SONGBIRDS

Christy Lefteri (Allen & Unwin, $29.99) Yiannis is a poacher, trapping songbirds that stop in Cyprus. He dreams of finding a new way of life, and of marrying Nisha. When Nisha disappears, Yiannis is convinced he is responsible, paralysed by heartbreak and fear. When Aliki, the child Nisha was looking after, insists they find Nisha, her own mother, Petra, begins to see Nisha hasn’t just run away – and no one else will bother to look for her.