Blackbird

They found Olivia's body the night the blackbirds died. Now Alex is determined to find answers. On December 31st, 2010, the night 5,000 blackbirds drop dead and descend like a dark blanket over a small American town in the sleepy state of Arkansas, the body of a teenage girl is discovered battered and abandoned on a Shetland beach.

Alex McCarthy, her fourteen year old sister, is left to pick up the pieces after the brutal discovery and soon feels the burden of carrying her family through this tragedy. Committed to finding the killer, who she is convinced still hides within the walls of the subarctic village on Shetland, she partners with the assigned detective. Dishevelled, sometimes intoxicated, and harbouring his own demons, Detective Inspector Birkens is eager to close the case and get on with the start of his retirement. But this will be his toughest case yet, and Alex might be able to teach him some lessons along the way too.

About the Author

N.D. Gomes graduated from the University of Stirling with a BA in Media & Journalism Studies, and went on to receive her Master's degree in Education in the US. She currently works in a public school system to increase educational opportunities for students with special needs. She divides her time between the US and Scotland, but hopes to spend more time at her cottage in Hay-on-Wye in Wales.