Exotic Birds

by Jessica Eppley, James Irvine (Illustrator), Virginia Irvine (Editor)

It is 2005. The multi-billion dollar company, Whittmeyer Industries, is under threat of bankruptcy. The CEO and founder, Harry Whittmeyer, has been mysteriously murdered. His daughter and successor, Megan Whittmeyer, is kidnapped soon after.Megan’s only hope for rescue rests on the shoulders of her smart-mouth slacker of a brother, Jack, the disowned son of the Whittmeyer legacy. His three, equally displaced friends have found themselves reluctantly along for the ride. Under the constant watch of an unknown enemy simply identifying as ‘The X’, the foursome must travel to Ecuador, trek through the Amazonian rainforest, and face the kidnappers head on. Assuming they don't kill each other first.

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2018

Reviews

[Gini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book multiple times, and it doesn't get old. The characters are loveable, and the story is engaging. The book is funny and full of adventure. There's just the right amount of humor sprinkled amongst the drama. The dialogue is of an adult nature at times. I would not recommend Exotic Birds for children, but I would encourage my friends to pick up a copy.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a lot of fun to read--very fast-paced and suspenseful. The characters are quirky--as exotic birds often are--and each has his or her own set of personal issues. Still, when faced with the kidnapping and possible murder of one, they all manage to band together and flock to the rescue. Eppley has a series of fantasy books which are quite suspenseful, too (Books of Siavon series), so I think she carries that plotting off very well. I understand that there is a sequel to EB and I look forward to it.

[Penny L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read the authors Ruby Child Siavon series and loved it ,I really enjoyed the fantasy and imagination,however I wanted to read something different and it is this different ,if you like adventure you are in for a treat the characters are very real you will hate some and love some ,I became so involved in the story. I actually cried during some of it you to will become attached to the characters ,the
Language is a bit salty so adult only, I can’t wait for the sequel , I can totally see this as a movie

[Melony Kearns · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action packed fun read!

[Kevin Coolidge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exotic Birds is a fun, fast read. The characters are eccentric and the dialogue is good.

[Mike Kazmierczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I don't remember why it ended up on my To Be Read list. Somewhere I read a blog or a review or heard a podcast where they talked about the book and it struck me enough to put it on my list. Judging by the other books that Eppley has listed on Amazon, it appears that she is writes more fantasy than horror. EXOTIC BIRDS doesn't really qualify as either genre; it's more of a suspense or mystery.

Harry Whittmeyer is the CEO and founder of Whittmeyer Industries, a billion dollar company. Harry's daughter Megan is the heir-apparent while his son Jack is a big flake. When Harry gets killed and Megan kidnapped, it's up to Jack and his three friends to rescue Megan.

One of the things that I liked about this book was that Eppley gave a lot of time at the beginning to establish the characters. Each of them pretty much got a chapter to help establish their presence in the story. She was going maybe a little long in the character development before she got into some of the action. However, that was OK because I liked what I was reading. It was interesting and fun and even whimsical at times. The discovery of the bad guy at the end wasn't really a surprise; the pieces all pretty much pointed to that one character. I don't think that Eppley was going for a surprise reveal but instead a fun book. Now, there were a few things that threw me off at times. The mess of Jack's apartment and the cockroaches was over the top; I get that he is a messy guy but anyone who hates cockroaches that much would understand that an occasional cleaning would avoid the bulk of them. On a different off-kilter note, Megan is being groomed to take over the company but she's still punching a time clock? And handling customer complaints over a case of pencils? More than anything, that struck me as Eppley not understanding the difference between hourly and salary employees. Not a big problem but enough to pull me out of the story. I did find the story to be fun and quite an enjoyment.

[William Waltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to love about a mystery, especially one you simply can't put down. I'm not the biggest fan of mysteries usually (I can guess the plot fairly easily I'm afraid). With this book though, I couldn't guess what was going to happen next, which left me aching for more, until the very end. I can't commend the author enough for that, she has done one heck of a good job here. I highly recommend everyone give this book, and author a chance, if you haven't already.

[Noelle DeMauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I found it so hard to put it down once I started reading it!!

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it!

I couldn't put this book down! Jess is a very talented author. I highly recommend reading it. You won't be disappointed!

[Dianne Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting in their connection to each other. I never knew what was going to happen next or how the story would end.

[Steven Styles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring birds are lame.