#BookReview of #ThreeLittleBirds by Sam Blake | @samblakebooks | @CorvusBooks

Three Little Birds –‘Sam Blake at her masterful best’ – Andrea Mara

[ About Three Little Birds ]

Two decades of secrets. One shocking discovery…

When a skull is found in Lough Coyne, facial reconstruction expert Dr Carla Steele is drawn into a fourteen-year-old case – but not all cases are cold, as Carla discovers when she and DS Jack Maguire find the brutally murdered body of a local woman close to the water’s edge.

Together with Carla’s partner, criminal psychologist Grace Franciosi, Carla and Jack uncover a tragic story with very dangerous and current implications.

Since the disappearance of her best friend, Carla has dedicated her career to bringing the dead home, but this time it’s the living who are counting on her. In a race to save another woman, will they be able to stop the killer in time?

[ My Review ]

Three Little Birds by Sam Blake publishes January 4th 2024 with Corvus Books and is described as ‘a dark and twisting mystery’. I’ve always enjoyed Sam Blake’s writing and, as I am very much a police-procedural crime-fiction, sort of gal, I was excited to hear that Three Little Birds was that and more. When I read Little Bones by Sam Blake in 2016 I, like many others, loved Garda Cat Connolly’s character with her feisty personality and kick-ass (literally) attitude. There were two further excellent books in that series, In Deep Water and No Turning Back, and I hoped for a return someday, by Sam Blake, to this kind of investigative and gritty tale. And this is it!

Three Little Birds features Dr Carla Steele, a facial reconstruction expert, working for the Forensic, Anthropology and Computer Enhancement department based in An Garda HQ in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. When Garda DS Jack Maguire brings to her attention a skull that was discovered up the country in Loch Coyne, Carla is intrigued. Using her training and expert skills, Carla reconstructs faces from skulls using specific measurements and techniques that she has studied in university. Her passion for success is what makes her services in demand and her ability to recreate faces is an artform honed over the years.

Years previously Carla’s best friend had disappeared without a trace and this trauma has driven her to help bring closure to those who’ve lost loved ones over the years. With her partner, Grace Franicosi, who is a criminal psychologist, by her side Carla has learned to live with the pain of loss and the not knowing, but she will never stop searching.

Carla and Grace, alongside Jack Maguire, make a trip to Loch Coyne to see what secrets they can uncover. Carla has determined that the skull is most likely female and not a recent one but, by going to the site of the discovery, she hopes to gather more about a life lived and a possible reason for such a tragic and undiscovered death. Jack Maguire is a productive and efficient individual and all three soon develop a good working relationship. Carla and Grace decide to spend the weekend at Loch Coyne, hoping to mix business with a much needed break away from the city. However, when the mutilated body of a local woman is discovered in a wooded area near the lake, their plans change. Although neither Carla or Grace are members of the force, they have insights that are beneficial to the local investigating team and before they know it they are both swept up in a sinister and disturbing tale.

Sam Blake has researched this book to a level that almost made my head spin but it also added a seriously authentic edge to the story. I was both educated and intrigued which added to my overall enjoyment. At nearly 500 pages, my attention never wavered as there were so many interwoven layers unravelling, with little nuggets dropped here and there for the reader to pick up on.

There are a few gruesome scenes with descriptions that should not be read while eating and, in case you were wondering, there is definitely nothing cosy about this multiple murder mystery. There are a few hidden gems littered throughout, which readers of previous books might recognise but, if this is your first Sam Blake novel, it will make no difference whatsoever to your reading experience.

Three Little Birds is a compelling and complex tale that will appeal to all looking for a completely immersive and quality read. Sam Blake’s attention to detail really is phenomenal. Liz Nugent said that Sam Blake is ‘as forensic as her character and this story is told so authentically that it feels like a real life investigation told in real time’ and I would agree 100%. Three Little Birds feels real and that can only be achieved in fiction by someone who goes to great lengths in their research to offer the reader a credible narrative.

Three Little Birds is an engaging, thrilling and first-rate police procedural, a brilliant start to what I am very hopeful is a new series.

**I would like to take this opportunity to thank Corvus for my advance copy of Three Little Birds in exchange for my honest review.

[ Bio ]

Sam Blake has been writing fiction since her husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks and she had an idea for a book.

Sam has had a string of No. 1 bestsellers with her runaway bestselling debut, Little Bones, the first in the Cat Connolly trilogy, shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Switching to psychological thrillers, Keep Your Eyes on Me was a No. 1 bestseller, and her next book, The Dark Room was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Remember My Name, went straight to No. 1 in January 2022 and was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her recent thriller, The Mystery of Four, was a top ten bestseller in Ireland for two months.

Originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, Sam now lives at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, near Dublin in Ireland.

Follow her on social @samblakebooks.
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