Mystery Taking Flight: Kill Three Birds by Nicole Givens Kurtz

I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoy Nicole Givens Kurtz‘s work. When the opportunity came up to get an early look at her newest book, I jumped at it! The cover is gorgeous, and the plot summary had me ready to dive into this new world!

Kill Three Birds (2020)
Written by: Nicole Givens Kurtz
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Series: Kingdom of Aves
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press
Cover artist: Maya Renée

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Premise:

Sent to investigate a string of murders in a quiet remote egg, can Hawk Tasifa find the killer before she becomes the next target?

Prentice Tasifa is an investigative hawk whose been deployed from The Order to the small egg of Gould, a mountain village. A missing girl had been found dead. Hawks investigate strange and difficult situations throughout the Kingdom of Aves. They can “see the unseen,” by accessing a unique ability to activate hawk-like vision, a trait they carry through their bloodlines.

When Prentice arrives in Gould, she soon discovers that there isn’t just one bird dead, but three. There’s a serial killer operating in Gould, and she has to find the person before she ends up next.

If you love goddess worship, winged humans, mystery, and magic, this story is for you.

No Spoilers Below

Discussion: 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.

I loved Prentice. Her focus and drive to find answers and her dedication to her job made me admire her and the solid work she does, despite the dangers she gets herself into. She’s sharp, level-headed and slow to warm up to others, but there’s a great sense of humor and wit in her interactions, and her point of view really makes the story shine. She’s looking for a place in the world, where she fits in, and somewhere to really call home, questions I could really connect with.

Givens is so clever in the details she weaves in, both about the crimes themselves and about the world. Rather than feeling like a ton of information is being thrown on me right at the start of the story, the world was revealed like an egg hatching. Pieces slowly fell away to show the fluffy underbelly that stirs beneath the words.

The characters each have their own unique quirks that make all of them stand out on the page. The rules of the world and the impact that has on how characters interact with each other adds another layer of complexity to solving the crime, as Prentice tries to decide who she can trust.

While I first expected the world to feature a lot of flying and cities in the air, it’s instead very grounded, and a perfect fit for characters who so embraced natural elements. The different areas of town serving different types of food, from carrion to corn, and the gates of wealthy areas and shacks of poorer areas reflected a clear economic class and structure. Since this book is set in a smaller city, I’m excited to see what other locations we get to explore as the series progresses and Prentice travels for her work!

I never felt lost or confused about the rules of magic or the pecking order of the world because Givens gave the information exactly at the pace that I needed. Each tidbit of information helped to create the world and mystery itself. I won’t give any spoilers, because you need to jump into the nest and enjoy this story for yourself!

In Conclusion: If you enjoy mysteries set in fantastical, unique worlds then this is the story for you. You can pre-order Kill Three Birds here.