The Birdcage

February 1, 2022

In this latest from Chase, author of the glue-you-to-your-seat LibraryReads picks The Wilding Sisters and Black Rabbit Hall, half-sisters Kat, Flora, and Lauren are summoned to Rock Point, their family's isolated Cornish summer home. They're reluctant to return--20 years ago, something terrible happened at Rock Point they want to forget--and it's soon apparent that someone sneaking about the house wants to spill their involvement in those events.

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May 23, 2022
This moody psychological thriller from Chase (The Daughter of Foxcote Manor) opens in January 2019, when three half-sisters, Kat, Flora, and Lauren, are summoned by their eccentric artist father to his picturesque Cornish summer cottage for a surprise announcement. The sisters spent idyllic summers on the coast with their father when they were young, but they’ve avoided one another since the summer of 1999, when a tragedy tore the family apart. Now finally thrown together again, Kat, Flora, and Lauren are forced to deal with their involvement in a horrendous event that has overshadowed their lives for 20 years. The tension ramps up when they realize that someone is watching them—someone who knows what they did. Chase does a good job depicting family relationships, and while it’s hard to like some of the deeply flawed characters at first, as their individual stories unfold, the reader can’t help empathizing with even the most vile of them. Exquisite prose and an evocative setting compensate for a buildup that leads to not so many surprises and not much of a payoff. Those who value style over story will best appreciate this. Agent: Lizzy Kremer, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.)

July 29, 2022
An intricate story about three sisters, one famous father, and a terrible secret each has tried to bury. Kat, Flora, and Lauren are all summoned to Rock Point, in Cornwall, their father's seaside home, where they once sat for his famous painting, Girls in Birdcage. The reason for the summons is a mystery. In the two decades since they last visited Rock Point, the women have drifted apart, and each has a good reason to stay away. Can the three women face their pasts, or will they continue to hide from the memories that once darkened their summers in Cornwall? This is a character-driven story of forgiveness and redemption, not only between three sisters but also between a father and his children. The narrative unfolds from each sister's point of view, switching from past to present, and the relationship dynamics beautifully alternate between complete brokenness and enduring hope. Although sometimes difficult to follow, the plot is suspenseful and blooms at a slow but satisfying pace. Fans of Jane Harper will enjoy the vivid sense of place and the flawed, complex characters.

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