A family drama, centered around 3 half sisters (all with different mothers) and their father. Told via a dual timeline across the Eclipse summer of 1999 and the family reunion in 2019. Set in Cornwall. What’s not to love?

This is a highly dysfunctional, disparate family trying to be normal and each character brings something different to the narrative. Flora is downtrodden, Kat is brisk, and Lauren is raw.

The writing is so atmospheric, it really paints a picture of Cornwall. Slightly gothic in places, through the eerie depiction of the Heaps’ house and the cliffs to the wild and stormy weather.

Loved the bird imagery throughout and how the story unfolded, revealing bit by bit the terrible secret that each sister has tried, unsuccessfully, to bury since that fateful summer of ’99.

Dixie is the real heroine in this piece, I wish we’d got to be in her presence more. But she won. The way the sisters came together, learnt to love each other again and find themselves was lovely.

Beautifully written and thoroughly evocative.

About half way through this book I got an incredible sense of Déjà vu and I still cannot pinpoint why!
Set in Cornwall at their childhood holiday home the three disparate sisters are called together by their shared parent for a mysterious announcement.
Reliving the horrors of their childhood holiday the plot is complex and dots between the viewpoints of the sisters and their families and friends, all the while skirting around the elephant in the room.
The truth of the past eventually comes to light via a series of tantalising hints and glimpses through the eyes and memories of the sisters (mainly Lauren) and whilst it is not a shocking twist its gradual revelation is a masterstroke of writing style.

I don't particularly enjoy stories that keep going backwards and forwards in time but managed to keep up with this complicated family story., Well described characters and a lot happening all the time. Great background to the story which was very atmospheric. Satisfying conclusion.

What a really good story - full of suspense and mystery right to the end. Personally I am it fond of the backwards and forwards in time format, but it worked here and kept me on my toes throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this tense and intriguing tale.

This story took place in the lovely setting of Cornwall. It was told in the year 2019 and 20 years previously. The Finches are a dysfunctional family, Charlie’s three daughters having different mothers. Laura, the youngest, had had difficulty in remembering what happened in the past but knew it was something that had affected her mental state. There are a number of secrets that come to light and a mystery concerning written notes. This was an engaging read with a good mix of interesting characters. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Eve Chase has been one of my favourite authors since I read and adored Black Rabbit Hall, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of The Birdcage - and look at that beautiful cover!

Twenty years after their last visit, half-sisters Lauren, Kat and Flora are summoned to Rock Point: the beautiful and windswept Cornish cliff house where they sat for their father's most famous painting, Girls and Birdcage. The last time they were all together, in 1999 for the Eclipse, something terrible happened. Now they're back, no one mentions it - which Lauren finds unsettling and confusing, because there's a bit of a gap in her memory...

The Birdcage is a dual timeline story, switching between 1999 and 2019, and told from each daughter's viewpoint. 'Dysfunctional' hardly covers the Finch family. Famous artist Charlie Finch, now in his 60s, has slept with practically every woman he's ever painted. He has three daughters by three different women. Beautiful Flora; cool, clever Kat; and shy Lauren. While Flora and Kat were born six months apart and have had regular contact, Lauren is a new addition to the family and her sisters resent her.

In 2019, Flora, once the most confident of the sisters, is unhappily married with a young son. Kat eschews relationships for work but her business is in trouble; Lauren has withdrawn further into herself but is determined to find out what happened on the day of the Eclipse. Will spending time at Rock Point finally bring them together as a proper family? Hmm...

The Birdcage will appeal to anyone who loves stories about big old houses, family secrets, old mysteries and larger-than-life characters. (I loved Charlie, even though he was a terrible parent. Kat's imitation: "Don't ever smoke girls. Disgusting habit. Right, where are my Camels?") There's a domineering grandmother, a prospective step-mother everyone loves to hate, mysterious men looming out of the mist, lovable Labradors and a parrot called Bertha, who loves to repeat overheard phrases. Beautifully written, with a heart-warming ending that brought a tear to my eye, The Birdcage is utterly fabulous and one of my favourite reads this year.


Thank you to Eve Chase and Michael Joseph for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

An intricate book plot surrounding three half sisters and their father who is a famous artist and an incident that happened after the total eclipse of the sun in 1999.
It is evident from the start that what happened that summer had life changing consequences that lasted well into the sisters adult lives.
The book which time lapses between 1999 and a reunion in the winter of 2019 gradually reveals the lives of the sisters and what occurred that fateful time.
It is a mystery read as well as a story of sibling rivalry.
Great read can’t recommend it enough

I really enjoyed Eva Chase's last book and was looking forward to reading this one. I found it an enjoyable read, particularly the sense of place. However, and I think this may say more about me than the author, I found it very difficult at the beginning to distinguish between the half sisters and work out which of them had which back story., and that feeling of having to stop and think about it at various stages in the book did spoil it for me somewhat
thank you to netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for an advance copy of this book

A cracking read! I loved this from the off, the characters, the ambience...the intrigue... It was clear that there was much more than initially met the eye and the plotting by Eve Chase in The Birdcage was brilliant! The exploration of family dynamics and the holding of past secrets and mysteries makes for a fascinating read... not read anything by Eve Chase previously but I’ll definitely looking into some of her other stuff... Many tahnks to NetGalley for my ARC, this is my unbiased opinion.

Sisters don’t always see eye to eye or even like one another. If they happen to be half-sisters, then that can be an added drawback. In ‘The Birdcage’ we are introduced to three such young women. Flora and Kat remain a tight-knit unit, though their younger sister, Lauren, still feels like she doesn’t quite fit in.

They share a flamboyant, famous-in-his-heyday artist father but have different mothers. A recipe for disagreement and a lack of security, perhaps. But they have another crucial thing in common that unites them. Their childhood summers were spent on the wild Cornish coast, with their father and mutual grandparents.

The house, Rock Point, was a steadying place holding these disparate sisters together. The focal point and gathering site where they were able to reconcile their differences, and where their father created the evocative ‘Girls and Birdcage’ painting of them.

But now, as adults leading separate lives, they are summoned back to Rock Point years later by their father. Curious, intrigued and mystified, they all eventually obey. Lauren struggles most of all because her memories of their last summer there 20 years ago are incredibly painful. Reminders are jarring, as revealed in the narrative’s now and then timelines.

Before long, it becomes apparent that someone else is in on the dark, secret events that took place in the past, and seems determined to spook them. They start to wonder who they can trust. Also, unanticipated, deeply hidden family secrets slowly come to light, surprising yet uniting them all.

This is a lyrically written, cleverly crafted, perfectly plotted, riveting read that will keep you up in the small hours trying to unravel the mystery, discover what truly happened in the past, and note the impact on everyone today. Grateful thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

An exquisite book telling the story of three half sisters struggling with , for various reasons , different dysfunctional or missing mothers and an eccentric spirited father who believes the rules were written for everyone but him. Enriched with a charismatic personality and as a successful artist in his career has ensured there was never a shortage of women to the detriment of family relationships. The sisters return to the idyllic home of their father, each struggling with personal issues compounded by a secret from their past that has ultimately destroyed their ability to engage with each other and an extended social life. The mystery lingers as the elephant in the room, throughout the turbulent interactions between all protagonists struggling to establish stability in their personal and family relationships. Beautiful written with a background of the wild and wonderful Cornish coast , moving between the present and past as young girls involved in a terrifying secret that no one is prepared to discuss. Wonderful premise for an engaging story full of three dimensional figures, each holding the personality and background to enthral the reader. Many thanks to author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. Definitely Intend to seek out further books from this author.

This book centres around the lives of three half-siblings who all share a recalcitrant artist father, and whose childhoods converged at times at Rock Point, his Cornish cliff house. Although they have not been there a while, not since the year of the eclipse, when something horrid happened. But they have all been summoned to a reunion and, whether they want to or not, all feel compelled to attend.
And so we meet Kat, Flora and Lauren. All very different people. All with a shared past though. A past incident that affected each in a different way. Kat is a successful career woman to the detriment of her personal life. Flora is married with a son, Raff, who accompanies her. And Lauren is a bit of a drifter to be honest, unsettled, and still grieving for her recently dead mother.
The story then flits between the year of the eclipse, the incident, 1999, and the present reunion in 2019. The past is injected at just the right times to complement and add background to the present. Both together allow the author to unwind the past and reflect it into the present. We see how the sister's relationship was shaped, how they treated each other, always hinting at some incident and the repercussions of that. But it's also about the truth of what happened and how it has affected each of the characters going forward. A truth that changes with each character.
A story that is chock full of secrets and lies and more than a healthy slice of dysfunctional behaviour. I mean, a father with three similar age children from different mothers speaks volumes as to his character! Ok so I guessed one of the secrets way too early and so when that doozy was revealed I was a bit meh! But that said, there was more than enough of the rest to keep me on my toes throughout.
Characterisation was, on the whole, good. I do however admit to my favourite two characters being the Parrot Bertha and Raff. I thought the rest of them were a bit too hard to really get behind as I didn't really feel much affinity for any of them. That said, they did play their parts well and were nothing if but engaging.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph for approving me for an ARC of this book. A special thank you to Kallie from Michael Joseph for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. I have read and loved two previous books by Eve Chase and the third is sitting on my bookcase so I was very excited to be involved in this one.

This story starts with a family reunion that brings three estranged half sister’s back to their summer holiday home. Lauren, Kat and Flora as adults couldn’t be anymore different from each other if they tried. Kat seems to be the most vocal of all three and is the career woman who is hell bent on succeeding but is desperately lonely, even if is she won’t admit it. Flora is married and has a delightful little 4 year old ,Raff. Whilst on paper it seems that Flora has everything she could ever hope the cracks in her life start to show very early on and we realise that not everything is as it seems. Finally we have Lauren the quietest of the three and the one who seems to still be struggling with what happened the last summer they were all together.

As the story flicks between 1999 and 2019 we learn that there were a lot of secrets being kept that summer. Everyone had something to hide and went out of their way to keep it concealed. Eve Chase slowly unravels the lies and deceit as we dive further into the complex sibling relationships and their father’s life. I felt so much sympathy for Lauren and how her older sister’s treated her that summer. I have 4 older half sister’s myself and I can’t imagine any of them being so cruel and hurtful towards me.

Rock Point itself was beautifully eerie. The house felt like a character and the scenery perfectly matched the story, as the bad weather came in and the eclipse stared the characters and their lives started to spiral and fall apart. I could Imagine the moors and the ruined cottage during the thunderstorm but could also see the beauty that made Rock Point a wonderful place to be.

Once again Eve Chase has delivered an atmospheric, chilling and beautiful read with sibling relationships at the heart of it. I was intrigued from start to finish, completed engrossed in the characters but I also wanted to savour every moment!

There's nothing I love more than a thriller that verges on the edge of historical fiction and gothic mystery, and The Birdcage perfectly combines these genres.

A compelling and atmospheric mystery led by engaging characters, The Birdcage is a compelling and suspenseful read centred around the innocence of youth, the burden of family secrets, and the pressures of guilt and grief.

We have to begin with the stunning atmosphere of Rock Point. Located on a Cornish cliff, the imagery feels very vivid throughout as Chase paints the perfect picture with her beautiful descriptions. As a resident of Cornwall, I love reading stories that are set here. I instantly felt the harsh wind of the coast, tasted the salt in the air and felt haunted by the memories that overwhelmed this ominous house.

It's the perfect setting for this historical mystery, isolating these characters from their outside pressures to bring them together and broach a subject that they have buried for twenty years. The suspense of what happened during this previous summer builds throughout as you're slowly dripped pieces of information to reveal a story that evokes many emotions.

Swiftly moving between two timelines, everything comes together with great detail and fluidity. By the end, I felt so attached to these characters that their story left me filled with such warmth, leaving me completely satisfied with its subtle twists and surprising revelations.

I loved every minute spent with these wonderfully developed characters, and I definitely want to read more by Chase soon!

I'm on the blog tour for this book on the 29th April so my reviews will be live then.

The Birdcage is fantastically written. I read it in one sitting. Definitely the type of book is give as gift as well enjoying personally. Also the cover is very eye catching

The Birdcage is the story of three half-sisters, the daughters of celebrated artist Charlie Finch. The setting for the story is the rugged Cornish coast where the girls spent the month of August in their childhoods forging friendships but also experiencing sibling rivalry.
There is a secret in the family; something that is never discussed and this makes for a real page turner of a book.
The Birdcage is so beautifully written that as soon as I'd finished it I wanted to read it again. It is just gorgeous.

Why does this request from their father to a family reunion cause Kat, Lauren and Flora such angst.? You'd think a New Year get together would be something to look forward to. But old memories created in his remote Cornish clifftop house hide a secret which, although it may not have been been discussed for decades, is still very much the elephant in the room.
Gradually, through the use of flashback to 20 years previously, the mystery and horror of the birdcage is revealed.
Eve Chase leaves one final twist right to the end but I suspect some readers, just like myself, might get there first which is always slightly disappointing.
I found the structure a bit too episodic and therefore it was a slightly stuttering read but this criticism doesn't mean "The Birdcage" isn't an enjoyable and, at times gripping novel well worth a few hours of one's time.

It's the 7th of January 2019 and we know that a body has been pulled out of the sea at Zennor in Cornwall. We don't know whose body it is. Four days earlier, Flora, Kat and Lauren had gathered at Rock point at the request of their father, Charlie Finch, a famous artist. The girls are actually half-sisters and their dates of birth are embarrassingly close. Finch was known for his fecundity, if not for his fidelity. It's been a long time since the girls have been at Rock Point together: just over twenty years ago, at the time of the total eclipse, something happened. Kat and Flora were obviously involved but Lauren was a victim and it's left her very wary of her sisters.

She's also very wary of birds and she really doesn't want to encounter Bertha, her father's African Grey Parrot who has an uncanny ability to mimic people's voices, usually at the most inopportune moments. Lauren did have one friend in the area: their cleaner's daughter, Gemma. They haven't seen each other since the traumatic time of the eclipse but Lauren writes regularly and it gives her great comfort.

Why has Charlie called them all to Rock Point? The girls have some fame as Finch painted them: the three sisters were pictured with Bertha's cage and it was probably Finch's best and certainly most famous painting. It means that Lauren is recognisable in the area despite not having been there for a long time and she quickly comes to realise that the family is being watched. There are people who would like them to leaave. There's another shock in store for the girls: Charlie announces that he's going to marry Angie, who worked for the family twenty years before: the girls called her 'Monster'.

What, you might wonder, can possibly go wrong? Well, Flora and her son Raff have only reluctantly been allowed to make the visit by Flora's husband, Scott. The relationship is controlling and coercive but it's not clear that Flora realises this. Kat's New-York-based business is in financial difficulty and she's largely trying to ignore what's happening – as she is with the fact that the man she loves is marrying someone else in six weeks. And Lauren? Well, Lauren's mother, Dixie, died just a few months ago and there's a suspicion that Dixie was the love of Finch's life which doesn't endear Lauren to her half-sisters, or to their mothers.

I first encountered Eve Chase when I read The Glass House. I don't usually read historical fiction but I was impressed. It was hard to put down and very satisfying so I was never in any doubt that I was going to read The Birdcage which is thriller rather than historical fiction. It was a hard act to follow but it was largely done successfully. It's difficult, in a story which features four girls/young women who are very similar in ages, to bring them out as individuals but Chase handles this well. It was a good read and I'd like to thank the publishers for allowing Bookbag to have a review copy.

I liked the style of writing, the creepy atmosphere, and the setting. I wanted to loved it more than I did but I found it very slow and the plot was a bit of the thin side.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The cover alone would certainly tempt me to read this book; it creates intrigue right from the start. Three half sibling sisters are summoned by their father to return to Cornwall as he has an important announcement to make. It’s a place packed with memories and secrets and there’s a really strong sense of atmosphere. I’m not familiar with Cornwall, but the author has created an almost palpable sense of place and that really adds to the story.

The sisters have gone their own way in life and when they return, there’s something not quite right. As the facade is peeled away, secrets and lies are exposed and there’s another agenda underway.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s multifaceted and explores relationships, trust, betrayal and much more. The characters feel like real people, some more likeable than others, but as a whole it’s a compelling family saga which has twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.