A Pitying of Doves

By: Steve Burrows

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Why would a killer ignore expensive jewellery and take a pair of turtledoves as the only bounty? This is only one of the questions that piques Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune's interest after a senior attaché with the Mexican Consulate is found murdered alongside the director of a local bird sanctuary. The fact that the director's death has opened up a full-time research position hasn't eluded Jejeune either. Could this be his escape from policing?

Jejeune knows he owes it to the victims to solve the case. But a trail that weaves from embittered aviary owners to suspicious bird sculptors only seems to be leading him farther from the truth. With two careers hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher for Inspector Jejeune.

©2015 Steve Burrows (P)2016 Isis Publishing Ltd

A Must-read for Bird Lovers

I enjoyed this installment of the Birders Murder series. It has a complex plot rich with detail, information on birdwatching, conservation, and even genetics. I learned a lot while also enjoying the mystery.

It's Maybe Not Totally Solved

This is an excellent mystery. The plot is complicated, the murderer identified, but then not.
It's a book for bird lovers, all about birds. Second book out of three, and my favorite. I really would like this author to write a forth. The narration is excellent as in the two other books. The Chief Inspector is one with outstanding deduction skills, picking up on the smallest details in interviews. There are two exciting scenes for him as he tries to bring in possible murderers, and the story continues with some doubts as to their guilt, while politics and diplomats stick to the story they want to accept as the truth. I'll definitely listen to this one a second time.

Seriously this was the book I needed!

This book was seriously what I needed to read after the last couple of action driven fantasy books, as: A) I love birds.
B) the Audubon society recommends the series.
C) this mystery series 📚 has been on my wishlist for ages.
This couldn't have been better as a Cool Down book! A Pitying of Doves shows the rural aspect, and slower pace of North Norfolk, a small fishing village. It's a police procedural, but it's combined with bird watching on the salt marsh!
Chief Inspector Detective Jejeune is back on the job! Jejeune is still torn between the job that he's really good at, and his dream job where he's a professional bird conservationist!
In this story Jejeune and his team are confronted with what looks like a burglary gone wrong, ending in a double murder... but seemingly, the only thing stolen was a pair of rare endangered Doves! So get the book, and join the team as they uncover the truths hidden deep in this sleepy little village!
David's Thorpe's voice talent perfectly matched all the nuances required for this moody book!

A very good story and great narrator

It’s a good mystery that includes birding as a part of it.
The narrator is fantastic.
Contrary to other reviews, it is not difficult to follow. It’s a mystery we’ll done. Hence, there are always red herrings to distract you.

Steve Burrow and David Thorp are both magnificent!

Steve beautifully describes every scene and David makes it come alive. The book stands alone as a great mystery story I really loved everything about this book and I’m anxious to start the next one in the series!

Perfect series for birders and those who love mild mannered mysteries

I saw this series recommended on a birding page on social media. I’m addicted now. Just the right balance of birding ephemera and whodunit.

Excellent for when you have time to listen closely

This is a book you need to pay close attention to. It involves a very complex case and several of the characters are developed in detail. It's good if you have already read or listened to the first book in the series but not really necessary - except to better understand why the main character is a reluctant chief inspector who is excellent at that job almost in spite of himself.

David Thorpe is one of the bests narrators out there. He does multiple accents, including several Canadians, who, like real Canadians, sound almost American.

A great listen - I'm ready to move on to Book #3.

Interesting, intense, too long

Pro: good characters, good milieu, good writing. Spectacular performance by David Thorpe, who can do it all from moms to monkeys.

Cons: too long, a bit convoluted.

This is not a book that you can just have on in the background. You have to listen to appreciate it. Unless you just want David Thorpe to keep you company, which is totally valid. I liked it enough to move on to book three.

If you read the first book you've read this one.

I was really excited about a detective series in Norfolk that featured birding, something I know little about but find interesting. In that I have not been disappointed. It is irritating to me that the author chose to create 'conflict' by making the detective hate his job because he longs to be a research ornithologist. If he wants that go do it!!! Geez! The girlfriend when not cutting Dominick down to size, is a jealous, insecure b*tch. The boss is a sexually frustrated, ruthless careerist who always sabotages Dominick's investigations. Although the story turns out to be satisfying and complex, this author doesn't need to clutter up the action with the above-mentioned devices.
One bright spot is the evolving relationship between Dom and his Sergeant. It is interesting as they get the feel for working together and develop a strong working relationship.
Worth a credit but the first 2 books are rather formulaic and similar.