This is the first standalone fro: author Nell Pattison. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I couldn’t see where the story was going. Seven people go out on Boxing Day to watch the starling murmurations on the nature reserve and one of them is then murdered. The other six have to fins a way to get off the reserve and call the police. The story unfolds with each chapter having a different characters POV and not all the characters are very likeable. Great read. Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this read. Set in a nature reserve seven friends set out for a Boxing Day hike to check out a stunning evening natural phenomenon. I could feel the weather from the comfort of my chair and wrapped another blanket about my feet before reading on. Before this however someone has riled them up on an evening out. What happened? As they split up to see the view from different hides and viewpoints a gunshot rings out. Who was where? Who is shot? Are they alone on the reservation? I liked that there was a character who is deaf, which I felt made the world of nature more interesting through her eyes and senses. With each chapter seen through the eyes of a different character I could see who might be guilty, who might have sonething to hide. Read it in two sittings. I'll definately be picking up another Nell Pattison book though this was set at a great pace with intrigue and tension building throughout. Thank you Avon and HarperInsider for my gifted proof copy.

First book I've read by this author and I did enjoy it. Emily,Lauren. Morna,Ben,Dan,Kai and Alex all meet on boxing day to birdwatch but 6 of them have a secret and one of them knows their secrets. A gun shot sounds out whose been shot and who do they need to be afraid of? We learn everyone's secrets as the story goes on and I expected a happy ending but it left me surprised. If your looking for a good but not to heavy read I would recommend.

Told in turns by all of the characters and yet still leaves the reader unclear as to who or what is at the root of this whodunnit. Characters are realistically portrayed with each having a possible motive to confound both the other characters and the reader. A plot that keeps revealing one more step right to the very last pages.

Lauren, Morna, Alec, Kai, Dan, Ben & Emily form the basis of a friendly nature watch group who have secured exclusive rights to meet at a local nature reserve one Boxing Day so that they could watch the seasonal murmuration over the reserve. A swooping mass of thousands of birds whirling in the sky is not all that awaits them on this winter hike. Just as the spectacle begins, a gunshot rings out and one of their own is discovered with a fatal gunshot to the chest. Each carry untold secrets (dysfunctional relationships, regret, infatuation and more) that the victim illuded to know of before their death. Could this be why they are dead? Can there really be one amongst them that could have done this? An easy read, although initially slow to grab my interest, the pace thankfully picked up a third of the way through. Enjoyable characters and at times gripping storyline with an unexpected ending.