Dead Birds Don't Sing

Brenda M. Boldin

10/10/2000

Review by Molly

'Alex Masters entered the Bay City Central Bank at full speed, grateful the door hadn't been locked yet. Several people waited in line for the tellers. She was going too fast and lurched into the last man standing in line.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry Alex said as the stranger whirled around to glare at her. An explanation seemed necessary as he continued to stare at her. "I need to get this deposit in before two o'clock." Alex held the heavy canvas bag up. "I ran all the way here."'

From these opening words right down to the last page Brenda M. Boldin's first novel draws the reader into a tale filled with mystery and intrigue. Alex Masters was unaware how her carefully constructed 'new' life was about to change when she made her breathless rush to deposit the day's receipts for her boss at the Secretarial School where she was now employed. Alex realizes to her horror that the men entering a building not long after she joined a line are men she knows and knows too well. Taken hostage during a daring robbery, Alex faces death - first at the hands of her abductors and then later by someone she does not suspect at all.

Reminiscent of the twists and turns of Les Roberts' Pepper Pike and filled with Earle Stanley Gardner style conniving, Dead Birds Don't Sing is a 'keep you turning the page' read. The consternation felt by Alex is both unmistakable and believable. Desperation driving Alex to find some answers and protect herself is something we can identify with. The interlaced personal issues officer Cole Armstrong and Alex realize have risen between them share space within a complex, well wrought thriller. Bolden's cleverness for the interplay that takes place between people and her expressive account suck the reader right into the story. The reader is offered a chance to ponder how they just might have read the clues surrounding the one person Alex only realizes too late is the one who carries the most menace for her life.

Dead Bird's Don't Sing is a narrative that will grab you and hold you tight from the first line right on down to the last line. This is an enjoyable read, highly recommended. It is an e book available through VanGoach books.