Canaries' Song

by Charles Tabb

Eric Northcraft is struggling to raise his three daughters without his wife, who recently died of cancer. While he misses his late wife, Emily, he must do his best to be both a father and mother to his young daughters.

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2021

About the author

Charles Tabb retired from teaching to pursue his dream of writing. His family supported his decision, and a year later he published his first novel, Floating Twigs, while also publishing several short stories with various literary journals. He has won successive Golden Nib awards for fiction. In 2018 his story "As Luck Would Have It" won third prize, and in 2019 the psychological thriller "The Thirteenth Painting" won first prize. Now his fan base is growing, with readers from all over the U.S.

Charles lives near Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, dogs, and computer. His wife enjoys tending to her two off-the-track thoroughbred horses, but Charles prefers their dogs. He was elected president of the Hanover Writers Club, a chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, in March 2019. He is also a proud and active member of the Virginia Writers Club and James River Writers.

Charles' desire to go out and do something with his life started at age three when his mother told him to wait in the car, which was parked in the driveway, for maybe a minute while she went inside to retrieve something she needed for the short jaunt into town. Once alone, Charles moved to the driver's seat and put the car in gear. The vehicle rolled down the driveway and was heading for the mailbox across the street when a neighbor mowing his lawn heard Charles' shouts for help (the car's windows were rolled up, mind you) and managed to hit the brake and put the car back in gear before tragedy struck. To this day, Charles can be loud enough to be heard in a crowded room if the need arises.

Although he loves to travel, he prefers to be seated at his desktop writing novels and short stories. His second novel, Hell is Empty, is the first in a detective series. It will be released in the fall of 2019.

Charles is also available to speak to groups about writing. If you would like to contact him about speaking to a group, you can reach him at charlestabb.com, where contact information is provided. He also speaks to school groups, especially high school English students, about goal-setting and meeting those goals, using his writing career as an example.

Reviews

[Ginny Nickles]

Father and daughters

The trials of a new widower trying to figure out how to raise three daughters, the middle one being developmentally challenged, and the other two missing their mom. His parents help with the girls, but then another health crisis occurs. How everyone handled all of the issues thrown their way makes for a wonderful story. The author has done a wonderful job with the handling of the myriad of problems that occur, both in this book and in Floating Twigs. Looking forward to more like this from Mr. Tabb.

[Sandra Wilson]

Wish my rating could be more than 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A wonderful story that I enjoyed so much‼️

[Peter R. Nichols]

...food for the soul....

I loved this story. The writing was excellent, as with a Charles Tabb's other writings. What meant most to me, however, was the heart warming feeling I had as I read. The characters certainly faced challenges and I got an appreciation for their struggles and the way they drew on their strengths and compassion for each other to find ways to move on. It all seemed very real and left me with guidance on responding to lesser problems in my own life. A quote I particularly liked:

"We find our happiness where it already is; we don't need to seek it. If we just pay attention, it is already right there and always will be."

[Jean Lawson]

I enjoyed the story. Hard to believe a teacher could be so cruel to a new student and a 10 year old at that But being a new student several times i know it is difficult for kids to adjusadjudt. The other kids have already made friends and it is hard for new students to make friends Also some teachers have favorite students. It was good to change classrooms for his daughter. I think it would be difficult for anyone to raise three children by themselves and to do so with three daughters having different personalities and all the changes girls go thru is hard for any parent

[Anita]

There's Always a Rainbow After A Rain

There are times when life is hard. We takes things for granted and then one day everything changes. Gods mercy and grace is what keeps us going from day to day throughout the storms of life.He paints His rainbow to give us another chapter in life to look forward to and to grow. Mr. Charles Tabb never disappoints in his writing. A story that I enjoyed page to page and did not want it to end. I invite you to get lost in his story and enjoy it as much as I have....

[Robin]

After reading “Floating Twigs”, I was disappointed with this book. In addition to many punctuation errors, there was a major error. After Grace’s surgery she could only say two words, “car” and “Goldie”. Later in the book, Eric’s mother was excited to let him know that Grace had added another word to her vocabulary...”Goldie”, when the new word was “feathers”. I felt as though no one proof-read this book.

[Renée L.]

This book was compelling and drew me in, but is not one of my favorites by this author. It felt a bit disjointed and not as easily paced as it could have been. It sometimes felt like the author was adding too much to try to round out all the characters rather than focusing on the main premise of the story. I didn't come away with a favorite character or wanting to read more and I really felt like the ending was forced. I'm still a fan of this author but was let down a bit by this one.

[Cricket]

This is the third book by Charles Tabb I read. This book and the Twigs series books were all written so well that they were hard to put down. He writes in such a way that draws you into the story and you feel connected to the amazing characters. You finish the book feeling like your faith in humanity has been restored.

I looked for another series but I don't have the stomach for the Detective Pantera series.

If anyone has some suggestions, would love to hear about them.

[Deborah Kinate]

I enjoyed this read but didn't think it was quite as good as Floating Twigs by the same author. Canaries' Song tells the story of a newly-widowed father with three young girls to raise. The middle child has developmental issues, so Eric moves back to his hometown so his parents can help him with the girls.

[Nancy]

Stories about family and learning about living through their tragedies are inspiring. This story does just that. Dealing with life in general is difficult, but adding heartbreak and difficult situations to that path, are hard to overcome. Choices are hard to make especially when there are more factors involved than just yourself. A good family story to read.

[Karen Hoffman - Booktastic]

This was a new author and narrator for me to discover. I easily gravitate towards this storyline. Neill brought the story alive from the first page until the end. He brought it to the next level. It will linger on my heart forever. Perfect narrator for this story. Looking forward to listening to more from both the author and narrator.

[Mary Powell]

I felt like the story just didn’t span enough time. The story brings the family of 3 girls and there father through the death of their mother, moving to a new town and job, as well as medical issue with one of the daughters all within about 3 months. Way too much to process that quickly. As a result, the characters weren’t well developed. It was not Tabb at his best!

[Calese Brown]

Mr. Tabb you're a great story teller!

When I first read the first chapter I was sad and thinking about putting the book away for later. But I kept reading and I got caught up in the characters and the back story. Life is full of peaks and valleys. You made some interesting turns and I loved the ending. Thank you for being a wonderful writer!!!!

[Wendy]

Love the referrals in the book to teaching and it’s challenges! So true to real life!the author is a retired teacher so he knows what he is talking about! Not sure I related to some of the references to losing a loved one, thankfully. I enjoyed Floating Twigs more.

[Diane L.]

Canary songs

This book is so positive. Made me think about, being positive, in the face of adversity. You make your characters, so alive. I will think about this book for a long time.

[Nancy]

What a wonderful story! We usually see things from the Mom's perspective, but in this story the father is left to raise 3 daughters, one a special needs child. Not only learning to live without wife/Mom. the many difficulties of preteen girls is examined. A must read!!

[Barbara Shea]

Canaries

It was a very uplifting story. Kind of predictable at times. But a nice family story. Eric was a good father & teacher willing to help people with problems. I would recommend this book to everyone.

[Sammie Robinson]

This is the second book by Charles Tabb that I have read. His books deal with real life situations. In Canaries' Song, Eric is a recent widow with 3 daughters. Trying to adjust to his new life and handle his daughters' differences is a challenge. The story touches the reader's heart.

[Pam Hill]

Another great story about life.

Well written characters. Story line about restarting a new life after tragedy could be anyone's life. Great read. Starting over is hard but life goes on. A good lesson on working with what you got.

[Deborah]

Charles Tabb is an excellent writer. His characters come to life almost from the first page, and this book was no exception. I did feel he went over the top a bit with the trials this family had to endure, but I stuck with it and found it another very satisfying read.

[dotty kindle]

Canaries

What a wonderful,heartfelt ,emotional story.I didn't want it to end.I've read so many of Charles tabs books and each one was better than the last.keep writing.was a truly wonderful book

[Danny]

This book was absolutely fantastic. I cannot say enough, good things about the author, his writing style or his work. He has become truly one of my most favorite authors. I have read, and I have looked every book he’s written. This was no exception. It was a true masterpiece.

[Linda]

Felt like it ended way too soon. Maybe there is, or will be a sequel or sequels?

[velma lou]

Wonderful

This book was absolutely a wonderful read. I enjoyed it so much. Read it in just a few short hours. Made me laugh and cry. One I won’t long forget.

[NANETTE LESLIE]

It was a good read.

[Kathleen]

Great book!

Just finished Canaries' Song and thoroughly enjoyed it. Charles Tabb is turning into a favorite author and I look forward to his next book.

[Sandra Fehn]

Feel good book.

Book was very well written.Characters were realistic and caring..had a positive theme through entire book.
I felt good after I read it.

[Anne]

I really wanted to like this book but just couldn’t get excited about the story.

[Harriett Hickey]

Favorite author

Charles Tabb is one of my all time favorite. authors. His books are bout life and believable. His writing is clean and and non offensive to Christians.

[Seza]

I absolutely loved this story!!