The most interesting and unique part of The Birds That Stay is the exploration of Canadian culture since WWII. That said, it suffers from what many novels that can’t decide if they are murder mysteries or personal stories suffer from. The two aspects themselves were well crafted, but combined it made it hard to follow. The audio narration was well done, but didn’t help with this aspect.

This book drew me in from the beginning. Each character, no matter how minor, felt real and easy to imagine. And I immediately bonded with Marie, mourning the recent loss of her lab and dealing with a parent with dementia. She gets drawn into the investigation of the death of a neighbor, a reclusive woman, due to a link dating back to her childhood.
Lambert does a great job of describing time and place. There’s a lot of memories here. Marie and I are of a similar age, so her memories were very similar to mine.
We also hear from Romeo Leduc, the detective investigating the death. He also has family issues and past secrets. In fact, this book is more character study than mystery. That said, the death investigation was also very realistic. And the historic backstory was interesting and revealed facts I had never heard before.
This is identified as the first in a series. I’m not sure how that will work, but I would definitely read a second in the series.
Ann Lambert narrates her own book and did a great job, managing all the different accents beautifully.
My thanks to netgalley and ECW Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.

This book is really well written and the imagery was good, the audible narrator was good but I had to give up at about 50% in. This book was just depressing me. I mean, I wasn't expecting to be all happy or anything. It's a murder mystery/thriller. But it was just making me terribly sad to read it with everything going on all of these characters lives and I didn't really feel like I was getting much of the main plot. Lots of other little stories that I am sure are going to come together but I just couldn't hold on any longer.

The Birds That Stay by Ann Lambert is a very unique story! There are so many stories that seem unrelated at first.

In a small village in Canada, an eighty two year old woman is murdered outside her house. Chief Inspector of Homicide Romeo works hard to solve the case with very little support from the police. Marie is preparing to move her mother into a home. Her mother is not all there and has memory problems. However, she tells Marie information that might be relevant to the case. Marie ends up following up and investigating with Romeo.

The Birds That Stay is a truly original story. I was invested in this story from the beginning. Who would kill an eighty two year old woman? The woman has no known family or friends. So much is revealed during the investigation. There is so much mystery though out the book.

During the book, World War II references were made when one of the characters was suspected of being a Nazi. World War II is my favorite time period to read about.

I loved how the different storylines converged to tell this great story. There are many layers to all of the characters which really draw you in. As soon as you think you know everything, there is another revelation.

I listened to the audiobook and loved Ann Lambert’s narration. Since the narrator is the author, you can really tell how important the telling of this story is to her.

Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for The Birds That Stay.

Note:. This partial review is for 30 percent of audio book. My thanks for the ARC. I was expecting Romeo Leduc and Marie Russell to start to solve the murder of Madam, found dead in the garden. Instead I got so much background story that did not keep me engaged in the core mystery. I did not feel that I needed to know about Marie getting her mother in a nursing home and the description of such. I wanted the crime solving process. Very descriptive story telling but narrator did not engage me. I wish I could have finished and liked more. Too much digression.

A gorgeous, atmospheric portrait of the Laurentians, with a beautiful understanding of what it means to carry a dark secret with you. Every character has their own.

The mystery itself kept me riveted to the very end: Who would kill an elderly woman with no family and no money in the mountains of Quebec? It was detailed, emotion-filled, and thought-provoking

I'm looking forward to the next book!

The procedural part of this novel is very satisfying. An elderly woman living alone is murdered for no apparent reason. Chief Inspector Romeo Leduc starts digging into the past to find the answer, eventually joining forces with civilian Marie Russell. Both are competent, smart and likable, even if the plot relies a little too heavily on coincidence at the perfect moments. The audiobook narration is excellent, which is not surprising considering that the author is also the narrator. What I didn’t like was all the personal issues mixed in with the investigation. The action completely stops numerous times to give way to the character’s memories, political opinions or even dreams (actual dreaming while asleep). These things are OK when they lead to the solving of the mystery but, in this case, it distracted me from the plot. Readers who enjoy character development over action will like this. I’m not one of those readers. Also, a big trigger warning to animal lovers. There is a lot of hunting, animal abuse and sad stories involving animals. It’s still an interesting look into Canadian culture.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ECW Press Audio!

This mystery revolves around the questionable death of an older woman. The story was told by a reliable narrator who spoke with authority and intimate knowledge of characters and locations. Each encounter instantly led to a magnification of the scene, stories from a character’s past, imaginings about the minds of various animals, and glorious descriptions of scenic views. The writing is intelligent and truly brought the story to vivid life.

Although the deep dive into each encounter was beautiful, in the earlier part of the book it seemed excessive and tangential. Once the action began, however, all felt right in this world where so much went wrong and so many behaved badly.

The writing for The Birds That Stay was engaging and fun. The audiobook narrator (who happens to also be the author) was witty, intelligent, and insightful. The story, when the narrator got to it, was well-done. This book was full of layered plot twists that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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This is the best literary mystery I have read recently. It’s excellently plotted with the setting and characters carefully drawn. What I enjoyed most about this novel were the witty insights the author offered the reader. This is a true gem IMO, and I pray the author writes many, many more books. The arc I received was an audiobook narrated by the author. I don’t usually care for author readings, but Lambert does an excellent job reading her book...and I’m very fussy about audio narrations. Lambert is an English Lit professor whose students are very lucky indeed. I loved this book and will probably read it again just to savor the writing.

Highly recommended for all Mystery fans, and everyone else!

I listened to an unabridged copy of this boo. It was read by the author, which I think is a plus. At times this book seemed too long. It wasn’t character development, which was fine, not outstanding. An older woman is killed in her home and it’s up to Romeo LaDuc to solve the case. The other protagonist, Marie,is dealing with putting her mom’s house in order for it to be sold, her sister who doesn’t help, two adult children, and her mother’s Alzheimer’s, all while working on a book. The plot is realistic and the ending lends itself to a sequel. Marie recalls two disturbing sexual incidents when she was younger, once with a father of a friend and the other with a 17 yo male babysitter. These don’t seem to have shaped her but it is interesting that the author included them. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for this review.

It's always nice to read Canadian fiction, set in Canada, by Canadian authors. A great mystery and enjoyable read. My only "criticism" is the use of fat-phobia to make the negative characters less likeable.

Thanks to Netgalley and ECW Press Audio for letting me listen in exchange for an honest review.
I feel like I lucked out when I was approved to listen to this one. It was very good.
The Birds that Stay was a thoroughly Canadian murder mystery. Or, Perhaps I should say French Canadian or Quebecois? Like, supersaturated. But not in a bad way. The descriptions of Quebecois culture were so vivid and relatable. It really set the tone, and made the story feel very realistic.
The plot was well-constructed and very interesting. I'm not usually a fan of WWII/nazi storylines, but it was handled so well, here, that I found myself engrossed.
The pacing was a bit slow, especially the first half, but it was steady and the story never dragged or got boring. The characters were well-developed and likable, and the procedural aspect felt believable.
I liked it a lot, and look forward to reading more from the author.

This book was certainly well-written, and the audio version read by the author was well-read and not flat. Elements of this book I did enjoy were the lovely descriptions of Quebec and the general setting. The story itself stalled out for me, and felt too chopped-up and moved around a bit too much to keep me engaged. I felt I couldn't quite get drawn in enough to follow all of the movements through time and across characters' lives. Quite frequently I felt myself losing track of what the actual mystery was.

My overall rating for this one is at 2.5 stars, rounded to 3.

An 82-year-old reclusive woman is found murdered outside of her house, in her garden. Initially, few clues to go on, but who and why would want to kill an old lady? Why was her body found in the garden? Was she a victim of robbery, or was her death for darker reason?

Romeo Ledec, Chief Inspector of Homicide, even though about to go on vacation, is drawn to the case and wants to take it even though he could pass it off.

The old woman’s neighbor, Marie Russell, is also very interested when she discovers a startling possible clue, that she learns from her own mother. But her mother has dementia - are memories reliable?

Working together, Romeo and Marie, must combine their wits in their common goal to find the killer.

This review is for the AUDIO version of this book. The narrator and author, Ann Lambert, does a stellar job with pitch, pace and accent. She is an excellent narrator. However, the story content did include F*Bombs, and unfortunately, did not hold my complete interest through out.

My thanks to NetGalley, and the publisher, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In this detective fiction novel we meet two protagonists, Chief Inspector of Homicide Roméo Leduc and Marie Russell, a divorced mother of two. The way the pair meet is that a woman was found murdered near her home and Marie was her neighbor. The victim was in her 80s and now Roméo must try and find out why she was murdered and find her killer. In cozy mystery fashion, Marie becomes an amateur detective of sorts and ends up working with Roméo.

As the pair dig deep to try and find out why happened, they are shocked to find out that things reach far into the past, as far back as World War II.

I loved the lyrical writing of this book, the wonderful description of the Laurentian Mountains in Montreal and the excellent character development in what ended up being quite an interesting mystery. While readers are seeing the investigative process, there is a side story going on and as the two converge, the book becomes quite thrilling. It is the backstory that brings out enough details that get behind the murder of the victim. In so doing, the story is delivered in multiple perspectives.

I got The Birds That Stay as an audiobook and it was narrated by the author, Ann Lambert. One thing I loved about this book and her narration of it was the French phrases and her perfect diction when using certain words and phrases. This made this good story even better and it served well to capture my interest from beginning to end.

While it is definitely business first between Roméo and Marie, I can definitely see the draw that they have for each other and look forward to future books in this series where this is explored. Also, they are both in their 50s and that in itself is great because most primary protagonists in books of this type are a decade or two younger. All in all The Birds That Stay is an excellent book and makes the perfect beginning to a new series.

Many thanks to ECW Press Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.