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Thursday, September 21, 2017

BLOG TOUR: The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti @atriabooks @katemoretti1

The Blackbird Season
by Kate Moretti
Atria Books


🔥 Publishing 9/26/17 ðŸ”¥

A big thank you to Atria Books for this copy in return for my honest review.  I am THRILLED to be launching the Blog Tour for this today.  


Known for novels featuring “great pacing and true surprises” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) and “nerve-shattering suspense” (Heather Gudenkauf, New York Time bestselling author), New York Times bestselling author Kate Moretti’s latest is the story of a scandal-torn Pennsylvania town and the aftermath of a troubled girl gone missing.


“Where did they come from? Why did they fall? The question would be asked a thousand times…



Until, of course, more important question arose, at which time everyone promptly forgot that a thousand birds fell on the town of Mount Oanoke at all.”



In a quiet Pennsylvania town, a thousand dead starlings fall onto a high school baseball field, unleashing a horrifying and unexpected chain of events that will rock the close-knit community.



Beloved baseball coach and teacher Nate Winters and his wife, Alicia, are well respected throughout town. That is, until one of the many reporters investigating the bizarre bird phenomenon catches Nate embracing a wayward student, Lucia Hamm, in front of a sleazy motel. Lucia soon buoys the scandal by claiming that she and Nate are engaged in an affair, throwing the town into an uproar…and leaving Alicia to wonder if her husband has a second life.



And when Lucia suddenly disappears, the police only to have one suspect: Nate.



Nate’s coworker and sole supporter, Bridget Harris, Lucia’s creative writing teacher, is determined to prove his innocence. She has Lucia’s class journal, and while some of the entries appear particularly damning to Nate’s case, others just don’t add up. Bridget knows the key to Nate’s exoneration and the truth of Lucia’s disappearance lie within the walls of the school and in the pages of that journal.



Told from the alternating points of view of Alicia, Nate, Lucia, and Bridget, The Blackbird Season is a haunting, psychologically nuanced suspense, filled with Kate Moretti’s signature “chillingly satisfying” (Publishers Weekly) twists and turns.


My Review:


In a Pennsylvania town where crime rarely happens, a thousand dead starlings fall out of the sky. Seemingly, this sets off a chain of events that will change the lives of many.  This book is unfolded through the POVs of four different characters.  We have Nate, baseball coach and adored teacher who probably pays a little too much attention to his students.  His wife, Alecia (it was spelled this way in my arc copy), who is home tending to their special needs son, Gabe, while thinking her husband avoids the house.  Her frustrations of having to hold herself together for her son's sake leads to instigating arguments with Nate.  Then there's Bridget, also a teacher at the same school, closest friend to Alecia and a widow who may be the only one fighting for the truth.  Lucia, an eccentric student, outcasted by her peers who call her a witch, accuses Nate of having an affair with her and then promptly disappears.  Nate was the last one to see her but all evidence proves to Nate's guilt. With only one person by his side, can he prove his innocence (if he truly is innocent), save his marriage and reputation?  And if he didn't have this alleged affair, then why is he being accused?

Under her twitter handle, Moretti says "best selling author of crap marriages & murder"... and she's absolutely right!  Holy crap marriages in The Blackbird Season!  Moretti is wonderful in the character building of this story.  Even with the multiple view points and the flip from from past to present throughout the novel, I never felt lost.  This isn't a book where you get one huge twist that makes you gasp and hold your chest.  It's rather a more suspensefully nuanced psychological thriller that keeps you turning the pages as she brings the story full circle.  This was the perfect read for what I needed at this time.  She doesn't try to surprise you or catch you off guard.  Instead, she slowly builds this world where none of the characters are likable, but you still want to sort of root for them. At least I did.  There's a slight supernatural undertone which I also liked a lot.  At the end of the day, this rule stands true - don't piss off a female... EVER.

For those who love that suspenseful thriller that might not keep you on the edge of your seat, but will definitely pull at your curiosity strings, this is something you need to pick up.  

★★★★

About the Author:


Kate Moretti lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and a dog. She’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years as a scientist, and has been an avid fiction reader her entire life.

She enjoys traveling and cooking, although with two kids, a day job, and writing, she doesn’t get to do those things as much as she’d like.

Her lifelong dream is to buy an old house with a secret passageway.

THE BLACKBIRD SEASON by Kate Moretti
Atria Paperback | ISBN: 9781501118456| On sale: September 26, 2017 | 352 pages | $16.00
eBook: Atria | ISBN: 9781501118463| On sale: September 26, 2017 | 352 pages | $11.99

Twitter: @KateMoretti1
Instagram: @katemoretti1

ORDER:

Praise for The Blackbird Season:

“With her stunning new novel told through multiple perspectives, Moretti weaves a story that is equal parts suspenseful and chilling. The clear, concise storytelling will draw readers into Nate and Alecia’s journey. The authentic, honest dialogue between Nate, Alecia and Bridget will engage readers as their individual pain and loss is captured. With the strangely haunting character of Lucia, steady pacing and an intricately woven plot, Moretti’s latest will leave its mark on readers.”
– RT Book Reviews

“In a small town, a thousand dead birds fall from the sky, onto a high school baseball field. Then, a teenage girl — known as ‘the witch’ — goes missing. The Blackbird Season is a suspenseful mystery about small-town secrets and scandals.”
– PopSugar (The 25 Books You're Going to Want to Read This Fall & Our Favorite Books of the Year (So Far)—You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down!)

“So glad I could get my hands on this one well in advance of its September publication! Once I did, I didn’t want to put it down… Fans of psychological suspense went crazy for Katie Moretti’s last novel, The Vanishing Year, and The Blackbird Season is likely to be another hit.”
– Strand Magazine

“Crime fiction adores girls in trouble. Moretti's latest nail-biter (The Vanishing Year, 2016, etc.) is no exception, but it is exceptional… Though Moretti's emotionally astute tale can be heart-rending, readers won't be able to look away. As slow, creeping dread sets in, so does the inevitability of the terrible situation the town finds itself in, offering a deliciously sinister glimpse into the duplicity of small-town lives and the ease with which people turn on each other when tragedy comes calling. Moretti's tale of jealousy and obsession is nothing less than dark magic. Witchery indeed.”
– Kirkus Reviews (STARRED Review)

“[An] intricately plotted thriller… This cautionary tales keeps the reader guessing to the end.”
– Publishers Weekly

“The tale’s suspenseful core should catch and hold most readers, especially Gone Girl fans.”
– Booklist

“A powerful story about a missing girl and an accused suspect that takes a haunting look into the characters and relationships you think you know.  The Blackbird Season explores the fine line between guilt and innocence, truth and perception, the moments that break people apart—and those that bring them together. Riveting and insightful, this is a book that lingers long after you turn the final page.”
– Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls


“Kate Moretti’s insightful, starkly human mystery about a girl they call 'witch' has that sit-down, gotta-cry eloquence readers long for. Mean girl alliances and small town loyalties collapse in unison on the day the blackbirds fall. This story will hold you tight to its pages well past your bedtime. The Blackbird Season is Moretti’s best yet.”

– Lisa Turner, Edgar Award finalist author of The Gone Dead Train and Devil Sent the Rain

The Blackbird Season pulls off a very difficult thing: it's nail-biting and thought-provoking all at once. It's a rare that a book can make you turn pages like your life depends on it, but also give you food for thought because the characters are so perfectly drawn. A stunning achievement from an extremely talented writer.”
– Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew

“Moretti spins a tale of suspicion, deceit, and dreams that die as suddenly as a flock of starlings falling from the sky. A thrilling morality tale of the highest order, The Blackbird Season will make you question the lines between right and wrong, victim and criminal, and the unknowable intentions that form our innocence and guilt.”
– Mindy Mejia, author of Everything You Want Me to Be

“Moretti begins The Blackbird Season with a sinister premise — a cloud of birds fall from the sky on the same day a teenage girl people call ‘the witch’ goes missing. A spellbinding tale of long-held secrets and small-town scandal, The Blackbird Season is one of those stories that sneaks up on you, each chapter building steadily to an ending that will haunt you long after you turn the last page.”
– Kimberly Belle, bestselling author of The Marriage Lie

“The characters are authentically flawed and believable, and part of the mystery is the unfolding of their motivations…The Blackbird Season is about how people—teens and adults alike—get lost and disconnected. All that, plus a suspenseful mystery—what more can you ask for?”
– Holly Brown, author of Don't Try to Find Me

“When a troubled teenaged girl goes missing in The Blackbird Season, the town in which she lives is ripped apart by suspicion. As disturbing secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe. Kate Moretti’s trademark vivid characterizations, surprising storyline, and heart-stopping suspense kept me eagerly turning pages long into the night.”
– Carla Buckley, author of The Good Goodbye

The Blackbird Season is more than a haunting mystery; it’s an intense exploration of a family in crisis and a community rocked by scandal. How well can you truly know the ones you love? How far can you trust them? I couldn’t stop reading until I knew the whole and harrowing truth.”
– Laura McHugh, award-winning author of The Weight of Blood and Arrowood

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