I Loved this book, I just had to keep reading and finished it in almost one sitting, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters, Jo who is back living with her dad, who although a really grumpy man, you grown to really like and empathise with and the story of what happened to Jo’s mum “Merry” is so gripping and so well told, I was totally engrossed. Told in 2 timelines, in an atmospheric setting it’s one of my favourite books this year and I will be looking for other books by this author. Thank You to the publisher and Netgalley for the pleasure of reading this early copy.

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

A better-than-pleasant read, this got off to a pretty slow start, but picked up once the mystery was revealed. I had never read Ms James before (or even heard of her; and I did not pay a lot of attention to the blurb), so the grim revelation took me by surprise, as it came in the middle of fairly mundane small-town things.

In all, a satisfying story, with loose ends very nicely tied up, and enough that was unexpected to keep me glued to the page by the second half of the book.

Rated: 7/10 for a good story, and good writing.

I found this a little slow for my liking but still enjoyed the story. I did enjoy the past and present views I would recommend I just personally like a more fast paced read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Little Bird by Wendy James.

Set in Australia, Jo Sharpe has just returned home for a new start in her life, but it also means confronting her dad, and a town that she deliberately left long ago. She also has never uncovered what happened to her mother and baby sister when they walked out of their lives and disappeared forever. Perhaps her new job as a local journalist can uncover some questions once and for all.

This is a story about Jo, and her complicated mother Merry, who we slowly learn about throughout the story, and what led her to walk away from her family so abruptly.

This was a lot of fun. I loved the bleakness of this hot Australian town, Jo's ornery dad, and the suspicious cast of characters in this crusty small town. It was written and paced well. Fun for a spooky fall read.

It felt like a book of two halves. The first half sees Jo Sharpe return home to Arthurville, a small dying outback town, to work on the local community newspaper. She finds herself living back at home with her father whom she'd been estranged from for a couple of years and is having to reconnect with him, as well as the town and community she had left. The story is told in dual narratives by Jo in 2018 and her mother Merry (Miranda) a couple of decades before. The story of her mother and sister's disappearance is slowly unpeeled.
The book goes up a gear midway through the book becoming quite a page-turner. It very quickly turns into a thriller as Jo begins to investigate her mother's disappearance.

I have just finished reading A Little Bird by Author Wendy James. This is the first book by the author for me.

The main character Jo Sharpe has returned to her hometown of Arthurville, where her mother and baby sister suddenly left and the disappeared 24 years earlier

She has taken up a job at the local newspaper, and finds out while living in her hometown what really happened to her family.

This to me was a little on the slow side, although an overall good read.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author Wendy James, and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced copy to read, and review.

#ALittleBird #NetGalley

I can't remember why I picked this book (probably the cover) and I definitely didn't remember the synopsis when I got around to reading it a week or two after downloading but that is what makes reading new-to-me authors fun. Australia, small town, missing women, newspaper journalists--something is going to happen. Great writing too. Final thought: wow, twisted minds come in all kinds of packages--you won't see this ending coming.

What a glorious book! Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I requested the book as an ARC because the description made it sound good but in all honesty, I don’t know that I would have purchased it. Turns out that this is a definite 5 star read and maybe one of my top 10 for the year (and I read a lot). It is a tiny bit slow off the start but then it picked up fairly quickly. Told in dual narratives with dual timelines by a mother and daughter., you could feel the angst that remained in the daughter, now in her 30’s, over a mother who had abandoned her. As the book turned into a mystery, my excitement grew as I started putting the pieces together. A little bit of love, family, sinners, church and mystery in Australia—what a fun way to spend a couple of afternoons. I highly recommend this book..

A little Bird was a puzzlingly title until the author revealed information that explained the mystery. The mystery was woven together in the voices of two characters. The book kept me guessing as to what would happen next

After accepting a job at a small community paper, Jo returns to her hometown, where her mother and baby sister disappeared many years ago. A Little Bird is the story of how Jo copes with her return, as she tries to repair relationships with her family and friends, all while she uncovers new details of her mother’s disappearance. This is more of a character study than thriller, and it’s a slow build as things don’t ramp up until about halfway through the book. But it’s worth staying with, the writing is great, and the story flows nicely. A little different than the author’s prior books that I’ve read, but still an enjoyable read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a fan of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer, then A Little Bird by Wendy James is definitely the book for you. When Jo Sharpe returns home to take up a new role on her local newspaper, she is hoping to repair her relationship with her father, which has broken down since the mysterious disappearance of her mother and baby sister twenty-five years ago. With drought and unemployment at an all time high, people in Jo’s hometown have never been so desperate and there are many who have secrets that they’d prefer to keep hidden.

A Little Bird is an exciting and gripping book that kept me reading until late in the night. I enjoyed the subplot about Jo’s complicated relationship with her father, who has struggled to come to terms with the disappearance of his wife and daughter. We also hear elements of the story from Merry’s (Jo’s mother) perspective, which adds depth to the story and increases the tension. Wendy James also does a wonderful job of bringing small-town Australia to life: exploring the complexities and dynamics of a community, where jobs and opportunities are limited.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.

Jo Sharpe reluctantly returns home to Arthurville in 2018 to take up a job at the local newspaper The Chronicle. She lives with her curmudgeonly father, always a drinkers but especially so after Jo’s mother Merry (Miranda) and baby sister Amy left them with no warning in July 1994. A letter received a few weeks later tells them that they are fine and not to search for her. The story is told from in and around 1994 by Merry and by Jo in 2018.

First of all, I love the setting of the small Aussie ‘nowhere town’. It’s vivid with the drought conditions being so easy to picture and the atmosphere conveyed especially the heat is so well done, as is the representation of the small community and its people. The fantastic cover reflects the scene too. The characterisation is also very good, the central protagonists are very likeable, even Jo’s dada grows on you as you can really see the impact that Merry’s disappearance has had on him. There’s plenty of good humour especially in The Little Bird column of the newspaper which wittily depicts the local gossip and little hints of scandal. Merry’s past is full of questions especially her well to do background and her story is very interesting with good hints of mystery. The deeper into the plot the novel goes the story just gets better and better and you appreciate that there’s way more going on in Arthurville than you could ever imagine. It’s not a particularly fast paced novel, it slowly meanders to the truth but it’s not that kind of book. The slowish pace actually suits this small community, it reflects them and I don't think it would work if written any other way. The ending is good, I don't see that one coming!!

Overall, a well written easy read with lots of atmosphere and perfect for fans of Jane Harper.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Lake Union for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

An enjoyable read set in small town Australia. Jo returns home to build bridges with her father and decides to try to discover what happened to her mother and baby sister 25 years before. Lots of protagonists set up to be the perpetrator so the final denouement was a surprise.

Most of the books I have been reading lately has been set in the UK, so picking up Wendy James’ A Little Bird which is set in Australia was a refreshing change. This book is classified as general fiction, but it turned out to be a great crime mystery.
Set in a stunning small Australian town this book keeps you glued to the pages as you try to find out what happened to Jo’s mother and baby sister. A twenty-five-year-old mystery that slowly unfolds while you are drawn into the small-town community and all the secrets they are hiding. This is a fantastically crafted story that will have you reading late into the night. It’s filled with mystery that twists and turns leaving you feeling like you are part of the small-town gossip mill.
I haven’t read anything by Wendy James before and this book left me feeling like I have been missing out. She created a colourful community full of interesting characters. The story moves between 1994 and 2018 with Jo and her mother taking turns revealing their stories. As a bonus, you are given little newspaper clippings from a gossip column in between. This makes it an interesting, gripping read as the then and now stories are revealed.
Twenty-five- tears ago Merry – Miranda Sharpe - drove off with her baby daughter, Amy, in the car and she has not been seen since. Jo never understood why her mother left her behind. Now her father has taken ill and she has received a job offer that will allow her to return home to Arthurville.
After a breakup with her boyfriend and her desire to look after her father, this job turns out to be perfectly timed.
Once home, Jo reconnects with old friends and her job has her crossing paths with her uncle and grandmother on her mother’s side. People she never got to know as a child. Being back home, memories of her mother return and Jo slowly starts piecing the details about her mother’s disappearance together. Will she be able to uncover the truth among all the secrets the community members are keeping?
A Little Bird felt like a slow read. I found myself drawn into this small-town community as the various secrets were revealed. Allowing me to escape into this little town’s history. I enjoyed how it was laid back and relaxing. I finished the book in three sittings, so it wasn’t a slow read at all. The ending was brilliant and held an unexpected twist. I was completely off in my prediction, and I love that. The final surprise added to the book’s enjoyment.
Jo Sharpe is a young woman with a lot of questions and the author managed to create this character with just enough insecurity to make her realistic. I simply loved Mick – Michael Sharpe – this difficult grumpy old drunk crept into your heart and you cannot help but smile at his nasty attitude. Being a man full of regret and sadness you understand his moods.
A Little Bird is one of those unlikely choices for me that I found I simply couldn’t get enough of. While it does not fall into my usual crime thriller genre of choice this book holds enough mystery to provide an intriguing read. I was completely wrapped up in the story and looked forward to getting to the truth behind Merry’s disappearance. I loved it.
A Little Bird will appeal to women’s fiction fans as well as mystery readers. It is a touching, sad story that is full of mystery with twists and turns as you join Jo in her hunt for the truth. I loved this story and I recommend that you add it to your TBR if you are looking for something a little different to read.

A Little Bird is set in Australia, which is completely new to me. I've learned a lot of new expressions that I had never heard before, so I enjoyed that aspect.

I do like the multiple narratives, but the times move around a lot, so I'm thinking this is something that will be addressed in the finished copy, as will the passages that have been crossed out.

I found the mystery to be interesting with unexpected twists, although I wish we could have gotten into it a little earlier. I felt like the ending was a little rushed, and I'm still not certain about a few things, but I was definitely intrigued!

4 Stars

The story opens with Jo remembering the day her mother and her infant sister disappeared. As evidenced by the letters sent to Jo’s father and grandmother, for over twenty-five years the police believed Merry left willingly. Due to her father’s cancer diagnoses and ending a toxic relationship, Jo returns home to help her father and accepts a journalist position at the local newspaper her mother worked at before her disappearance.

In her new position she discovers things she never knew about her mother and uncovers the questions from the past. This is a well-written story, with plenty of plot twists for the reader.

Jo’s mother left home with her baby sister when she was very little and was never heard from again. When Jo comes back to her hometown years later, she learns more about her mom and her life than she ever thought she would.

The beginning of the book was a little difficult for me just because I kept getting confused about who was telling the story and where we were in time. The story is told from the perspective of both Jo and her mom Merry but there are also different timelines involved. Once I got the characters and the timeline straight, I was about halfway through the book and the rest of it flew from there.

I really enjoyed the ending of the book and a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming along the way. This book was well written and made for an easy, enjoyable read.

This novel, like Wendy James previous books is a terrific read. It held me from beginning to end. Jo has come back to her small home town in rural New South Wales to take a job at the local community newspaper, and to try to heal old wounds with her father, who she has not spoken to for two years. Things have always been difficult between Jo and her Dad, ever since her mother left the family, taking Jo’s baby sister with her, when Jo was a small child. Jo’s return opens up old wounds between her and her dad but also unearths some old secrets. I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. Well done once again to Wendy James for a great story. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

A journalist returns to her home town and discovers more than a few family secrets.. This is an engaging, intelligent read with nuanced characters which kept me turning the pages. Recommended.

After many years working for a newspaper in the city, Jo returns to her home town in the Australian outback to reconnect with her father and to look into the disappearance of her mother and baby sister that happened twenty five years before.
I really enjoyed this book, it has some great characters and an ending I didn’t predict.
I will be looking out for more work by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.