Reviews for Blue Aviary

“Beautifully written story where family is extremely important and dysfunction are unsuspectedly rampant.

Richard Quinn welcomes his readers with a warm portrait of southwest New York State’s majestic landscape, which is home to Ben Bowden, his wife Angela, and their two children. The Bowden family is likable, imperfect, and relatable. Their story is a personal and poignant tale told through the eyes and narrative of young daughter Sydney whose storytelling allows readers confidante-level access to seemingly ordinary lives nestled deep within the woodlands of the Catskill Mountains watershed.

When a single mother and her troubled son move in and upend their quiet community, the Bowden clan’s outwardly idyllic existence slowly finds itself facing hurdles. Surfacing family dysfunction, mental instability, bullying, harassment, sexual assault, and a traumatic death all threaten the preservation of life and family security as they know it. Their efforts to regain a sense of normalcy shed light on both their resourcefulness and limited life experience in this coming-of-age tour de force.

WOW. Richard L Quinn nailed a book in a brilliantly, beautiful way. The Bowden family is told by their young daughter Sydney. Living before and after in the Catskill Mountains. God, their family was a beautiful, caring family, until the heartbreak of a single mom and a very evil, troubled son arrive. Life becomes broken forever after the boy begins to target Boden’s very life both mentally and physically. This becomes where the family will never go back to the life of “family”. I cried for all the what ifs, I cursed and just know this book is one which will stay with me. What evil can do to break so many in waves? Brilliant, This writer will paint a picture and it is one of so much good, bad and evil.”

— Edna Gadoury, NetGalley