The Shadow Bird by Ann Gosslin

☆☆☆1/2
ebook, 296 pages
Expected publication: July 15th 2020 by Legend Press
About the Book:
Three months into her new role as a psychiatrist at a clinic in New York, Erin Cartwright is asked to evaluate the case of a man who murdered his mother and sisters at the age of seventeen. Found not guilty by reason of insanity and held in a maximum-security psychiatric facility for twenty-seven years, Timothy Stern is now eligible for release. Upon learning the crime occurred in the same village she once visited as a child, Erin is on the verge of refusing to take the case, when a startling discovery triggers memories she’d rather keep hidden, and a suspicion the wrong man is behind bars.

I had a hard time getting into this book, it was slow going but yet it captured my attention because I wanted to know the answers. The introduction throws you off and you keep looking for a place to tie it together. It eventually comes, but still seems a little disjointed. That's not to say that this story isn't engaging. Even though it takes place in an asylum for the criminally insane there are things that are relatable to everyone. I like to believe that, given the opportunity, people would rather do the right thing. There is always more to someone's story, it's the back story that make people interesting and helps us understand someone. Most people are hiding something, and most things can be forgiven by others sooner than we forgive ourselves.

The beginning was slower, then it changed to a book I couldn’t put down. You won’t want to either. Pick up this book, ponder the questions it brings up. I liked the characters, and it held my interest even though the story got a little convoluted, and not everything fit into place. I enjoyed it, though. It's a good mystery, but also an interesting character study and peek into what drives some people to act the way they do. And how looks are almost always deceiving.

Thank you NetGalley, Legend Press and Ann Gosslin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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