About Sing Like a Canary
Retired police officer Marjorie Pierce is on her way to Lanzarote to track down her old informer, Billy McKenzie. Billy ended Marjorie’s career, and she needs an explanation; an apology.
Present and past soon collide when gangsters Eric and Mick Maloney turn up on the island with revenge in their veins, and Marjorie has to race against the clock to get to Billy before the brothers.
But who is complicit and who can be trusted… and who really betrayed Marjorie all those years ago?
A multi-layered mystery packed with suspense, Sing Like A Canary is the fifth book in Isobel Blackthorn’s Canary Islands Mysteries Series, and can be enjoyed as a standalone even if you haven’t read other books in the series.
Genre: Crime | 315 pages | Age range: Adult but suitable for mature teens age 16+
Book Review
Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!
When readers are introduced to Marjorie she's grieving the loss of her partner and trying to find her way through life once more. Cast adrift, she searches for closure from her once informant Billy McKenzie. Bad information from him ended her career, and she wants to uncover the truth behind it. But Marjorie isn’t the only one searching for Billy. At one point his information put away a few of his old associates. Ones that are now recently free and out for revenge. But who will find Billy first? And if these associates catch wind of Marjorie, she’ll be next on their hit list.
Readers will slowly reveal how Marjorie ended her career as a detective as the tension builds within the plot. The closer Marjorie comes to finding Billy’s whereabouts, the closer readers come to revealing the full history between the two characters. The pacing for this reveal was so well done and accented the overall story. The anticipation of what will happen if the two characters eventually meet once more will build and readers will be left needing the meeting to occur.
Isobel Blackthorn also tackles the challenges women faced in a predominately male workforce of the 70s. Majorie is met with doubt and sometimes outright aggression when she has information her coworkers are unable to produce. When she’s successful, it makes the situation all the direr for her. While there are a few people that seem to be on her side, they still have an underlying sense of jealousy against Majorie. And there are instances where they try to take advantage of her, causing Majorie to become both ashamed and confused. In some aspects this is a tough read due to the treatment of women. The writing does not shy away from the hardships Majorie faces, but I enjoyed the honesty of it. It takes finesse to incorporate these elements into a story, and Isobel Blackthorn has done a fine job.
If you enjoy detective stories, give Sing Like a Canary a try. While this isn't book one of the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. The characters and settings are brought to life by Isobel Blackthorn’s wonderful writing. Readers will not be disappointed as they join Majorie in her search for Billy and the truth only he knows.
Purchase link: http://mybook.to/Amazon_SingLikeCanary
About the Author
Isobel Blackthorn is a prolific novelist of unique and engaging fiction. She writes across a range of genres, including gripping mysteries and dark psychological thrillers.
The Unlikely Occultist: A biographical novel of Alice A. Bailey received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Reader’s Favorite book awards. A Prison in the Sun was shortlisted in the LGBTQ category of the 2021 International Book Awards and the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. Her short story ‘Nothing to Declare’ was shortlisted for the Ada Cambridge Prose Prize 2019. Her dark thriller A Legacy of Old Gran Parks won a Raven Award in 2019. The Cabin Sessions was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award 2018 and the Ditmar Awards 2018.
Isobel holds a PhD in Western Esotericism from the University of Western Sydney for her ground-breaking study of the texts of Theosophist Alice A. Bailey. Her engagement with Alice Bailey’s life and works has culminated in the biographical novel The Unlikely Occultist and the full biography Alice A. Bailey: Life and Legacy.
Isobel carries a lifelong passion for the Canary Islands, Spain, her former home. Five of her novels are set on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. These standalone mystery novels are setting rich and fall into the broad genre of travel fiction.
Isobel has led a rich and interesting life and her stories are as diverse as her experiences, the highs and lows, and the dramas. A life-long campaigner for social justice, Isobel has written, protested and leant her weight to a range of issues including asylum seekers and family violence. A Londoner originally, Isobel currently lives in rural Victoria, Australia.