The Red Bird Sings

‘A sparkling, unusual novel that demands you turn the pages’ THE TIMES, BEST HISTORICAL FICTION

‘Based on a real-life murder trial in 1897 West Virginia, this dazzling debut arrives with a Southern Gothic slant and a feminist spirit’ DAILY MAIL

‘Compelling’ ANNE ENRIGHT

West Virginia, 1897. When young Zona Heaster Shue dies only a few months after her wedding, her mother Mary Jane becomes convinced that Zona was murdered – and by none other than her husband, Trout, the handsome blacksmith beloved in their small Southern town.

But when Trout is put on trial, no one believes he could have done it, apart from Mary Jane and Zona’s best friend Lucy, who was always suspicious of Trout. As the trial raises to fever pitch and the men of Greenbrier County stand aligned against them, Mary Jane and Lucy must decide whether to reveal Zona’s greatest secret in the service of justice. But it’s Zona herself, from beyond the grave, who still has one last revelation to make.

‘I was tenterhooked from the very first to the very last page’ JO BROWNING WROE, author of A Terrible Kindness

‘Keeps you turning pages right until the end. Loved it‘ JULIE OWEN MOYLAN, author of That Green Eyed Girl

‘Truly superb… Compelling and lyrical in equal measure‘ VICTORIA MACKENZIE, author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain

‘Beautifully crafted … wholly convincing in its historical detail and tone’ SARAH GILMARTIN, author of Dinner Party

‘An historical courtroom drama and ghost story that had me on tenterhooks until the very end. Fitzpatrick gives us a feminist heroine whose loyalty and courage make her unstoppable. I loved The Red Bird Sings’ AINGEALA FLANNERY, author of The Amusements

‘Fitzpatrick’s prose transports you to 1897 West Virginia, where Zona’s story is told by the women who loved her, despite efforts to silence her forever’ CAILEAN STEED, author of Home