending left me disappointed with lots of unanswered questions and a smattering of confusion. Let's put it this way, I had a frown across my forehead as I searched for more pages and an even deeper one when I realised there weren't any! Was this a mistake I wonder, or are we angling for a sequel? Hmm, I shall ponder that one.

The POV's were well done, believable and engaging, not easy with so many characters for a debut author but brilliantly done . The story is told from the POV of Robyn, as a young woman and an adult, the chapters alternating between past and present so you have to concentrate or you will find yourself having to go back and reread previous chapters. However, I found these to be irritations rather than problems and they certainly didn't stop me appreciating how well this author writes. I loved the vast cast of characters and felt she pulled them off brilliantly.

I liked most of the pacing and the narrative flow and some of the descriptions were breathtaking. In conclusion, this is a heartfelt story about family secrets and the devastating consequences of these being unravelled and discovered.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my pre-publication copy.

It's a little tricky for me to write this review. I suffered from a considerable lack of motivation when reading A Little Bird Told Me - but I can't quite pinpoint if that was due to my mood at the time or the book... It's fair to say that this was a book I only dipped into over a few weeks, rather than really got stuck into so that might have something to do with it.

It was easy to read in terms of the writing style, there was a lyrical tone and for a murder mystery, it had an almost cosy feel. The hot summers of the 1970s and 80s (where the dual timeline is set) were clearly evoked and you felt transported into Robyn's world. So yes, this is the story of Robyn Mace and her brother Kit. After a decade away, they return to the small town they grew up in to finally find out what happened to their mother and for Robyn to face up to the truth of what happened all those years ago. They grew up mainly without their father who is not a good egg - as it is so tantalising worded, "if you were one half evil, wouldn't you want to know about the other half?"

You might be thinking that sounds like an intriguing plot - and you'd be right, it is! It's just that the pace was too slow for me to get engrossed. I guess because I wasn't continually reading it sometimes felt that nothing was moving along in the plot. Robyn was still not finding anything out and although snippets of her past were being revealed, it just felt very drawn-out and the ending left me a a little deflated. BUT, like I said, this may be because I had a disjointed reading experience. If you do read this one, I'd be really intrigued to know your thoughts as I think it's definitely one I'll come back to one day to give it a fairer chance!