The Nightjar

Starred review from July 15, 2019
In Hewitt’s superb, darkly charming debut, Londoner Alice Wyndham receives a mysterious gift and discovers that she is an exceedingly rare aviarist who can see each person’s invisible nightjar, a bird that is a mirror of the soul that it guards. She can even hone the talent to perceive a person’s emotions and memories. A man named Crowley tells Alice she’s in danger, and an attempted kidnapping causes an accident that puts Alice’s best friend, Jen, in a coma. To save her, Alice must reunite Jen with her nightjar, which fled in confusion when Jen was injured. Crowley offers to help Alice control her magic and whisks her off to the Rookery, an alternate “sister-city” of London, but they’re threatened by the powerful Judicium, who want to destroy people like Alice, and the leader of a death cult. Hewitt makes it easy to picture the 1930s-infused Rookery, where magic comes as naturally as breathing, and readers will be fascinated by the story’s magic, largely based in Finnish lore. It’s a delight to explore the Rookery alongside Alice as she discovers her unusual powers and races to save her friend. The wildly imaginative Hewitt is a writer to watch.

With an expressive delivery, narrator Tamryn Payne takes the listener on an expedition through a hidden part of London full of magic that is rooted in Finnish lore. Alice's day starts with a mysterious package and an odd elderly woman and ends with a revelation about her past that will require her to retrieve a soul from Death's realm. Payne draws the listener into Alice's newly discovered world, infusing her narration with near-perfect depictions of emotions that add to her realistic character portrayals. Payne's pacing suits the story as Alice experiences highs and lows throughout her ordeal. A delightful listen for those who like paranormal elements in their fantasy. A.L.S.M. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine