This is a beautifully written book. I tried to plough my through it and failed. Unfortunately I did not find it interesting enough and I did not feel that I could engage with any of the characters. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.   It kept me riveted from page 1 to the end.  The story goes back and forth from past to present.  The characters personalities from children to adults are very well developed.  I look forward to reading other books by this author.

A Little Bird Told Me is the debut novel by Marianne Holmes.

It is the summer of 1976, Robyn spends her days swimming and tagging after her brother. It’s the perfect summer until her mum stirs up trouble by bringing home yet another crying woman.

Her actions cause tensions in the town begin to simmer. Everyone is gossiping about her mum, a strange man is following her around, and worst of all, no one will tell Robyn the truth. But secrets will out...

Twelve years later, Robyn returns home, to a house that has stood empty for years and a town that hasn’t moved on, forced to confront the mystery that haunted her that summer.

And atone for the part she played in it.

After finishing A Little Bird Told Me I have complicated feelings about it. It was clearly well-written, and I wanted to love it, but I only liked it. It was readable, I would recommend it, but I probably won’t remember it.

A Little Bird Told Me has a captivating opening paragraph that immediately makes the reader wonder what happened.

“They say I’ll never find her.

Kit says it doesn’t matter because we still have each other but not a day goes by when I don’t long for the truth.”

Robyn feels like she has a certain amount to make up for and like she was at fault for some of what occurred. She knows that there is one person who knows where her mum is, and she knows that by coming back she risks him finding her, but she feels like she has no choice.

“Besides if you were one half evil, wouldn’t you want to know about the other half?”

Her brother Kit feels like it is unnecessary to be in the town, but she feels that they were complicit in what happens, and she has a lot of questions to ask.

There were parts of this book that were really good but my main problem with this book was that I guessed all the major twists before they happened and although it didn’t ruin the book it didn’t make for an exciting read.

Although this was well written I found it difficult to engage with any of the characters and, unfortunately, i ultimately found it a disappointing read.

A story told through 2 timelines. I wasn't certain about this to begin with but gradually became engrossed by the mystery surrounding the 'Cowboy'. I did not guess the twist at the end of the story.

This story is about a brother and sister trying to figure out what happened between their mother and father. The sister, Robyn, provides the narration. Her brother is Christopher and I expected at any point in time for their to be a Winnie the Pooh or AA Milne connection. Nope. The story is told in 2 timelines, 12 years apart. This was the biggest struggle for me because I didn't feel like Robyn had grown any between the two so other than having a different date, nothing else felt different. Additionally, it felt as though the author was so afraid to give too much away too early that most of the plot felt very vague. It is hard to get engaged when you feel purposefully left out. I was glad to read the ending; though once we got there it felt like everything was rushed.

A cross-decade narrative tells the story of Robyn (the titular ‘Little Bird’) and her brother Kit, who as well as navigating adolescence are doing their best to comprehend a rather tumultuous home life. 

Like a retro Broadchurch, Marianne Holmes’ debut is an examination of an insular community- nervy, defensive and populated by flawed characters who may not be what they seem. It may not always fully realise the suspense it builds, but ‘A Little Bird Told Me’ is an accomplished novel that deserves praise.

Enjoyed this book from start to the end, a real page turner, hard to put down. Well written with excellent plot.

This is a really compelling thriller about what happened to the main character's mother back in the summer of 1976, and how Robyn played a part in it. It's told through a mixture of present day and flashbacks, and it really captures the feeling of a small town in Britain, and what happens when you don't tell children the truth. The final twist took a bit of re-reading for me to straighten it all out, because it's not explicitly stated, but I didn't love the book any less for it. A great read.

The story was not intriguing or entertaining. The writer has a nice style and the words were nice,  it the plot and the unraveling of the story was just boring. I dragged myself through this book for the purpose of trying to give it a fair chance to win me over, but in the end I just felt let down and glad to be finished.

Let me start by saying I think this author has a lovely writing style and knows how to do twists that you don't see coming!

This book is set in Robyn's childhood and later as she looks back to fill in the gaps, but the younger child wasn't very helpful in adding to the developing story of a mother who seems to bend over backwards to help others, while neglecting her own responsibilities. 

Robyn and her brother go looking for answers and don't get a warm welcome, and I also found it hard to warm to either of them. However, the ending made up for it! I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

I just couldn't get into this book, if I'm honest I was bored reading it. I persevered for about 20% then did some skip reading. Checking in every 15% or so I still managed to keep track of the storyline without confusion. Unfortunately not going to be a favourite of mine.

"Crying Is For Bigger Things Than This".

Liked The Lyrical Feel To The Writing. 
Great Debit Novel.
Good Pace. Finished In A Few Hours.

I'm not going to lie, at first I couldn't get away with this. The 'now and then' in the paragraphs confused me at the beginning (whichusyally doesn't happen), and I couldn't keep straight with it. But... after halfway I was hooked! 

The Cowboy intrigued me a lot, athough I had guessed who he was. But talking about 'her' all the time, and where she was kept me going, I needed to find out! 

This was actually good Story which left me quite happy by the end. I'd recommend it.

The story revolves around Robyn and Kit, brother and sister who have have arrived in a small town during a hot summer with their mother,  Robyn is just a child so unaware of her past and like they say, the past keeps coming to haunt them.

The story began with a lovely little passage about how the story was nearly lost, which intrigued me and made me want to read more, I was really looking forward to this book but was left sadly disappointed..

At first I was intrigued with the story line and what was going to happen but easily became bored as it takes far too long to be given any clues or information and by the time you are given anything you have guessed the entire plot and the book ruined! I also really did not take to the character of Robyn.

Disappointing.

It started off amazing, got very dull and dragged on, and ended pretty well too. Overall a decent read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is a beautifully written murder mystery, brimming with nostalgic detail and lyrical, well chosen prose. The storyline sweeps effortlessly between two time lines as it twists and turns towards its highly emotional climax. Heartily recommend.

I received an ecopy of A Little Bird Told Me. Knowing how much work probably went into this book I am loathe to be negative but I cannot say that I enjoyed this book. The characters were pretty one dimensional and I really couldn't get worked up about the plot. It was a pleasant read and no more.

Great book, really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. 

Many thanks to Netgalley and Marianne Holmes for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

An excellent story as to the twists and turns of family life and what happens when it all goes wrong... Thoroughly enjoyed this and couldn't put it down.