In the Shadows of Blackbirds
Would you die to allow your loved one to rest in peace?
Summary
In the rough months during a nightmarish World War and dangerous flu pandemic, a sixteen year old Mary Shelley Black is forced to move to San Diego where the grieving desperately look to photographs and séances to find closure for their dead loved ones. These photographs and séances mean nothing to Mary Shelley. That is until she finds that her childhood best friend and almost lover, Stephen Embers, has died a war hero in France. After attempting to end her own life, the sixteen year old is met with new information on Stephen's death. Mary Shelley is forced to solve the mystery of her friend's death to put the suffering boy to rest and end her haunting longing for him in her life.
Rating
In the Shadows of Blackbirds was a real page turner and has the reader yearning for more despite the creepy feeling of the book. It has amazing imagery and really sets a scene that makes the reader feel as if they are part of the story. The characters in the story seem almost human and the reader either feels a real connection with them or truly despises them. Cat Winters did an amazing job portraying the time period and the characters. I would rate the book 4 and a half stars.
"Everyone wants to categorize the world as good or bad, right or wrong. There is nothing 'in between' in their eyes."
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Diviners is a lot like In the Shadow of Black Birds because both are stories that contain the mystery of a dead spirit around the time of World War 1.
The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni
Just like in Cat Winters story, Dianne K. Salerni"s The Caged Grave has a main character who knows her lover through letters and works to find out how a loved one has passed.
Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Born of Illusion has the similar quality of having a young girl living around the time period of World War 1 and the girl possessing a special power just as In the Shadow of Blackbirds.