I was lucky enough to get the chance to read an early copy of Nicole Givens Kurtz’ neweest book, Kill Three Birds and review it for Speculative Chic!

First, the world of Aves is detailed, vivid and unique. This bird-based society defined around different roles based on bird type creates a strange and fun world. The details of this society are revealed slowly throughout the book, and I ate up every one of them. It’s a fascinating look at birds in a way I’ve never thought about before.

Prentice is a hawk, someone who investigates crimes, and she’s been sent to a small town to help find a killer. When a young woman of a prominent family is found dead and then two more bodies turn up, it’s clear that the hawk has a murderer on her hands.

She navigates through the inner circle of the bird society — the church, headed by a dove — to the fringes of society where crows skulk and chickens peck into a bloody order. Prentice has to deal with the expectations thrown onto her as a hawk, a grieving and volatile family, and the threat of more bodies showing up if she can’t find the killer.

You can read the full review here.