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book cover for Birds of Prey Don't Sing

Birds of Prey Don't Sing

a Los Angeles thriller

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Pub Date 13 Mar 2026 | Archive Date 30 Jun 2026


Description

“A breakneck thriller with no clear heroes, making for a sneakily thoughtful saga of violence and regret.” —Kirkus Reviews

A prolific assassin lands an inconceivable job: kill a child-molesting priest and frame God for the murder.

Who to kill? Who to frame? These questions define Michael Harrier, a singular assassin whose clients always choose two victims: a target to take down and another to frame for the murder. This two-for-one approach has kept him and his clients undetected and above suspicion until this, the toughest job of his career—kill a pedophiliac priest and pin the murder on God.

The improbable job fuses like a twisted miracle, but Harrier’s life and livelihood splinter after he is enmeshed with a tough, intriguing woman fleeing her own violent past. 

Harrier’s schemes also rouse the hunter in Jordan Becker, an LAPD homicide sergeant who secretly fears his own judgment day. As Becker sees it, taking down the assassin and quashing the Act of God angle is his sole shot at redemption. Trouble is, clues are sparse and all Becker’s investigation seems to reveal is that he’s outmatched. But with his salvation on the line, he’ll drop a level and break any rule to try to collar Harrier. 

“A breakneck thriller with no clear heroes, making for a sneakily thoughtful saga of violence and regret.” —Kirkus Reviews

A prolific assassin lands an inconceivable job: kill a child-molesting priest...


A Note From the Publisher

Joe Cary’s stories have been published in One Story, XRAY Literary Magazine, BULL, and MonkeyBicycle, and also earned a Special Mention in the 2020 Pushcart Prize Anthology and a Best of the Net nomination. A former Angeleno, he currently lives with his family in Philadelphia, where he fights money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes. Birds of Prey Don’t Sing is his first novel.

Joe Cary’s stories have been published in One Story, XRAY Literary Magazine, BULL, and MonkeyBicycle, and also earned a Special Mention in the 2020 Pushcart Prize Anthology and a Best of the Net...


Advance Praise

“Cary has crafted an absorbing thriller that piles on the twists and turns before arriving at a brutally shocking conclusion.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…[Harrier] is strangely fascinating, a dangerous vigilante with a concealed moral code…” —The Booklife Prize

“The real standout element is the character of Michael; haunted by his past, he is a morally gray character with a death wish—in other words, a delightfully complex protagonist whom readers will alternately love and loathe.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Thriller fans will appreciate Cary’s unique examination of justice." —The Booklife Prize

“Cary has crafted an absorbing thriller that piles on the twists and turns before arriving at a brutally shocking conclusion.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…[Harrier] is strangely fascinating, a dangerous...


Marketing Plan

Also available in paperback and jacketed hardcover.

Also available in paperback and jacketed hardcover.


Available Editions

ISBN 9798993804620
PRICE US$4.99 (USD)
PAGES 415

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