TLC Book Tour for "The Bird House" by Kelly Simmons

The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is a wonderful combination of a family drama and a psychological suspense type novel. To just say it's a family drama, does not cut it! It's a suspenseful telling of the story of a family with a whole lot of secrets that have been buried for a long time, and also the discovery of some new ones along the way.

Ann Biddle is in her 70s and she knows that she is beginning to forget things. She fears the real meaning and the real severity of it. She has begun to keep a journal again so that she won't forget anything. Her granddaughter needs to learn some family history for a school project. Ann relishes the extra time spent with her only grandchild, but the project has brought back to Ann's mind a lot of history that she has kept secret and buried deep.

It is absolutely impressive how eloquently the author weaves Ann's story together between the past and the present. Meanwhile we see the beautiful relationship Ann is building with her grandchild and finding a new appreciation for her son. The story is dramatic, suspenseful, and very deeply touching!
I VERY highly recommend this book! It is beautifully written, with a powerful story that will grab you from the start and won't let go. The characters are so colorful and very real. I felt as if I knew this family. The story and the characters also deal with the very real issue of aging parents and dementia. I think it's a huge reminder to appreciate the family that we have while we have them! I absolutely loved every minute of this book. It's the first book I've read by Kelly Simmons, but I will be looking for more after this!

(For my blog readers who only read Christian books, this book is not a Christian fiction title.)

Be sure you stop by here to follow along with all the blog tour stops!


Book Summary:

Every family has its secrets. But when you are suddenly the matriarch, tending the dark fires of memory, and your own mind is fading, who do you dare to share them with? Your diary, or your eight-year-old granddaughter?

Interweaving diaries penned forty years apart, Kelly Simmons’s captivating second novel, The Bird House, blends the fierce voice of Ann Biddle, a woman struggling to bond with her only grandchild, Ellie, while railing against the ravages of early dementia, with her point-of-view as a young wife and mother. We witness the secrets of Ann’s family and her grand-daughter and daughter-in-law’s through every lens — from the clarity of the rearview mirror to the haze of Alzheimer’s. And we see her grappling through the ‘60’s with sleep deprivation, breast cancer, her own mother’s death, a passionate affair, and a tragedy that leaves her stunned until, four decades later, her whip-smart granddaughter unwittingly sheds a burst of light on the family’s shadowy history.

A subtly tense, darkly psychological tug of war between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, present and past, The Bird House is a moving treatise on family, love, and memories—both lost and found. And proves a worthy successor to her book club favorite debut, Standing Still.


Purchase this book here.



Author Bio:


Kelly Simmons is the author of the critically acclaimed Simon & Schuster novel, Standing Still, and coming in February, The Bird House. She is a former journalist and advertising creative director who lives in the Philadelphia area with her family, and divides her time between writing, teaching, public speaking, and vacuuming up dog hair. She was born and raised in Waukegan, Illinois, and credits weekly visits to the Waukegan Public Library for her literary prowess. (Her determination to succeed, however, could only come from being a Cubs fan.) Visit her website at http://www.bykellysimmons.com/.


Connect with Kelly on Facebook and Twitter.



This book was provided for review by Washington Square Press.




Blessings,