A Siege of Bitterns

By: Steve Burrows

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Newly appointed police inspector Domenic Jejeune doesn't mind ruffling a few feathers. His success has elevated him into a poster boy for the police. The problem is Jejeune doesn't really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.

Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, Jejeune's two worlds collide with the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. Jejeune must call on all his birding knowhow to solve the mystery and deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues and his own insecurities. For in the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties....

©2014 Steve Burrows (P)2016 Isis Publishing Ltd

Excellent

Great, exciting story, and the narrator was fun to listen to. He did a great job giving the characters their own unique voices and quirks.

A cozy mystery this is not. It is an unusual and thoroughly good one.

Book begins slowly, so slowly I nearly quit listening. But I am so pleased to have finished. The more I listened, the more I became intrigued with the characters and story line. No traditional police procedural, but Je Jeune is one of the most interesting DCI's I have had the pleasure of meeting. I learned a lot about birding and ecology as well.Good narration.

Wow! I really liked this book

I have come across this title in the past, probably on sale pages. It simply did not appeal to me. Recently, I noticed it was performed by David Thorpe. Having recently put him on my list of absolute favorite readers I decided to give the bird series a chance. So glad I did. Expect I will read them all, having already downloaded the next book. It was not too long, the characters are entertaining, the bird information interesting but not overdone, and finally the mystery was quite good.

Nice Surprise

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I bought it because I like to feed our local birds and this book combined birding with a mystery. Overall I really enjoyed the book. It takes place by the saltmarshes in Norfolk. It was fun to look up the location and the birds mentioned in the book. I learned so much from the book about that area and birding in general. The mystery itself was great too. My one negative observation is that it dragged a bit in the middle, but once you get through that it really has a thrilling climax. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and is interested in birds (they do play a part in the solution) and getting to know that area of Britain. I look forward to reading the next book!

I need more birder murder mysteries in my life...

How could I pass on a book that's sub-titled a Birder Murder Mystery... As, 1) I love birds, and 2) the Audubon society recommended it, and 3) you can't beat a good mystery.
This is D.I. Domenic Jejeune's first appearance for us. He's just been reassigned from London, to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh... His introduction is brief, as he is briskly sent off to investigate Saltmarsh's newest crime... a murder! He and D.S. Danny Maik have to make the best of the situation as they try to form a working relationship on-the-fly, whilst also working out who would kill a well known environmentalist...
You're soon made aware that Domenic would rather be bird-watching than being the chief Detective Inspector investigating a murder. On top of that he's really not sure if he can trust his new team so while he has them doing seemingly trivial research he's holding all the cards...
This is actually a wonderfully contemporary British murder mystery, taking on today's environmental issues, and the tensions that arise among the avid bird watchers, in a bleak, wind swept stretch of marsh, fronted by the ocean... Does the sun ever come out in a British murder mystery? Just to prove my point, here's one of my favorite quotes from the story:
  “Domenic Jejeune drove without haste, beneath a sky the colour of sorrow.” 
David Thorpe's narration was spot on capturing the moods of this book and I look forward to hearing more books with him as narrator!