"The birds were watching them. The girl could sense their small, bright eyes tracking their every step…"

This was a deliciously dark, utterly gripping debut brimming with folklore, a thrilling mystery and dash of horror. The Bird Singers is perfect for fans of recently released Fledgling and Aveline Jones – there’s creepy cottages, flickering lights and things that go bump in the night aplenty!

Although utterly beautiful creatures, there is something mysterious about birds and many species are linked to magic and sorcery. In folklore, supernatural entities take the form of Owls, Blackbirds, Ravens and Crows to assist malevolent forces. The Bird Singers harnesses these dark forces alongside scenes with hints of Alfred Hitchcock-esque, bird-related horror that will make the hairs on the back of your neck prickle!

"The whistling had started on their first night. At first, Layah thought it was bird song – a high thin sound which became a melody, rising and falling. And each night, it returned."

Layah and her younger sister, Izzie have been dragged to a rain-soaked cottage miles from anywhere in the Lake District when strange and terrifying things begin to happen.

First, a peculiar whistling at night and then Layah begins to have visions of a woman with huge yellow eyes and long white hair – could this be linked to murmurings in the village of a shadowed woman that the locals call ‘The Lowesdale Stranger?’

The girls see a poor dead bird in the hedgerow and then one appears on their doorstep, thrown there by a mysterious visitor. And when the girls’ mother starts behaving oddly, Layah is determined to unravel the mysterious events.

Layah is mourning the loss of her dear grandmother in Poland – and can almost hear her Babcia’s voice telling her old myths and fairy tales. And as the holiday takes on a dark twist, Layah begins to wonder if the myths might just be real.

I love a creepy read and this was right up my street!

Family secrets, Polish folklore, magic and a bit of mystery. Just why have Layah and younger sister Izzie been taken by their mum to a cottage in the lake district. A fabulously intriguing story with delightful characters that keep you on the edge of your seat with every turn of a page. Brilliantly written, fast paced and beautiful descriptive writing.

The Bird Singers is a deliciously dark tale laced with mythology, mystery and malevolence from the first page to the last.

When Layah and her sister Izzie find themselves holidaying in a rain-soaked village, the last thing they expect is to find themselves entangled in a dark and dangerous mystery. Can they unravel their family’s deepest secrets or will dark forces threaten their very existence?

I found The Bird Singers to be an utterly enthralling read: it was entirely unpredictable and I devoured it, desperate to find out the dark secrets lying at the heart of it. I loved the mythological references and the use of dual narrative. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A mythical tale interwoven with a summer holiday at the lakes. Layah and Izzie have grown up listening to and loving their Babcia’s tales and stories. Reading her great passion for myths in her book, the girls will use their grandmother’s knowledge and writing to help them solve a deep mystery involving their mother.

Layah is acutely aware,of a supernatural energy surrounding their sudden departure from London and the devisiveness between their parents is incredibly unsettling for her. She is uncertain of most things but this mystery has her gripped.

Clues keep finding the girls in strange ways and for awhile nothing makes sense…it takes their Babcia’s book to help them see the truth and take steps to protect their family. Layah is fiercely loyal and her emotions run deep. Struggling with the damaged relationship between her parents, and worrying about her younger sister, Layah is angry and hurt. Discovering a lifetime of lies, she is unready to forgive but she will fight! Brave, loyal and ultimately hopeful, Layah is a new heroine to love.

Dangerous, spooky and entirely exciting, I devoured this book. Twists, turns and shady characters will have you guessing which side they are on throughout the whole book.

Part myth, part fairy tale but full of mystery and family. What a great read aloud this would be for a class in ks2.

Yet again, I find myself sitting down to write a review of a book which I chose from the Net Galley shelf as a result of initially being lured in by its fabulous cover. I suspect a great many other readers will go on to check out the blurb, as I did, as a result and will find themselves being compelled to read this mixture of myth and mystery, which had me on the edge of my seat as I read on.

And this is edge of the seat stuff – intriguing, spooky and dark at times, with plenty of twists and turns that took me by surprise, and with a brilliant blend of folklore and modern storytelling that will ensure that this is a story which will be enjoyed for a great many years to come.

Creeping out of the bedroom in the cottage where she is staying with younger sister Izzie and their mother, Layah makes her way to the back garden where she spies an old woman with yellow eyes and a twisted smile in the middle of the lawn. As she switches on the outside light, her mother appears and appears panicked when Layah describes the visitor, before reassuring her that it was just a bad dream.

The following morning, over breakfast, Layah and Izzie’s mother, Ren, reveals that they will be staying in the cottage for longer than the sisters had expected, before telling them they will all be going to meet the cottage’s owner – and old school friend – Henry and his son later that morning, something that neither girl is pleased to hear with their father away for work. Leaving the cottage to go to buy lunch, Layah and Izzie spot the body of a dead bird in a hedge as they head to the nearby café. As they sit and eat the cake they have ordered, Layah again hears the strange whistling noise and spots the mysterious woman from the previous night standing at the café entrance staring at her.

When they go to meet their mother and Henry, Henry’s son James talks to them about the local school which is supposedly full of ghosts before telling them about the Lowesdale Stranger, who supposedly lives in the forest close by and visits the village at night to feast on sheep and children out of bed. Pondering on what James has told them, Layah cannot help but notice the behaviour of a flock of birds overhead and is not convinced by James’s assertion that their murmuration is perfectly normal. As Layah and Izzie start to experience stranger and stranger goings on, they realise that their mother is not being entirely truthful with them. Who is the mysterious yellow-eyed woman, and what does she want from them? Why is their mother behaving so oddly? And just how are they connected to what is happening?

I don’t know just what it is that makes certain birds so very creepy, but those species such as ravens have something about them that lends them a definite air of malevolence. Here, as the mysteries start to pile up, it is clear that something is going on but it is very hard for both Layah and the reader to put their finger on just what it is. As is the case with all of the best scary reads, so much here is left to the imagination and by doing so with the greatest of skill, debut author Eve Wersocki Morris creates a story which is tense throughout and which has the power to hold the reader spellbound as they read on.

This would make a great read in Year 6, and would also allow for lots of discussion about not only what is happening around Layah and Izzie, but also family dynamics. It is crystal clear both to the sisters and to the reader that Izzie and Layah’s parents’ marriage is not as happy as it once was – a scenario familiar to many of our children – and this would provide some great openings to discuss how relationships sometimes change – something that many youngsters tend to bottle up or try to pretend isn’t happening when they would really benefit from a sympathetic ear and the opportunity to talk.

With so many brilliant titles to look out for in 2022, this is one which most definitely warrants adding to your list. Exciting and thrilling, it is a book I will be shouting about very loudly when it publishes on 3rd February. Until then, huge thanks must go to publisher Hodder Children’s Books and to Net Galley for my advance read. 5 out of 5 stars.