Singing Bird - by Roisin McAuley (Paperback)

About the Book

A mother secretly searches for the birth parents of her adopted daughter, uncovering along the way shattering twists that will change her life and her family forever.

From the Back Cover

Twenty seven years after she adopted her baby daughter in Ireland, Lena Molloy receives a mysterious call from Sister Monica, the nun who set up the adoption. She claims that she wants to merely tie up loose ends before she retires, but Lena feels both anxious and frightened after the call. Against her husband's wishes, and accompanied by her best friend, Alma -- who is nursing a broken heart -- Lena travels to the west of Ireland on a secret mission to trace the birth parents of her daughter, Mary, an up-and-coming star in the world of opera.

At first the trail seems to have gone cold. Saint Joseph's home for unmarried mothers has become an old people's home, and Sister Monica is dismissive and unforthcoming. Then a chance meeting sets Lena on a journey through Ireland and into the past, taking her through many twists and turns to an outcome she could never have anticipated.

Review Quotes

"[A] poised debut... McAuley deftly captures Lena's unwavering drive." - Publishers Weekly
"Roisin McAuley brings to her fiction a voice that's compelling, sweet and above all emotionally true. A fine, fine piece of work." - Frank Delaney
"Not to miss... The plot, garnished with mouth-watering descriptions of meals, whiskey and scenery, thickens courtesy of red herrings and a few unexpected flings... Throughout, McAuley's writing sparkles... Ireland, and a mystery, and love to conquer quite a bit." - Buffalo News, Voted the Best Irish Novel of 2004
"[An] engaging debut novel." - Booklist
"This book grabs the reader's attention in the opening lines and holds it in death's grip throughout. . . . Nothing is as it seems, and every page adds yet another layer of intrigue to its plot. Gripping stuff indeed." - The Sunday Independent (Ireland)
"Gripping . . . Singing Bird is a story of loving and belonging, but with all the suspense of a thriller." - Nuala O'Faolain
"A beautiful story by a gifted author." - Liverpool Daily Echo