Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $4.50

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Harriet Smart
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Dead Songbird (The Northminster Mysteries Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Harriet Smart (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,209 ratings
See all formats and editions

“Death is too good for a whore like you. But He may show you mercy yet. BE PREPARED”

Celebrated singer Anna Morgan has come to Northminster to escape a troubled past and sing at the city’s Handel Festival. But when she continues to receive the poisonous letters that have been plaguing her, she turns to Chief Constable Major Giles Vernon and Police Surgeon Felix Carswell to find her persecutor, drawing the two men into her charismatic orbit.

At the same time a talented young tenor is found dead in curious circumstances in a locked chapel, and the hunt for a murderer is on. Together, Vernon and Carswell must untangle the web of secrets that surround the dead man, uncovering a Northminster that throbs with clandestine passions and thwarted desires, a world of illegal pornographic books and risqué theatricals.

However, Felix finds himself bedevilled by romantic feelings for the beautiful Anna, who may or may not be his father's mistress, while Giles must face the tragedy of his own marriage before he is able to determine the truth behind the mystery of The Dead Songbird.

The Dead Songbird is the second Northminster Mystery featuring early-Victorian detectives Vernon and Carswell.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 11
    The Northminster Mysteries
  2. Print length
    379 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    February 14, 2013
  6. File size
    1750 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Next 5 for you in this series See full series
Total Price: $22.50
By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of Use

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BD75QQW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anthemion; 4th edition (February 14, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 14, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1750 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 379 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,209 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Harriet Smart

Harriet Smart

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Harriet Smart is a novelist living in Northumberland

Educated at the University of St Andrews, Harriet’s debut novel, A GARLAND OF VOWS, was inspired by her research into a firm nineteenth century church furnishers and turned into an epic family saga, spanning fifty years. Her second novel, GREEN GROW THE RUSHES, set in Edwardian Scotland was short-listed for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. She is currently writing a series of crime novels set in early Victorian England.

Along with her husband Julian Smart she has designed Writer’s Café, a software toolkit for fiction writers. For more information see www.writerscafe.co.uk and www.jutoh.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
1,209 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

CB
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Mystery, Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Thoroughly enjoyable read. The characters feel real, and the plot is well thought out. I usually know who-done-it by mid book, but Harriet Smart had me stumped right to the end - although all the clues were there. Cleverly written mystery. First Smart book I've read, but it worn't be the last.
Helpful
 Report
Frankpsu
4.0 out of 5 stars Well paced writing and good plot
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
I like this series.but.struggle.with the shallowness of the Carswell character. He seems fickle and fragile for a trained physician of this period. Its unsettling that he behaves so childishly and seems.to have no.physical strength.in multiple encounters. I hope he developes..
Helpful
 Report
Valerie Antijunti
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling reading
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
I just couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns. Ms Smart knows how to pull you into the story. The characters are so three dimensional that they come to life.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Robin
3.0 out of 5 stars The Title Does Not Fit The Story
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
I found the story oddly disturbing, as if all the pieces did not total the sum of the parts. The resolution was unsatisfactory, the last pages rushed. I had to struggle to find the will to complete it.
Helpful
 Report
DRRD
4.0 out of 5 stars Still enjoying the series.
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this second book in the Northminster Mysteries. There is some character development among the two main characters, (not always in a good way) and we get to know them better. This story seemed to be based on the theme of sex and irresistible lusts, and even the main characters have their problems with the subject.

Major Giles tries to move forward in dealing with his wife's mental illness, but also finds himself vulnerable in his loneliness and his wish for a normal home life. Felix Carswell is becoming a slave to his libido, his head turned by someone exciting he knows he can't have, while still unwilling to really find a wife and settle down. While part of his desperation comes from the love/hate relationship he has with his biological father, who insists on interfearing with Felix's life. Both men make mistakes, and try to be there for each other while each deals with their own ghosts and their own demons.

I found the mysteries and the characters interesting, and there were several moment of surprise along the way.

The cons were that this is a very Sex related book, which reminded me at times of those daily soap operas where the main question is "Who is sleeping with who now?" or "Who does everyone think is sleeping with who now?" It's a very lurid peek behind the scenes of the times, when the main characters have to delve into everyone's secrets, and try to deal with their own. Not bad in a single book, but I do find Felix's growing libido and loss of emotional and physical control could be something that pushes me away if he becomes too unlikable because of it. His youth can only excuse his decisions so much before he just becomes someone unpleasant. I'd rather see him be a doctor and a detective than wallow in his urges much more.

Looking forward to the next one.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sue H
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Story, Interesting Characters
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the first book so much that I read the second one and then bought the third. I love the main characters, Dr. Felix Carswell and Major Vernon; they are a great team. The plots are complicated enough that you can't figure them out easily. As both men are single at this point, I hope their obsessions with the opposite sex with abate in the future when they are both married.
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Dead Songbird
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Dealing with personal conflicts while investigating suspect's human failings occasionally create a fire of its own that is difficult to contain. The brightest flame in the room can blind the eye to trouble.
Helpful
 Report
S. Zellmer
4.0 out of 5 stars Still No Editor??
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2017
Verified Purchase
Like everyone else, I thought the typos were very distracting - especially since it is the second book in the series! Wouldn't the same issues in the first book have made the editing better than before? I would have thought so, so I was extra irritated by this. These errors always tend to 'dumb down' the work since they are so obvious, it just seems lazy.

I didn't have too much issue with the homosexuality that again played a large factor, except for how progressive the narrators seemed about it. I don't think anyone would have been so accepting 150 years ago. Not to say they would be hateful, but just more wary of it. It seemed the author was trying to inject modern views into the historical setting and it just stood out to me.

I did have issue with the main 'temptress' of this story and how once again she had blonde hair (some men do prefer brunettes!) and how every single man was so ridiculously captivated by her. I mean, come on! Ok, she's beautiful, but get over it. It got old real fast. And that *SPOILER* tryst with her and the Major? Does he have no respect for how Carswell felt? Sure, she is fair game (though not really), but he knew how deeply Carswell felt for her and he didn't even give that a passing thought. He could have at least felt a little guilty. Not to mention both the Major and her are married for goodness sakes - he never felt guilty about that, either! Ugh. Not easy to like these characters.

But even with all that, I will still probably give one more of these books a try and hope these are no longer factors. Because even with the flaws, I couldn't stop reading - and that says something about the writer's appeal!
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

LaoTsu
5.0 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
I think it’s another very interesting plot. And I like the main characters. They’re all quite believable. I definitely recommend it.
Report
LK
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Mystery
Reviewed in Canada on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
The second book in a series it does not disappoint. The plot is well developed and the central characters are becoming more deeply developed and understood. A very entertaining read, the story is compelling and satisfyingly complex.
Report
Alison10
4.0 out of 5 stars The second book in an early Victorian detective series.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is the second in a (currently) five book series. I read the first one quite some months ago, which I enjoyed very much. The gap before I got this one was purely so that I wouldn't finish all the books too quickly!

I was happy to be back in the world of Northminster, and with the characters I had got to know and like - Giles, Felix, Lord Rothborough, Sally Fforde, and her husband the Canon. The series is set in the very early years of the Victorian era - 1840 - and I don't think anything jarred. However, a final proof reading by someone with an eye for detail would have been advised. Missed or transposed words spoil an otherwise good book.

This story revolves around the arrival of an opera singer, Anna Morgan, to sing at Northminster's Festival of Handel's music. Not only does Mrs Morgan have a beautiful voice, but she has a charismatic personality, which draws men of all types and ages to her. There are two strands to the storyline. One is the arrival of anonymous letters, showering abuse and threats on Mrs Morgan. The other is the death of a young man, with a voice as lovely as his appearance, and who was also due to sing at the Festival. Are the crimes linked? Can Giles, with Felix's help, solve the murder and find the writer of the threatening letters before anyone else dies?

This is not a 'blood and gore' type of murder - and that is absolutely fine by me. But I did think that the method of death - strangulation - had been perhaps a little too sanitized for true belief. But I am now looking forward to the third in the series, and would happily recommend the first two.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Mitch McCrimmon
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing after the first in the series
Reviewed in Canada on September 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
OK, but not nearly as good as the first one. The plot seemed a bit contrived to me and the opera singer parts mainly a distracting filler from the main story. The doctor, a young man, can be expected to fall in love readily, but to make him out to be so immature, like a love-sick teenager, was over the top for me, especially to be so out of control, emotionally. The ease with which some of the characters get into bed with each other seemed a bit too 21st century to me as well. I got the impression that the author didn't spend as much time on this one as the Butchered Man, which I thought was excellent. This suspicion was reinforced by the numerous typos throughout the book. I didn't count them but there must be at least 30. As a result, I'm not sure I will buy any more in this series
Report
Kimmsie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this very much and read it all in one sitting. The characters a human, if that makes sense. They are perfect specimens of humanity, but have very real faults and weaknesses and I like them all the more for it. I shall certainly read more.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report