Black, Black Bird: A Novel

Summary

“A gothic with real teeth.” – Cebo Campbell, New York Times bestselling author of Sky Full of Elephants

A twisting seductive gothic debut in which a young nurse's ambition draws her into a world of vanishing children, unspeakable horrors, and dangerous desire—at a harrowing price.

New York, 1867. When convent girl Brenda Hunt is hired as a nurse at the Colored Orphan Asylum, she believes her life is finally beginning. She assists Dr. John Webb, the only Black physician in town, and dares to envision a future shaped by her ambition. But as kidnappings of Black New Yorkers rise and whispers spread of birds terrorizing the streets, Brenda realizes that peril lurks not only beyond but within the asylum walls.

Drawn into Dr. Webb’s experiments, Brenda finds herself torn between her duty to the orphans, her growing feelings for her employer, and the arrival of Barnes, a sharp-eyed outsider, fracturing her certainty even more. As children begin to disappear, Brenda must decide how far she is willing to go and what she is willing to sacrifice to protect those in her care.