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, 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 !

[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

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.