The Parrot Told Me

by Rachael Rawlings

Who would believe the words of a bird brain, anyway? When Camille inherits Simon, an African grey parrot from her deceased neighbor, she sees the challenge of owning such a noisy, spoiled pet. But when the music plays, and Simon starts to replay a violent scene in the voice of his former owner, Camille begins to realize that she has inherited more than she bargained for. Could a bird really recall the last moments of his owner’s life? And stranger yet, could he really be repeating a death scene that he witnessed? Camille’s best friend, Leo, has his doubts, and after the disappearance of Camille’s sister, he wonders if her tragic past is coming back to haunt her and she is finally breaking down. But she has no one else to go to, no one besides the questionable other neighbor who might well have been involved with the murder victim. It’s a question of a bird’s word against the truth and a race to find out what it all means.

195 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2013

Reviews

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute premise that is flawed in its execution. The idea behind the mystery is good. Unfortunately, the book is in need of judicious editing. The plot and key characters need to be better developed, and there are too many lose ends which are alluded to, but left hanging in the book. If they had been developed and tied up, this would be a delightful mystery.

[Denise Kawaii · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Parrot Told Me is a murder mystery driven by a talkative African Grey parrot who recounts his master's last moments. His new owner, a neighbor named Camille, is so intrigued by the verbal clues left by Simon the parrot that she can't help but get involved in solving the mysterious death.

Overall, the story builds well and the author does a great job with this "Who-Donnit?" tale. I did have difficulty connecting with the characters. Rawlings is a very descriptive author, and while I enjoy some description, I found that some sections of the book were tedious to read.

This would be a great book for parrot lovers, and for those looking for a light mystery. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but there are other readers who will enjoy Rawlings' writing style and get into the story more than I did.

[Rosie Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Parrot Told me is a mystery surrounding the murder of Monica Gibs. The opening pages are really gripping and the author does a wonderful job of drip feeding information so that I stayed enthralled wanting to know more.

Camille has been left Monica's African Grey parrot and is very impressed by his talents to talk and learn tricks. His ability to copy voices makes Camille curious about Monica's death. Aided by best friend Leo and another resident from the apartments Camille finds her search leads to danger. Just who did murder Monica and why?

Twists and turns and several suspects, plus an ending I didn't see coming. A Very good read.

[Pat Byrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a young entrepreneur who is given an African Gray parrot previously belonging to a mysterious young woman who died under odd circumstances. The verbal parrot repeats many interesting things driving a curiosity to find out what actually happened. Written by a Lexington, KY author, those from this area will find the local settings and references appealing.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast read. Would have liked a little more character development, but it was entertaining. Definitely an unexpected ending!

[The Reading Writing Puppet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, I was so excited for this. But, it just wasn't what I expected.

[Alex P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I little disappointing, wanted more.

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slow paced often boring story.