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

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

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great book, there had better be more !

[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.

[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

[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, but I suspect the characters didn't either. Looking forward to see how things work out in the next book!

[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.