A Tiding of Magpies / Steve Burrows

4 out of 5 stars

When his most celebrated case is suddenly reopened, Detective Chief Inspector Jejeune‘s long-buried secrets threaten to come to light. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Lindy, faces an unseen threat of her own, one from which even Jejeune may not be able to protect her. Between fending off inquiries from the internal review and an open murder case that brings more questions than answers, Jejeune will have to rely on the help of the stalwart Sergeant Danny Maik more than ever. But Maik is learning things that cause him to question his DCI‘s actions, both past and present. In the current case, and in the former one, the facts seem clear enough. But it is in the silences, those empty spaces between the facts, that the truth is to be found.

I’ve got to hand it to Mr. Burrows, each of his books seem to be better than the previous one. His writing reminds me a lot of Louise Penny, and her Inspector Gamache series, with added birding details. Both authors may allow their detective to solve the issue of each book, but there is an overarching story-line about the main characters that keeps the reader anxious to read the next installment. Interestingly, both men face questions about their professional integrity and they tackle these issues in similar fashion, by quietly working behind the scenes.

I’m up-to-date now, and very ready for A Dance of Cranes to be released later this month (and I’m number 3 on my library’s hold list, so that’s good). I’ll be waiting to see if Dominic JeJeune can sort out the predicament that he’s got himself into now, through his own wish to withhold information from Lindy.

It seems to me that Burrows is enjoying the British/Canadian interplay and the details of the two countries that he has considered “home.” And every time I read one of these books, I want to return to Norfolk--it’s been 20 years since I first visited there and I’m due for a return one of these days.