Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
Published in paperback by Manilla Press
Written by the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and influenced by the disappearance of five migrant domestic workers and two of their children, this is the story of Nisha who has moved to Cyprus in order to give her daughter a better future.
One day Nisha disappears and, just as was the case in real life, the authorities aren’t interested in finding her or, later, other women who vanished. Until, that is, a body is found by tourists.
While writing, the author visited Cyprus to speak to some of the domestic workers there and, just as Petra does in the book, she met the head of a human rights organisation aimed at caring for those workers.
This is a multi layered story: a story of migration and modern slavery, an exploration of the feelings of mothers separated from children, the unexpected and tragic effects of losing a husband and finding and losing love.
I’m not sure I could say I enjoyed it, but it was certainly a memorable story.
Note: there’s a lot of animal cruelty so not recommended for anyone who is squeamish or who loves animals (I had to skip quite a few pages).
