Review: The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti

The Blackbird Season

by Kate Moretti

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  “Where did they come from? Why did they fall? The question would be asked a thousand times…

Until, of course, more important question arose, at which time everyone promptly forgot that a thousand birds fell on the town of Mount Oanoke at all.”

In a quiet Pennsylvania town, a thousand dead starlings fall onto a high school baseball field, unleashing a horrifying and unexpected chain of events that will rock the close-knit community.

Beloved baseball coach and teacher Nate Winters and his wife, Alicia, are well respected throughout town. That is, until one of the many reporters investigating the bizarre bird phenomenon catches Nate embracing a wayward student, Lucia Hamm, in front of a sleazy motel. Lucia soon buoys the scandal by claiming that she and Nate are engaged in an affair, throwing the town into an uproar…and leaving Alicia to wonder if her husband has a second life.

And when Lucia suddenly disappears, the police only to have one suspect: Nate.

Nate’s coworker and sole supporter, Bridget Harris, Lucia’s creative writing teacher, is determined to prove his innocence. She has Lucia’s class journal, and while some of the entries appear particularly damning to Nate’s case, others just don’t add up. Bridget knows the key to Nate’s exoneration and the truth of Lucia’s disappearance lie within the walls of the school and in the pages of that journal.

Kritters Thoughts:  From the synopsis, I was excited to read this one.  The drama of an accused school teacher, a student that disappears and a small town - sign me up.  This one didn't quite live up to the synopsis.

There just seemed to be a lot in this book and maybe a little too much.  I felt like the author was trying to tackle too much in one book.  There were a few bits and pieces that I would have omitted, so the central drama could have taken a bigger role.  

I did like that the chapters were narrated by various characters.  I always love when a book gives more than one character the opportunity to move the story along and tell their side of it.

I have to say that I was satisfied by the person who ended up being the culprit, which for me is a big deal when reading a book.  Although enjoying the above two aspects didn't tip me over into the love factor for the book overall, but made me enjoy it a bit more.

This is only the second book of Kate Moretti's that I have read, I liked that one much more and am still interested in reading her back list and books to come.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 45  out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.