Domenic Jejeune is the new DCI (detective chief inspector) in Saltmarsh, a small community on the coast of East Anglia in England. He has left an unexplained troubled past in his native Canada, and has arrived as a bit of a celebrity, with high praise from the Home Secretary for his work on a high profile case.
Detective Jejeune is delighted to be posted to England's birding hot spot. He would rather be birding than solving crimes, and sometimes fantasizes of a career in ornithology. He is younger than many of the local constabulary; his passion for birds and unorthodox methods further hinder his fitting in to the tight knit community. Nevertheless, he is on the case to solve the mystery of a TV celebrity, known for his dedication to protecting birds, who has been found hanged in a coastal wetland he has worked to protect. Could his death be related to a fierce local rivalry to be the first to record 400 species in the region? Or could it be the result of an academic squabble over how to protect the area during a development vs. protection political battle?
Author Steve Burrows surely knows the birds and birders that are never far from the center of the story. In good mystery fashion the detective must follow several conflicting leads involving a variety of locals, including a crusty detective sergeant, his own supervisor, the local MP, and a quirky birder who was a chief rival of the victim in the quest for 400 species.
Along the way to solving the evolving mysteries (of course, things get complicated) , there are bird sightings, controversies over validation of questionable reports, interludes of quiet along the coastal marshes, and insightful comments on listing and competition among birders.
Bitterns is the first of six volumes in this birder mystery series (Oneworld-Point Blank books). We are obviously set up to read on by hints of the case that brought Jejeune fame, and of the detective's birding brother who has something to do with his leaving Canada. I've continued through three more - Pitying of Doves, Cast of Falcons and Shimmer of Hummingbirds - each with international aspects and more on those back stories. I think the birds become less of a focus while the characters’ personalities become more of the story, and I found each a little less satisfying. The series has been optioned by a major UK television company.
I am not much of a mystery reader, so I defer to Crime Fiction Lover (https://crimefictionlover.com/2016/03/a-siege-of-bitterns/) and other review sites for favorable reviews of the mystery aspect of the story. I did enjoy Siege of Bitterns for its very British take on birds and birders. And yes, the birds play a crucial part in the final resolution.
-John Elliot