Dead Birds Don't Sing Enjoyable Read .... Recommended ... 4 stars

THE REVIEW: Alex Masters, grateful the door hadn't been locked yet, entered the Bay City Central Bank at full speed. Several people were waiting in line for their chance with the tellers. She was going too fast and lurched into the last man standing in line.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," Alex said as the stranger whirled around to glare at her. An explanation seemed necessary as he continued to stare at her. "I need to get this deposit in before two o'clock." Alex held up the heavy canvas bag. "I ran all the way here."

From these opening words right down to the last page Brenda M. Boldin’s first novel draws the reader into a tale filled with mystery and intrigue, excitement and at times just plain fun. Alex Masters was unaware her carefully constructed ‘new’ life was about to change when she made her breathless rush to deposit the day’s receipts for her boss at the Secretarial School where she was now employed.

Alex realizes to her horror that the men entering the building not long after she joins a line inside the bank are men she knows and knows too well. Taken hostage during a daring robbery Alex faces death first at the hands of her abductors and then later by someone she does not suspect at all. Reminescent of the twists and turns found in ‘Pepper Pike’ by Les Roberts and filled with Erle Stanley Gardner style conniving;

DEAD BIRDS DON'T SING is a ‘keep you turning the page’ read. The consternation felt by Alex is both unmistakable and believable. Desperation is driving Alex to find some answers and protect herself is something we can all feel and identify with. The interlaced personal issues officer Cole Armstrong and Alex realize have risen between them, share space here within an complex well wrought thriller by this novice writer. Bolden’s cleverness for the interplay that takes place between people and her expressive account suck the reader right into the story. This new novelist has a comprehension of the mysterious presence many do not possess. She skillfully uses that understanding to present a set of well thought out characters who keep you turning the pages to see what will happen next.

DEAD BIRDS DON'T SING offers the reader a chance to ponder just how they might have read the clues surrounding the one person Alex only realizes too late is the one who carries the most menace for her life. This almost native Virginian was born in Cleveland, OH and is a graduate of Frank W. Cox High School, Virginia Beach. She earned her BA from Roanoke College, Salem VA. Brenda is currently living in Virginia Beach with her chaplain at a sub acute hospital and campus pastor at Old Dominion University husband, 8 year old son and 4 Cats. This soccer mom; whose favorite non writing pastime, after her family, is reading with mysteries high on the list, works part-time as a secretary at a Methodist church.

DEAD BIRDS DON'T SING is Brenda Bolden’s first mystery thriller. We who enjoy thrillers are delighted to know that Brenda is hard at work on the next and many more novels in this series.

DEAD BIRDS DON'T SING is a narrative that will grab you and hold you tight from the first line right on down to the last page.

Enjoyable read, highly recommended. Reviewed by MOLLY'S REVIEWS

Genre: Mystery/Romance/Suspense Author: Brenda Boldin Publisher: Cambridge Books http://www.cambridgebooks.us ISBN-10: 0970102046 ISBN 1-59431-028-9 Media: 244 pages. PDF, RTF, HTML Cover Art/Maggie Dix