The Birdwatcher

This plodding standalone from Mitchard (A Very Inconvenient Scandal) finds Chicago fashion journalist Irene “Reenie” Bigelow returning to her native Wisconsin to report on her childhood best friend’s murder arrest and trial. What perplexes Reenie is how Felicity Wild, once a bright biology student, could have turned to a life of sex work and stand accused of poisoning two of her clients. The victims—economics professor Cary Church and dairy salesman Emil Gardener—both listed Felicity as a beneficiary of their life insurance policies, despite being married to other women. Still, Reenie believes Felicity is innocent, so she’s shocked when Felicity tells her to go away when the two bump into each other during the arraignment. Instead, Reenie persists, interviewing Felicity’s attorney and the pair’s mutual friends, which eventually leads her to Ophelia, the strip club where Felicity worked. Posing as a bartender at Ophelia, Reenie befriends some of Felicity’s former colleagues, who clue her into the club’s criminal underbelly. Mitchard squanders a strong setup with a predictable ending and too many long-winded, inconsequential diversions into the local lore of her Midwestern setting. It’s a letdown. Agent: Jeff Kleinman, Folio Literary. (Dec.)