In a striking metaphor, the sisters are ‘mismatching dolls, from different sets’. Kat is a high-flying successful entrepreneur (on the surface at least) and Flora is a wife and mother trying hard to live up to the expectations of her husband, Scott. Close to each other in age, Kat and Flora had a close bond when younger. Lauren, on the other hand, has always felt like the outsider right from the first moment she was introduced to her two half-sisters. ‘In the archipelago of the sisters, she’s still an island on her own.’ One other notable character is Bertha the parrot whose often ill-timed mimicry of snippets of overheard conversations proves key to what unfolds. ‘We all knew Bertha didn’t invent things, just repeated them.’ This adds tension to the book,as you know it has to be something pretty major to have the effect it has. The Birdcage focuses on three estranged half-sisters, Flora, Kat and Lauren. They are all the daughters of Charlie Finch, a still life painter. His only famous painting was called Girls and the Birdcage, which depicted his daughters sitting on a couch next to a birdcage. It was painted in 1999, the year of the eclipse. An enticing, chilling plot, captivating characters and prose beautiful enough to totally lose yourself in * Heat * The present day story (2019) alternates between the points of view of the three sisters. Interwoven with this is Lauren’s first person narrative of events in 1999. The author skilfully ramps up the tension through fleeting references and tantalising snippets of detail about events on an August day in 1999. It soon becomes apparent that no-one has the full picture of what took place on the fateful day. It’s only when all the pieces are put together that the sisters – and the reader – find out what actually happened. Like me, you may have an inkling about the direction of some of the story but I’m pretty sure you’ll discover a few surprises.

The Birdcage by Eve Chase | Goodreads

The complex dynamics that fuel sisterly love but ignite rivalry set the emotional tone for British author Eve Chase's irresistibly suspenseful drama, The Birdcage.. . Chase navigates the relationships Flora, Kat and Lauren have with each other and with their father with masterful strokes, offering enticing, layered glimpses into their early years. . . The eerie, ethereal imagery in The Birdcage[will] linger with readers long after they part ways with the Finch family.” Shelf Awareness, USReunions can be a minefield for exposing dysfunctional family relationships. When Flora, Kat and Lauren gather at the Cornish coast for a visit with their ailing father, they face all the pitfalls of a reunion, in addition to remembering a traumatic event that took place on the evening of a summer eclipse when they were just girls. Wildly glamorous and utterly intoxicating, The Birdcage is Eve Chase at her very best: taut, intriguing and evocative. Du Maurier with a modern twist -- Veronica Henry, bestselling author of How to Find Love in a Book Shop Eve Chase is one of my favourite authors and I fell in love with The Birdcage. A gorgeously written, atmospheric and twisty story of sisters and secrets set on the Cornish coast. Eve Chase's books never fail to make me cry. I devoured it! -- Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Couple at No. 9 Similarly, there’s a wealth disparity between the sisters that impacts them, with Kat and Flora both enjoying a high standard of living, and Lauren living a less privileged life with her mother. As children, this leads Lauren into befriending Gemma, the daughter of the house cleaner, and the imbalance plays out in that relationship as well. Chase uses a subtle hand with these conflicts, but they pay off in the end.

The Birdcage: The spellbinding new mystery from the author of The Birdcage: The spellbinding new mystery from the author of

In the US , The Glass House is published as The Daughters of Foxcote Manor. The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde as The Wildling Sisters. I love Eve Chase novels. I’ve never read one I didn’t enjoy. I was therefore so excited to see her fourth novel is coming out soon and I was thrilled to be able to read an advanced copy. The Birdcage By Eve Chase Review: Plot

The paintings depicted in this novel are ones that I would love to view. They would tell the story in a visual and evocative way. Lorna soon gets involved with the woman in charge of the house and the housekeeper. She promises to bring more clients by publishing an article revolving around the house’s history and the family legacy. Little did Lorna know that her vague memories of the old Cornwell house link her directly to the house’s past and could possibly alter her future. The complex dynamics that fuel sisterly love but ignite rivalry set the emotional tone for British author Eve Chase’s irresistibly suspenseful drama, The Birdcage…Chase navigates the relationships Flora, Kat and Lauren have with each other and with their father with masterful strokes, offering enticing, layered glimpses into their early years…The eerie, ethereal imagery in The Birdcage [will] linger with readers long after they part ways with the Finch family.”— Shelf Awareness Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this book. The following is my honest review.

The Birdcage: The spellbinding new mystery from the author of

The girls share a father who happens to be a famous artist. There are lots of secrets swirling about the house and Kat, Lauren, and Flora each have struggles of their own. Unfriendly Emmet” the name the Cornish use for tourists, “Ugly Humphrey” the dusty old stuffed fish that is beloved by Lauren, Kat and Flora. The idea that an outdoor swim can possess the power to rinse away a feeling of disquiet in a person, “The Blonde” a distinctive yellow Porsche owned by the new love interest…the latest in a long line of their father’s girlfriends and wives, and lastly, Lauren’s laugh…” wonderful and large, bigger than one would expect from a woman of such slender frame…” Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.It seemed be marketed as a thriller but it definitely is not. There aren’t any big revelations but rather some not so major family secrets. I also didn’t understand why the author made such a fuss around the eclipse. That in itself can cause problems,but added to that is a secret from 20 years ago that only some of them know the truth of.

Eve Chase - Penguin Books UK Eve Chase - Penguin Books UK

A remarkable journey to Cornwall and to the lives of a family that has to relearn to trust and forgive each other, The Birdcage is a thoroughly engrossing read. But when they arrive, it’s clear they’re not alone. Someone is lurking in the shadows, watching their every move. Someone who remembers exactly what they did…I fell in love with The Birdcage. A gorgeously written, atmospheric and twisty story. Eve Chase’s books never fail to make me cry. I devoured it!’ Claire Douglas, bestselling author The Couple at No.9 Eve Chase never disappoints. The far west of Cornwall is evoked in all its wild and mystical glory in this lyrical and propulsive family drama about three sisters whose lives have been overshadowed by a tragedy on the day of the 1999 eclipse. Chase conjures up a bohemian, artistic world filled with damaged daughters and their charismatic, largely absent and narcissistic father. Immersive, tense and ultimately redemptive, while I was reading, it held me completely in its grip.”–Sarah Vaughan, author of Little Disasters She is a graduate of Manchester University with a degree in English Literature. She has written for publications including InStyle, Dazed and Confused, Red, You, Marie-Claire, and national newspapers. Flora, Kat, and Lauren are half-sisters, all products of their artist father Charlie’s randy ways. As kids, they used to spend every August together at their father’s summer home in Cornish; Flora and Kat teaming up against Lauren, whom they resented since her mother was Charlie’s favorite. But they haven’t been together for twenty years, ever since a tragedy happened at the home. Now Charlie has summoned his daughters home, ostensibly to clean out the place since their grandmother passed away. But old resentments die hard; Charlie has an announcement that will stun them, and someone is leaving anonymous threatening notes. What really happened on the night of the eclipse twenty years ago? And who will pay for it now? This is a thrilling and emotional novel about belonging and family secrets, and how we find ourselves at times when we feel the most lost.