The Birdcage Library

By: Freya Berry

Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown

Spanning Gilded Age New York society to the 1930s Scottish Highlands, this gothic novel is a mystery within a mystery, featuring a compelling heroine, an engrossing puzzle with fiendish clues, and not one but three big twists.

It’s 1932: Scottish adventuress and plant-hunter (and surviving twin) Emily Blackwood, now living in Australia, accepts a commission from Heinrich Vogel, a former dealer of exotic animals in Manhattan. Vogel now lives with his macabre collection of taxidermy in a remote Scottish castle. Emily is tasked with finding a long-lost treasure that Heinrich believes has been hidden within the castle walls. But instead, she discovers the pages of a diary written by Hester Vogel, who died after falling from the Brooklyn Bridge on the eve of its opening in 1883. Hester's diary leads Emily to an old book, The Birdcage Library, and into a treasure hunt of another kind—one that will take her down a dangerous path for clues, and force her to confront her own darkest secret . . .

Cover design by Jared Oriel. Cover art: Arcangel: © Peter Chadwick (birdcage, shadow)

©2023 by Freya Berry. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Outstanding . . . has Berry's signature way of drawing a reader in, and keeping hold of them until the very last page. Lovers of crime, mystery, and intrigue should order this immediately."—Harper's BazaarUK

"In 1932, adventuress Emily Blackwood journeys to a ruined castle where a treasure hunt sees dark, long-buried secrets begin to unravel. . . . Wonderfully gothic and immersive."—New European

"An atmospheric read—add in a literary treasure hunt, and this is irresistible."—Good Housekeeping UK

Bedtime story

I waited a few months to pick this book up again and give it another shot. Slow burn historical fiction that is choppy at best. If you would like a book to put you to sleep, this is it.