In a Nutshell: A slow-paced, engrossing tale of past secrets and lies revealing themselves to a young woman on her return home.

Story:
Just out of a bad relationship, Jo Sharpe, a journalist, heads back to her hometown to work with the local community newspaper. Her return comes after many years, as she had wanted to escape the memories of her childhood, what with the sudden disappearance of her mother and younger sister from their lives, leaving her father drowning his sorrows in alcohol and Jo all alone. Now an adult, Jo is determined to dig deeper into the mystery, but soon realises that not everything seems as it had appeared earlier.
The story comes to us from the first person perspectives of Jo in 2018, Jo in 1993 and the third person pov of her mother Merry from 1985 onwards.

This was quite an interesting story though the pace kept going up and down. The prologue set in 1994 got me hooked. (I love books that get their prologue right. So many books just include an excerpt from the latter half of the book in the name of a prologue. It must create the right amount of intrigue without revealing any spoiler. This book’s prologue gets a 10/5.) I was completely hooked until 35% or so, then the pace dipped a bit and my interest went a little down, until a big reveal around the midway mark and my speed sprang up again. This sustained for a few chapters and then again the pace went down. But regardless of the pace, the story was captivating enough to keep me hooked until the end. I was not able to guess the resolution of the key suspense point of the novel (Merry’s abrupt disappearance from the life of her family) and that added to my satisfaction. The actual resolution seemed a little farfetched but not so much that it couldn’t be accepted.

Unlike whatever I have read so far that is set in Australia, this book doesn’t show the usual sand and surf and cityscapes of the vast continent. Instead, the story is set in Arthurville, a town set in New South Wales and part of the Australian outback with red dirt and extreme drought and dry heat. (See the cover!) It was a great experience to see this newer side of Australia through a novel. And it was even more wonderful to see this setting being used to the maximum in the storyline. It isn’t just a story in Australia; it’s a story IN Australia.

The key characters of the story are carved very well. Not just Jo and Merry but the other town residents also have strong and distinct personalities that impact the story in the right way. They are also not uni-dimensional but well-layered. Some are stereotypical but even within the clichéd portrayals, they spring some surprises at us. Thus most of the people come across as realistic and believable, a huge plus. The characters also include some Wiradjuri people, bonus points for bringing in genuineness to the story by including the Aboriginal Australian people.

Another plus point of the writing is how it incorporates Aussie lingo into the writing seamlessly. Australian English has a lot of its own idiosyncrasies but hardly any novel incorporates these amazing regional touches into the writing, that too so naturally. What’s even more wonderful is that the author doesn’t bother to explain the words to us. You read, you guess the meaning, or you check in your dictionary. If you want to increase your knowledge of “Australian English” beyond the banal “mate”, this is a great book to go for. I simply loved the authenticity of the language and the approach of the author.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. Except for the pace issues, I didn’t find much else to take away from my experience. The narrative is not entirely predictable, and the writing is pretty captivating. Most importantly, the story stays true to the locale. Much recommended if you want to read a slow but engrossing, character-driven domestic thriller that brings rural Australia alive in your mind.

I loved these two quotes from the book:
♦ "Change for the sake of change isn't necessarily a good thing."
♦ "Hope doesn’t rely on possibilities or probabilities or proof—all it needs is a ready heart, an open mind."

4.25 stars.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “A Little Bird”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down.
It is set in the middle of rural NSW during a drought. The main protagonist, Jo, a journalist returns home from the big city to take a job on the local paper.
The reader is given some history about Jo from her mother's point of view roughly every other chapter.
Jo's mother left with Jo's baby sister when Jo was young and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Jo's father took it badly, turning to drink in a big way.
When she returns home, she starts to wonder even more about what happened to her mother and when an item of her mother's jewellery is discovered things start to snowball.
I needed to know what happened and had my own ideas, but they kept changing as I got further into the book.
Enjoy!

An Aussie author not previously encountered; Wendy James’s A Little Bird is her seventh novel. Returning home to Arthurville after a relationship gone wrong, Jo Sharpe gets a job on the local paper and reconnects with her old friends and ailing cantankerous father. As she settles into her job of reporting only the ‘good news’, Jo begins to reconnect with the locals. As she begins to learn things about her mother and the disappearance of her mother and sister, Jo decides to investigate. So as history and surprising twists are revealed, the mystery deepens. A domestic thriller with good suspense and realistic characters that make for a four-star read rating. With thanks to Lake Union Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and are made without fear or favour.

A well-written, well-plotted domestic thriller, A Little Bird is my introduction to Wendy James and I will be looking to extend the acquaintance (reading her previous books). Almost 15 years ago, Jo Sharpe's mother left town with Jo's infant sister, apparently to start a new life with Jo and her father. Now, after breaking up with her boyfriend of 2 years, Jo is feeling a bit lost and visits a medium for guidance. The medium tells her that the answers to her mother's disappearance lie back in her hometown, and after Jo learns that her father has health issues, she returns to the drought-stricken town in New South Wales with a job at the local paper. As Jo settles into her job and back into the community, she stumbles across information related to her mother's disappearance that changes what everyone thinks about what happened. Relatable, "real" characters and a cohesive plot, I figured out the end before the "reveal" but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

As an expat Australian how haven't I heard of this author before. What an amazing story it was so true to life. I was transported to live in the country with my grandparents.

Just loved it and read in one session as couldn't put it down.

I was given an asvance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own

It’s been a pleasure discovering many more Australian books and authors this year. So when I saw this book I was keen to read it. Jo Sharpe returns to her (fictional) hometown of Arthurville in the central west of New South Wales after a disastrous relationship breakdown. The book is set in 2 timelines - 1994 from Merry’s POV (Jo’s mother) and 2018 from Jo’s POV. Jo is a journalist and is happy to get a job in the very small local paper, the Chronicle. In fact she is the only reporter, along with a part time photographer and editor Edith.

Her role is to report on local events and provide ‘feel good’ stories, not hard hitting journalism. Nevertheless she soon settles back into the community and reconnects with old friends and acquaintances. Her curmudgeonly father has not changed much. In fact their relationship is quite amusing. But Jo can’t help re-visiting the loss of her mother and younger sister, Amy, who disappeared without trace when Jo was 8 years old. Her father went into an alcoholic fog for months afterwards.

Jo discovers snippets of information about her mother but when she digs into the dusty old stationery cupboard at the office she finds a treasure trove - notebooks and diaries from her mother who also worked at the paper. This was news to Jo. And the place is in the grip of a bad drought, the river level has dropped and by chance a car is discovered, it’s roof now clear of the water. Is it Jo’s mother and sister? How did they die?

This book started quite slowly but eventually it took off and I became very invested in the story. It was extremely well written and the characters were lively and realistic. I adored Shep - the part Indigenous teenage flame of Jo’s and now local priest. He is the unlikeliest priest ever and is doing good work with local youths. The young larrikins were brilliantly portrayed as well. All the characters seemed so true to life in a small Australian town and I should know, I live in one!

The book had quite an exciting and surprising climax as the truth about Jo’s mother is revealed. It was a pleasure to read a story written in my own, Australian ‘voice’ and the language was spot on. If anyone is wondering, a “dunny” is an outdoor toilet, very common in small towns until quite recently! Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

4.5★s
A Little Bird is the ninth novel by award-winning, best-selling Australian author, Wendy James. After fourteen years in the city, journalist Josephine Sharpe returns to her hometown of Arthurville for a number of reasons: the end of a toxic relationship and an ailing father make the job offer from the Arthurville Chronicle seem more attractive that it might otherwise be.

In this small-budget publication funded by subscriptions and wealthy donors, her brief is to report only the positive aspects of the town’s happenings. Catching up with old friends and acquaintances is how she escapes too much time with her cantankerous Dad. Underlying it all, though, is something they never talk about: how her mother drove away with her baby sister, Amy when Jo was eight, and never returned.

A note left behind, and a letter later sent to her estranged mother, Ruth Beaufort, these were the last anyone ever heard from Miranda Sharpe. But now, remarks from people who knew Merry, casual comments, have Jo wondering just what she missed understanding at eight years old.

She discovers a box at the Chronicle that seems to indicate Merry wrote the anonymous gossip column, A Little Bird, with its light, amusing take on the town’s people and events, though occasionally laced with malice. And while her father has always been unforthcoming about his wife’s departure, friends are less reticent, and she begins to wonder if her mother really chose to leave her.

And then an accidental discovery changes everything…

Jo and Merry narrate this dual-timeline mystery. It is a novel in which the plot, replete with twists and red herrings, keeps the pages turning and even the most astute reader guessing about quite what happened to Merry Sharpe, until the pieces of the puzzle fall, chillingly, into place. James effortlessly evokes the Australian country town vibe and her characters are easily recognisable to anyone who has lived in one.

Just one thing unfortunately diminishes the reader’s enjoyment of this excellent tale: parts of the back-cover blurb are quite misleading, creating an expectation in the reader that leads to frustration when it is not realised because some aspects mentioned don’t occur until well after the eighty per cent mark, if at all. Nonetheless, this is impressive Australian rural crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing

This book has a compelling mystery housed in the domestic "Prodigal child" homecoming for the main character. The characterizations were intriguing and helped build the suspense for the mystery. The setting in rural Australia was also interesting but still relatable to an American reader.

Can you go home again? That's the question for Jo who is back in Arthurville, a drought stricken small town in New South Wales. Told in dual time line by Jo in 2018 and her mother Merry in 1994- the year Merry disappeared- it's the story of secrets lies, and a small town. Jo was 8 when Merry and her little sister Amy left. Now she's trying to untangle the mystery while working unhappily as a journalist and dealing with her father Michael. I liked the inclusion of the Little Bird gossip column,, which added to what might otherwise be a fairly standard story. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It might seem a bit slow but patience will be rewarded. A good read.

First, the cover of this book is gorgeous. Second, I really enjoyed this book. Jo returns home after a bad relationship. Her only parent, her father has a lot of issues. She’s been offered a new job and takes it. She discovers a lot along the way. Shocking secrets and revelations turn this book into a great story.

The story was fairly slow and the telling of it dragged at times. The book doesn’t sit as a thriller or a family saga but dipped its toes into both. I found some of the angst was overplayed then what could have been more interesting glossed over.

Wendy James has a unique way of telling a story. Maybe it’s an Australian thing. Or maybe it’s just that she’s a gifted storyteller.
Joe and her mother Merry are the two principal characters of the story. Joe currently works as a journalist at the Chronicle in her hometown where her mother used to work twenty-three years ago - before she inexplicably disappeared with her six-year-old daughter, Amy. Joe was eight at the time.
Coming back to her hometown which she refers to as Nowheresville (after being away for almost fifteen years) Joe has two objectives in mind: to take care of her ailing, grumpy father and to find out what happened to her mother and sister, not necessarily in that order.
A good first half of the novel focuses on getting to know the characters, in particular Joe. This part of the novel has the sharpness and depth of an Alice Munro story. Joe tells us about her childhood and teenage years living in this rural part of Australia during the 80’s and 90’s. We learn of her roots to her wealthy family, her marriage and divorce, her endurance and periods filled with overwhelming sadness and darkness.
Then, the novel takes a sharp turn from women’s fiction to the domestic crime genre where the focus is on the investigation of the disappearance of Joe’s mother and her sister, Amy. The writing is tight, flows like a clear river and entertaining while the characters have bite to them.
The ending is surprising though certainly not farfetched or unbelievable.
It was a pleasure to read.
Thanks to Wendy James who sent me the arc and lead me to discover NetGalley.

After the breakup of a long term bade relationship, Jo Sharpe decides to take up the offer of a job and return to her home town of Arthurville in western New South Wales. Her mother, Merry left her and her father, taking baby Amy with her when Jo was eight, leaving Jo to grow up with only her grieving and emotionally distant father to look after her. After finishing school, she left for the bright lights of the city, eventually becoming a journalist. Her new job on the community paper requires her to write only good news stories about the town and its people so she finds herself meeting old friends and getting to know the community again.When she discovers some old copies of a column that her mother used to write for the paper called 'A Little Bird', she also discovers some of the towns dark secrets.

This is more a slow boiling domestic mystery rather than a pacy thriller, with the characters very much at the centre with their long held secrets and lies. The main characters as well as some of the minor ones are well developed and give a good sense of the life of the town. Written in two lines, Jo recounts the events that she remembers from her childhoods well as her new life in the town. Threaded throughout is Merry's own story of the events leading up to her disappearance. After gradually releasing little hints and clues throughout the book, the pieces all start to slot together in the last quarter of the book as Jo discovers that Merry's disappearance was only part of the picture. Recommended for all those who enjoy small town character driven mysteries.

This is my first book by Wendy James. I will be reading more. It was a good one that will keep you turning the pages. It was a bit slow in the very beginning but picked up quite fast.

Jo Sharpe returns home after learning her dad is not well and when she is offered a job at the local newspaper. Though it's a small town there is a lot going on. They also do not want to read any bad news. That makes it a bit difficult as Jo is also trying to figure out why her mother took her baby sister and disappeared twenty five years earlier. Why she left her and her dad with no apparent warning. Only one letter was sent and one note left. What really happened all those years ago? Jo wants to know. She needs to understand why her mom would just leaver her. Abandoned her and her dad.

Jo also left a relationship that was heading nowhere. She needed a fresh start and wants to get to know her dad again. Maybe things can be different this time. She's more than willing to try. Her dad though is a bit stubborn and has lived with the pain of his wife taking their child and leaving. Many years of anger and drinking to deal with the anger. He was not a good dad to Jo but he did care. He cared about her whether she knew it or not.

Many things are uncovered and it almost costs Jo everything. Things that you won't see coming. Jo also has a grandmother and uncle that she's never been around or got to know. Her uncle seems a bit shady. I didn't like him very much. I really didn't like the grandmother. She was a horrible mother to Jo's mother. Even though she didn't approve of her daughter's choices I don't see how she could just turn her back on her and on her granddaughter.

Jo goes through a lot to find out what happened to her mother and baby sister. What she finds didn't exactly surprise me but the who did. There are a few shocks in this story that I didn't see coming which is unusual for me. I liked that though. I was on edge a few times and holding my breath too. I did have a few laughs. At some antic of children. The adults are the ones you can't always trust. Jealousy is a dangerous thing at times. This book brings out a few secrets that no one knew. A few lost people.

Connecting with a high school sweetheart, Jo may find some happiness. Though they are as different as night and day I think it would work. After all love is a mysterious thing at times. Two people who are meant to be together seem to work.

I liked almost all the characters in this book. They are a group of complex characters that you will get to know fairly well. Some are not likable yet serve a very important part. Without a diverse group this book would have been very boring. It's not. It's a page turner that you don't want to miss.

Told from two timelines, before Jo's mom disappeared and after Jo returns home. Getting to know both was quite interesting. I throughly enjoyed both.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #WendyJames, #LakeUnion, for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

4/5 stars. I recommend this one. It's really a good one that leaves you with all the questions answered. A few surprises at the end too.

I could not put this book down! This is a slow moving mystery, but I felt that it was perfectly paced - each little nugget of information was just building that sense of unease. I loved the dual timeline with Jo returning back to her hometown, reconnecting with her father & trying to find out more information about her mother's disappearance, and with Merry as we see her life up to her disappearance. Secrets are revealed as Jo keeps digging, and I loved the way everything came together - I didn't see the ending coming!

A Little Bird by Wendy James

Journalist, Jo Sharpe, returns to her hometown of Arthurville after a failed long term relationship. A job at the tiny community newspaper has been practically thrown in her lap so she drags herself home to live with her estranged father. Jo's grump of a father drinks too much, smokes too much, and has major health issues. He raised Jo himself after Jo's mom left with her baby sister, Amy, when Jo was eight.

Turns out Jo's new job is challenging for all it's not. She's not allowed to write anything negative, there aren't any other reporters, and she's not allowed to report on anything that isn't trivial. At least there is the The Little Bird gossip column where anonymous writers have been able to use their humor to relate the scandals of the town.

Coming home brings up the feelings and hurts that Jo has been tamping down all these years. She digs up information that leads her to believe her mom's disappearance might not have been voluntary. As she remembers more of her mom's last days with the family and as she starts rattling some bushes, it's obvious someone is trying to keep the past hidden.

This is a very slow moving character study and may move too slowly for some readers. I enjoyed how I came to like many of the imperfect characters and how even side characters are given room to make an impression. So much is not as it seems and there is something dark under the surface of this close knit little community.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

S L O W Mystery. This is one of those books that takes F O R E V E R to really build out its mystery - but once it finally gets there, it is quite explosive indeed. Instead, this is almost more of a small town character study of a woman coming back to her smalltown hometown with her tail between her legs and having to rebuild her life... who then accidentally stumbles onto new evidence that perhaps her past isn't what everyone thought it was. So the first half ish of the book is much more character study driven, with the back half being more of a slow-normal paced mystery. The setting was interesting too, but could have been set in a wide variety of regions with little other change, so it didn't quite work as well as it arguably could have. Still, a worthy and recommended read.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Running from a bad relationship, journalist Jo Sharpe heads home to Arthurville.

I mean, it's good writing and an okay story. I love the Australian setting. But the kitschy contemporary speech of the characters is rather distracting and makes them appear sophomoric.

2.75☆

I always like to note that a 3* from me means that the book was good, just not great, for me.

The novel is set in dual timelines. The present is narrated by Jo Sharpe, the past by her mother, Merry. There is also a column entitled “A Little Bird” which also takes place in the past.

Jo Sharpe is on her way back home to Arthurville, Australia. She had left years ago for a city life in Sydney. She has returned for a multitude of reasons. She is leaving a bad relationship, has just lost her job in the city and she is still searching for what really happened to her mother 20+ years ago.

Jo was offered a job at the local newspaper. As a journalist she had thought she would be covering a multitude of stories from the town. However, when she arrives she is told that they want her to only write happy, or feel good stories. The area has been suffering from a severe drought, is virtually so dry that there is no grass, the river is almost non-existent in parts and everyone is just tired of it all!

Jo and her father have not spoken or seen each other in two years. They have always had a strained relationship, her father choosing to lose himself in whiskey every evening.

The characters are mostly likeable, but somewhat stereotypical. The most wealthy family are the Beauforts, owning much of the best land and an estate named Pembroke. Jo’s mother Merry was part of this family, but turned her back on them when she married Michael Sharp.

Jo reconnects with some old friends and life isn’t so bad. Her relationship with her father is also improving.

Still, the mystery of her mother’s disappearance remains Jo’s main focus and she continues to dig through any old information that she can find.

I found that the book moved at a very slow pace. I noticed at around 82% on my Kindle that the suspense and actual mystery started to unfold. I also was disappointed in the lack of description of the area, there were only short mentions of the drought stricken area without much detail.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy more of a cozy mystery.

This novel is set to publish on November 30, 2021.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

Will post to Amazon upon publication.

I have a true love for Australian thrillers. They seem to have a bit more atmosphere then your everyday American story. Maybe it's just me? Wendy James is considered the "Australian Queen of the Domestic Thriller." Based on the reading of her new novel A Little Bird alone, I would say that's a well earned title.
Jo (named for Jo, of Little Women) returns to her small town to write for the local community newspaper. She left town long ago following the disappearance of her mother and young sister. Returning to a place she dreads, she finds her angry elderly father in disrepair and many of her high school friends grown up and living adult lives. She isn't sure where she fits in and she still wonders what became of her mother and why she was abandoned. As she interacts with community members in her job, small things, clues
The mystery of her mother and sister's disappearance burns through this slowly developing story and I loved every bit of it! The characters are so real and I loved them all. If you like a domestic thriller where you actually enjoy the characters and root for the heroine then this is a novel for you! #NetGalley #ALittleBird