I DNF'd this one at 67%—I felt like Stefanovich-Thomson tried to do a lot with this book, and I couldn't stick with it. I felt like it was quite predictable and even though it was well-written, I didn't care much for the story of characters.

Thank you to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was a decent book if you enjoy reading crime novels. This was well written and kept me engaged. I enjoyed the characters. I thought this was very predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read.

It's July 1965 and Patrick Bird is a private detective in Toronto, specializing in catching unfaithful spouses in compromising situations. His next case is finding a missing teenager named Abbie. Her father hires the detective agency rather than contacting the police because he wants it to be kept quiet. Patrick starts tracking Abbie's movements and realizes she is still in their neighbourhood. As Patrick keeps digging, he realizes her disappearance has something to do with a bank robbery in their neighbourhood about 10 years earlier.

This is the first in the Patrick Bird series. It is written in first person perspective in Patrick's voice. I liked the writing style but found it got a bit draggy at times, for example when Patrick visited the church and the minister's sermon was repeated word for word. I thought it started out interesting but then got a bit convoluted and farfetched (especially the scene in the old Seahorse Motel). I liked that it was set in the High Park and Parkdale neighbourhoods of Toronto ... I don't live far from them so know the places Patrick checked out. As a head's up, there is swearing.

I enjoyed the premise and the start of the book but didn't really like where it ended up. In particular I didn't like Abbie's storyline or (without giving too much away) when that person was explaining the history to Bird and what was going on while they were explaining it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

"The Road to Heaven is paved with bad intentions." That pretty sums up this novel. Lies destroy lives and everything comes crumbling down around you. This novel takes the reader through the twists and turns of deception, manipulation and secrets of a family that darkens and kills that thing they try to protect. I thought this was a predictable but very interesting mystery, that reiterates one should be careful for what they wish for. The writing was well done with fun and exciting events that kept me engaged. I just felt it was a little too predictable and the misdirection was a little too obvious at times. However, I did not find that hindered the book but it took away some of the mystique and awe factor for me.
I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a good mystery! 3.25 ✨⭐

An excellent historical noir featuring a well developed and interesting characters.
Plenty of twists, a fascinating atmosphere and a solid plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

1965 in Canada, a teenage girl, Abigail Linklater, goes missing and her father employs a private detective, Bird, to find her and bring her home. This makes a change for Bird from his usual catch-them-in-the act divorce proceedings work. Only thing wrong with the scenario, is that no-one except the father is worried about Abigail, and she is not really ‘missing’ as so many people have seen her out and about.
As you would expect, there are plenty of secrets in the Linklater family, which slowly come out. There is a femme fatale, using sex to get her own way, and a rich man using his money and arrogance to get his. Twist and turns – some guessable, others not.
So, all the right ingredients, but somehow this book did not grab my attention as much as it should have. It did get better approaching the end. Case is solved – but I doubt anyone lives happily ever after.
A good read – but not great. I probably won’t continue with the series.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by either the author or publisher.

This was, to me, an incredibly slow story about a bunch of characters with decrepit morals. It was disturbing to read about the lying, cheating, etc that went on in this book. There is a way to insinuate such things and have the plot move on and be very interesting and engaging, but this author chose to give great attention and detail to those points and it ruined the story. I would say this book was 10% poorly formed mystery and 90% ick.

This was a wonderful surprising great read. If your looking for and old fashing detective set in the 60's then this is the book for you.
I believe author is working on a follow up. Highly recommend this one.
Thanks NetGalley for advance copy

Set in 1965 it was good to meet Patrick bird who works divorce cases. He is tasked with looking for a sixteen year old girl who is missing. There's more to the story than meets the eye however and soon all hell kicks off. Plenty of twists and shocks to keep you going. And what a messed up family this was!

i really enjoyed this book, started off very gently and progressed into a winner. full of twists and turns and the ending was definitely a 'i would never have guessed that it was them' AMAZING!

This was a great start to the Patrick bird mystery series and I loved that it was in the 60s. It really added to that feel for the mystery. the author uses the 60s perfectly for the story and that the characters felt like they belonged. I was invested in the mystery that was happening and I wanted to solve what was going on. I love the Noir element this and that it worked together to make a great story. I loved symbolism throughout the story and that it wasn't just a straightforward detective story, so great job on that.

I and enjoyable noir crime novel
The main Character Bird was very likeable and amusing. It kept me wanting to read more. If you like crime dramas set back before all of the modern technology takes over where they actually have to search on their own this is a book for you.
3.5 stars thank you NetGalley

A crime noir set in the 60's?? Give me more! Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson has written a gripping crime story. The characters, the descriptions, the atmosphere of the book are all attention grabbing. I really enjoyed this book and will look for more from this author.

I enjoyed reading this book. The pacing and characterisation were well executed for my taste. It was fun seeing the various dynamics and interactions between our main man and those he came in contact with.

Good story and great atmospheric detail. It’s real crime noir with an interesting hero but I found the pace a bit erratic in places.

Set in 1965 Patrick Bird is hired to find a missing girl. Usually he works divorce cases, catching out spouses who are playing up but this is his first missing persons case.

16 year old Abbie Linklater has disappeared and her family all have a different idea of where she is or what might have happened to her, none of them seem overly concerned. Abbie’s father hires Bird as he does not want to involve the police, he thinks she has just run off for a few days but does not believe anything untoward has occurred and her stepmother believes she has taken off to have an abortion. After looking everywhere and talking to people that know her, Bird feels there is a lot more to the story and boy is he right.

This is a great book. I loved meeting Bird and enjoyed getting to know his character. He is a bit of a charmer and there are some humorous situations he gets himself into while trying to find out the truth, this messed up family are not helping his search as to where Abbie is. The book moves along at a good pace, has a great storyline and kept me engaged throughout, I am looking forward to meeting up with Bird in a future book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions are my own. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

Wow, what a great PI mystery! Patrick Bird is hired to find a missing girl. He soon has eyes on her but loses her again. In the meantime, trying to track her down again, he starts finding out all sorts of things which opens a huge can of worms! After much pavement pounding and more twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti, the case is solved in more ways than one. Set in 1965, it's back to basic investgative work, no wonders of modern technology. Really good. I look forward to Mr Bird's next adventure.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.