Summer Reading’s review of Gut Instinct > Likes and Comments
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I’m glad you mostly enjoyed Gut Instinct! I actually do go to Westport yearly, and when the real incident happened, believe it or not- nobody in the entire campground came to help us! It was definitely the bystander effect, which I implemented into the story. As for the starling, I understand being unbelievable, but as a zookeeper of many years, I assure you that starlings, ravens, etc, actually can mimic something right away! :)
Oh wow! How awful that no one came to help, even in real life! I would have thought someone - anyone - would have come over to see what was causing all the noise. That whole situation must have been so frightening!
When I read the part about the starting, I was so startled by it, having never heard of this before, that I did some quick research online. I read that starlings most commonly speak in captivity, where they are exposed to a lot of human speech. Do wild starlings pick up human speech, too? Maybe if they live in a campground around a lot of talking people!
Your story truly was engaging! I was telling my mom about it this morning, and she has asked to borrow it. I told her I definitely want it back when she's finished. 😊
Aww thank you, I hope your mom enjoys it! And yes definitely more likely that starlings, ravens, etc mimic in captivity more, but after being exposed to so many sounds and language in one place (like at a campground) I wouldn’t doubt they could mimic after hearing those noises. If you’re interested, my second novel is an adult thriller (unrelated to Gut Instinct) and it comes out this December. If I may say so myself, my writing has improved significantly and I’ve learned so much since my first book. I’m super proud of my second novel, and it’s darker, creepier, and longer than Gut Instinct. It’s called Secrets of the Peacock, if you’d like to read it :)
Absolutely! Your first book kept me hooked with the suspense. I'm putting your second one on my TBR list now! :)
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Hannah
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May 05, 2026 02:35PM
I’m glad you mostly enjoyed Gut Instinct! I actually do go to Westport yearly, and when the real incident happened, believe it or not- nobody in the entire campground came to help us! It was definitely the bystander effect, which I implemented into the story. As for the starling, I understand being unbelievable, but as a zookeeper of many years, I assure you that starlings, ravens, etc, actually can mimic something right away! :)
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Oh wow! How awful that no one came to help, even in real life! I would have thought someone - anyone - would have come over to see what was causing all the noise. That whole situation must have been so frightening!When I read the part about the starting, I was so startled by it, having never heard of this before, that I did some quick research online. I read that starlings most commonly speak in captivity, where they are exposed to a lot of human speech. Do wild starlings pick up human speech, too? Maybe if they live in a campground around a lot of talking people!
Your story truly was engaging! I was telling my mom about it this morning, and she has asked to borrow it. I told her I definitely want it back when she's finished. 😊
Aww thank you, I hope your mom enjoys it! And yes definitely more likely that starlings, ravens, etc mimic in captivity more, but after being exposed to so many sounds and language in one place (like at a campground) I wouldn’t doubt they could mimic after hearing those noises. If you’re interested, my second novel is an adult thriller (unrelated to Gut Instinct) and it comes out this December. If I may say so myself, my writing has improved significantly and I’ve learned so much since my first book. I’m super proud of my second novel, and it’s darker, creepier, and longer than Gut Instinct. It’s called Secrets of the Peacock, if you’d like to read it :)
Absolutely! Your first book kept me hooked with the suspense. I'm putting your second one on my TBR list now! :)