A Deceit of Lapwings

Birder Murder Mystery #9

by Steve Burrows

Three murder scenes; two causes of death; one body. It is a case that would challenge Domenic Jejeune even under the best of circumstances. But his DCS’s temporary absence means that Jejeune must work under Marvin Laraby, an ex-superior with whom he has a particularly fractious history. Jejeune and Laraby will need to combine their skills to discover why a ruthless land contractor would want to invest in new bird migration software, and what possible interest the death of a birding app developer could be to the British intelligence services. With the appearance of Lindy’s ex-boyfriend disrupting Jejeune’s private life, and Danny Maik dealing with divided loyalties, is this the case that finally defeats Domenic Jejeune?

Genres: Mystery, Birds, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2025

About the author

Steve Burrows has pursued his birdwatching hobby on five continents, while researching articles on a wide range of environmental issues. He has a degree in English from York University and is a past editor of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society Magazine. After travelling the world together, Steve and his family now live in Oshawa, Ontario.

Reviews

[Rosalie I · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, the plot has a complexity unusual in these mysteries with a running theme, in this case birding. However, this reads like a book released in haste because it has many, many typos. In one case, two characters are confused with the name of one character replacing the name of the one being featured in the chapter. It's sloppy editing/copy editing/ proofreading and even the author didn't catch it. This kind of inattention is distracting and takes away from the quality of the writing.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. This was such a soap opera. So much whining from Lindy. Jejeune nearly gets himself killed twice. Clues involving birds that wouldn’t possibly hold up in court. The temporary DCS was such an incompetent. Totally unsatisfying ending. Perhaps I’m expecting too much out of this series.

I do like that it dealt with the subject of bird friendly windows. I will probably keep reading just because it is a birding-centered police procedural.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great book, there had better be more !

[Heidi S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ninth installment of the Birder Murder series and once again DCI Jejeune and his girlfriend Lindy find their relationship strained! Kind of tired of that storyline, but the mystery was solid and the solution once again hinged on bird knowledge!

[Art Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Burrows just gets better and better! This one has got the most astonishing bunch of red herrings and quirky details I've seen crammed into a police procedural than I thought possible! To give just one brief example, imagine if you will, a middle aged british spy who in their spare time plays the theramin in a flute theramin duo, or a dog named Truth who becomes imprinted on a hatching bunch of chicks, or maybe try a pair of venture capitalists who while being partners, actively try to sabotage each other, or perhaps try, one murder victim, two different causes of death and three different crime scenes!
All this against a backdrop of environmental skullduggery and a fairly in depth lesson on the habits of the deceitful Lapwing who altruistically tries to lure potential predators away from thier nests by feigning a wing injury.
All this is tremendous page turning fun and Steve Burrows deserves to be much more widely read than he is!

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fond of these characters. The plot involves computer programs and AI at levels above my head, but the characters kept me engaged. I didn't like the ending (scroll down for why), but I suspect the characters didn't either. Looking forward to see how things work out in the next book!

Why I didn't like the ending: I expect mysteries to end with justice.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all books in this series and enjoyed this one the least. Didn’t care much about any of the characters .
In the end it was the author’s usual twisty turny story with birds flitting about and that is fun.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable birding detective mystery.

[megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*?

i don't think i liked how they used lindy and dom's relationship as a plot device and how the ending was so open ended

[MEF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to have the full police team back again even if it features Jejeune’s old rival Laraby. That means though that we don’t get Colleen Shepherd’s conversations with Jejeune that often add perspective to the case and Domenic himself.
There are cross plots to wrap around , plus the challenge of predictive algorithms and a few situations that whilst clever, felt slightly over contrived to me.
Domenic and Lindy’s relationship is limping along, I miss confident Lindy and their conversations. Domenic is absent, totally wrapped up in the case but what is he actually doing in all that time? I’d like to hear more from him.
Deceit is cleverly woven through the book, small personal deceits having sway as well as more open deceptions. Shakespeare has it right!
Even with a few small niggles, the book is a clever satisfying read .

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, lots of cloak & dagger within a murder mystery, based within some advanced sciences & mathematics; some of it within the birding/bird world, or applicable also within the world of birds and survival. I did spot the murderer before some might. There were some rather disquieting peeks behind a few curtains, especially those of espionage & counter-espionage, with full credits at the end to a variety of sources for story elements. Always interesting to see how people & relationships evolve over time in a series, including the professional relationships. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next volume and/or if there is a next volume. More suspense. Meanwhile, I look forward to reading the 7th book, which I somehow had missed.

[Laurie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little long, but intriguing

[Gary Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot until the ending which is completely stupid. I can think of at least 2 or 3 other ways and it’s sad that the author could not.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing, boring, and containing about 17 false endings.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. I am birder myself so I love it whenever the Inspector talks about the birds. Love the characters and how he figures things out is always fascinating.

[Preeti Nichol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually more like a 3.5 because I like the concept of a birder murder mystery. Possibly not his best work but I still liked it.

[Diana Biggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the tie in with birding, the author is obviously a birder. Well written and doesn't come to a predictable end.