Reunions can be a minefield for exposing dysfunctional family relationships. When Flora, Kat and Lauren gather at the Cornish coast for a visit with their ailing father, they face all the pitfalls of a reunion, in addition to remembering a traumatic event that took place on the evening of a summer eclipse when they were just girls.

Charlie Finch, a famous painter, was also a bit of a philanderer. He enjoyed more than one marriage and at least three daughters - all by different mothers. He blended this family together on summer holidays at Rock Point, the gothic family estate on the coastline of Cornwall.

This is a story full of complicated relationships. During the visit, secrets are brought out in the open, true emotions are revealed and the family confronts the trauma that occurred on the night of the eclipse.

The sense of place is wonderful. An old gothic mansion on the coast of Cornwall with the ocean as a backdrop really set the tone for the story.

The book is a slow burn and everything seems to pick up speed as the reader gets deeper into the story. I’m glad I stayed the course and finished this book because having read the entire story put everything into perspective and the ending was very satisfying.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group - Putnam for allowing me to read and advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review.

Lauren Molloy is not looking forward to returning to the Cornwall estate where she was last together with her half-sisters and their father – her Finch family as her late mother used to call them – twenty years earlier. Staying at Rock Point had been the highlight of her young life, the only place she and her older sisters got to spend time being doted on by their father and grandparents for an entire glorious month before being whisked back to their everyday lives with their mothers. That all ended the summer she was thirteen, when the total eclipse of the sun in 1999 heralded a disaster that her mind still can’t fully process.

Even back then, even before the eclipse, a strange energy had seemed to sizzle through all of the inhabitants of Rock Point:

QUOTE
“Don’t overthink it. It’s just the discombobulating eclipse energy, Lauren.” Grandpa walked to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He folded back a shutter fully, revealing the sea and sky ablaze, as if from a distant fire. “Can’t you feel it? It’s in the air. <i>Disturbance</i>,” he added with relish. “Almost three minutes it’ll last,” he continued, absorbed by the view. “The temperature will drop and, if we’re lucky, we’ll see the moon’s shadow <i>racing</i> towards us from the west, nine hundred meters a second. Like an explosion in reverse.” He turned to me with intense lit-up eyes, looking just like Dad when a painting was going well. “Umbral velocity, Lauren. I’ve waited for this my entire life, you’ve no idea.”
END QUOTE

Dad is Charlie Finch, a renowned artist who somehow managed to father three little girls with three different women in indecently quick succession. Though the mothers’ disdain for one another hasn’t stopped the girls from getting close, their attitudes still influence how the sisters view each other. It doesn’t help that Dixie, Lauren’s mom, refused to let Charlie introduce Lauren to her older sisters till she was nine, after Flora and Kat had already firmly bonded. But over the next few summers, the three girls would build their own tumultuous ties, till the day of the eclipse changed everything.

Twenty years on, Flora and Kat are equal parts eager and reluctant to rekindle their sisterly closeness. Flora, once an unapologetically devastating creature of both beauty and intellect, has settled into an uneasy domesticity with a man who doesn’t read and a four year-old who demands all her attention. The still prickly Kat has sacrificed any semblance of a personal life in favor of babying tech start-ups into existence. Both of them are apprehensive about returning to a place where they once did terrible things. Worse, they feel beholden to continue protecting their emotionally fragile younger sister from what exactly happened that last eclipse-haunted summer.

But there’s someone else in Cornwall who isn’t happy that the sisters are back, someone whose memory is crystal clear and who’s been waiting a long time to confront them over what they’ve done. As a series of creepy incidents escalates, the three women and their father will have to finally face the truth of what happened two decades ago, and how they were each culpable in the tragedy that ensued.

It feels strange to describe a thriller about reconciling past sins as being heartwarming, but The Birdcage somehow manages to be suspenseful at the same time that it’s sensitive toward and generous to its troubled, flawed characters. Here’s Flora reflecting on the summer of 1999, and how it changed the trajectory of her once seemingly limitless life:

QUOTE
Despite her determination not to think about that summer, it must have simmered somewhere inside, she realizes now. Reducing, intensifying, like a salty sauce forgotten on a stove. Changing her consistency in unforeseen ways.

But if there was a precise instant that she’d turned into the sort of woman who’d marry a man like Scott, she’d been oblivious. All Flora knows is that <i>before</i> she’d been fearless, desperate to explore the world.
END QUOTE

The psychology and family dynamics are spot on, with Eve Chase sidestepping obvious cliches in the design of her engrossing tale. In only the biggest example, Charlie could easily have been a Lear-type figure, but it’s clear that he genuinely loves his kids and is quite a good dad despite his inability to stay faithful to their mothers. The twists and turns were above average, and the ending deeply satisfying. This is one of those thrillers that doesn’t rely on depravity to propel the plot, but turns its canny eye on how our all-too-human weaknesses can set off terrible consequences, and how love and compassion can heal and help us all become better people.

This was the second book I have read by this author. I always enjoy the slow, atmospheric style of her writing. This story involves three half-sisters, Kat, Flora and Lauren who are haunted by an incident involving another young girl, that occurred on their father's property in Rock Point. Each summer the girls spend time with their artist father. They each come from different mothers and are fiercely competitive and sometimes cruel with each other, especially to Lauren.
Twenty years later, they meet back at Rock Point and despite trying to ignore the past, the three girls and their dad, along with his fiancée are forced to confront the truth about what really happened.
I received an e-book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I really wanted to love this book because the synopsis seemed very promising. However, the three sisters were very sassy and seemed to blend together. There was no distinction between the two sisters. I also did not like the writing style. The writing style was not charming and was very stilted. Much of the humor in this novel fell flat. The story also moved at a very slow paced and seemed repetitive. Thus, this novel did not keep me engaged. I kept picking it up and putting it down. Thus, this novel had potential but was not executed well. Still, I recommend this for fans of Lisa Jewell, Kate Morton, and Susanna Kearsley!

First, I was SO excited to receive this advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher so Thank You! I was researching books for a book club I'm in and found this book and thought it was right up my alley.

The Good: I loved the premise of three sisters all born in a about two years to three different mothers. I loved the setting of the old family home on the coast and the history of what happened the day of the eclipse.

The Less Good: There was a looooooooong build up and then both of the surprises seemed very predictable to me. I also could have completely done without Jonah or the sisters' love interests. The storyline of mistaken identity between two men also seemed unnecessary. The writing style was overly flowery for my taste, especially at the beginning. I felt it kept the story from flowing.

This could translate really well to a movie where the build-up wouldn't have to be so drawn out and things could be hidden from the viewer more.

It really is such a great premise. I wanted to enjoy it more.

Lots of drama when three half sister reunite at their father’s home.
I didn’t like their father and wast overly fond of the three sisters either. Nine of the story resonated with me. It just wasn’t my type of read.

I was excited to read this based on the premise, but was really disappointed to find several fatphobic remarks in the writing within the first five percent of the book.

The Birdcage by Eve Chase is Mystery Fiction told by multiple narrators and timelines. Usually I find this style of book my favorite read but for some reason this story was confusing and unraveled too slowly for me. The character’s family relationships were disturbing with secrets kept for a lifetime resulting in troubled lives.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 3 Stars

The Birdcage unfolds like a story that should have taken place in another time. While most of the flashback were in the year 1999, I felt like the storytelling should have been more....early 20th's century. Eve Chase's writing was reminiscent to Kate Morton's that I wanted to fall into that Kate Morton sort of timeline.

All of that aside, The Birdcage dealt with the difficult relationships between sisters as well as the difficult themes of alcoholism, infidelity, and relationships.

This isn't a light, beachy read. It's heavy and it's emotional.

That said, it's also very good. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Nothing like a tense sisterly bond, awkward family drama and suspense. This book delivered, while being slow in some spots it did a good job of drawing you in and pulling you along to figure out what's going on. Definitely goes into my readers advisory catalog.

The Birdcage is a story of three half sisters that share an eccentric, absent father. The story follows the sisters current day (2019), meeting together at their family home and also diving into their dark and haunted past together and separately. It was a great and real story of sisterhood & family and the negative feelings that can come along with those relationships. I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend checking it out!

Family secrets lie deep in the cliffs of Rock Point in the latest by Eve Chase.
When three half sisters are brought back to their fathers family home by their father after Lauren the youngest sisters mother passes away family secrets from the past start to find their way back. This page turner goes between present day and 1999 when the events of an eclipse rocked the sisters lives forever.
Charlie, the girls father, a famous artist has also brought back someone from their lives the girls would love to forget and a secret he has held on for far to long finally brings the girls closer in a way they would never imagine.

As with many of Eve Chase's novels, the house in this novel is almost a character unto itself. 'Rock Point' high atop a seaside cliff in Cornwall, is the family home of the Finch girls. Three daughters, all with different mothers, fathered by the esteemed artist Charles Finch.

"The Birdcage" sees the three women returning to the house for the first time in two decades. Twenty years ago, they suffered a trauma at the house during the day of a solar eclipse. The events of that day are never mentioned. Their father has called them back to Rock Point because he has an important announcement to make.

The sisters share a guarded closeness, like they want to be close, yet they are holding back. Lauren always felt left out as the other two sisters were there first - she didn't meet them until she was nine years old. This book portrayed a somewhat unique study of sibling relationships - both the good and bad aspects of sisterhood and sibling rivalry.

The paintings depicted in this novel are ones that I would love to view. They would tell the story in a visual and evocative way.

With threatening anonymous notes, winter storms, and stifled memories, this book kept me thoroughly invested throughout. I did guess the 'big' secret, but that didn't mar my enjoyment of the reveal one iota.

Family secrets are my weakness when reading fiction and this novel has the perfect blend of secrets, excellently drawn characters, and an extremely atmospheric setting. I've read all of this author's work to date and she never disappoints.

“…the eclipse only took two minutes twenty‑three seconds to change everything. A lot can happen in a couple of days. And time is mutable at Rock Point. Blink and it buckles.”

Eve Chase once again explores the complicated bonds of sisterhood in her fourth gothic thriller.

The Birdcage focuses on three estranged half-sisters, Flora, Kat and Lauren. They are all the daughters of Charlie Finch, a still life painter. His only famous painting was called Girls and the Birdcage, which depicted his daughters sitting on a couch next to a birdcage. It was painted in 1999, the year of the eclipse.

The chapters alternate between the viewpoints of each daughter in 2019 as well as through flashbacks from 1999.

When Lauren’s mother Dixie passes away, Charlie Finch assembles his daughters back at Rock Point estate in Cornwall to make an important announcement. However, everyone is hiding secrets that threaten to upend everything they thought they knew. Why is Angie there? What actually happened on the day of the eclipse? Will Bertha the African Grey parrot spill the beans?

“What have we done?” Bertha squawked in Flora’s voice. “What have we done?”

When threatening notes are found at the house and tires are slashed, the family wonders who might also know their precious secrets.

The Finch family must learn to accept, love, and support each other in order to finally let the truth be known.

This book also deals with themes of alcoholism, infidelity, and abusive relationships.

I am a huge fan of Eve Chase, whose books always focus on the relationship between sisters. This book started off very slow due to little dialogue and just the inner thoughts of the characters. The pace sped up around 50%, when I correctly guessed the twist. Regardless of knowing how it would end, I enjoyed Chase’s message and the creepy birds!

3.5/5 stars rounded up

Expected publication date: 7/19/22

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of The Birdcage in exchange for an honest review.

Eve Chase has become one of my go-to authors for recommending something new to friends and library patrons who have tired of Gillian Flynn and Lisa Jewell but still want a twisted, ingeniously plotted domestic suspense novel. Chase totally delivers all that and more in The Birdcage.

As in previous Chase novels, we have a set of sisters who struggle with a deep dark secret from the past as well as boatloads of unresolved emotions with the older adults in their now-adult lives. Chase takes the action back and forth between past and present, a technique that works pretty well.

My only issue with The Birdcage is the sheer number of characters. By the time I got to the end, I felt like I should have kept a notebook of all of them just to keep everything straight. Even so, this is every bit as suspenseful and well-written as Chase’s earlier novels.

Recommended..

This was a complicated story of sisters with a bit of a mystery thrown in. I found myself not really caring too much about the characters. There was just too much thinking going on. I was expecting alittle more mystery.
I really liked the last few chapters best.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

DNF at 67%. I wanted to like this so bad. The story seemed so interesting until I actually started reading it. I found it dragged a lot and I was just very bored.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Three stepsisters reunite at their father's house dredging up past hurts and secrets. This book was way too slow moving. The only reason I stuck with it was because so many other people gave it good reviews but it never got better. I guess it just wasn't for me.

I think my main problem is that I went into this thinking it would be a thriller/mystery from the description but it is definitely more of a dark family drama. But that is perhaps my own fault. I think the build up to the reveal was way too long and very anticlimactic, it just ended up not being that big of a deal. I also think the ending was too cutesy. I also think there were too many characters that all had very similar voices. This book was just not for me.

I was so excited for this book but sadly it wasnt a good fiti liked the characters but did not enjoy the writing