Former prosecutor Timothy Burke recounts the separate tragedies that entwine three very different women in his true-crime drama The Bird's Song. Taking place amid the racially tense backdrop of 1980s Boston, these tragic cases weave together to form a tale of lost justice, faith, love, and redemption. Three women come together after each experiencing unspeakable horror: the rape victim whose rapist has eluded capture, the widow whose husband was brutally murdered by a drug dealer who is later acquitted, and the mother whose young son dies inexplicably at a Boston hospital. All three are forced to adjust to a radically new life, each one relying on Burke as their lawyer and case advocate in order to bring them some measure of justice. As these women's stories slowly unfold, however, it becomes clear to the reader that it is Burke himself whose life is forever changed. With the author's assured hand and detailed prose, each woman's tumultuous journey from unbearable loss to the tentative reemergence of faith in both their lives and in the justice system comes to life. Centered on the story of Ruth, an African American single mother, The Bird's Song chronicles not only these women's strength, but also Burke's own struggle to find humanity within a violent and often inscrutable world. Alternately dark and uplifting, Burke's latest drama is a carefully crafted tale that unflinchingly reveals the cruel and brutal nature of violent crimes in one of the United States' most celebrated cities. As the author struggles with his faith in God amid the horrific crimes he handles on a daily basis, Burke learns from those who have been wounded the most that nothing in life is random and that faith, love, and justice can ultimately prevail. As he did in his previous book, The Paradiso Files: Boston's Unknown Serial Killer, Burke masterfully blends high tension courtroom drama with the perseverance of the human spirit. The Bird's Song is a provocative glimpse into the emotional ravages that violence and loss leave behind. "There was a soft murmur of anticipation within the crowded courtroom as the spectators watched the solitary figure seated at the prosecution table. Surrounded by scores of people, he was never more alone. In many ways his life reflected the loneliness he felt at that very moment. He welcomed the finality of the case that had changed his life. Strangely, in that moment Burke thought of the mother blackbird from the dreams of his past and at the same time, the sheets on the children's beds. Brightly colored, they were Mickey Mouse prints with the happy Disney character welcoming the sleepy children into his open arms. The happy mouse with the four-fingered, white-gloved hands smiled at him, waving blindly from within the photographs taken of the children's blood-soaked beds."
Timothy Burke successfully prosecuted more than twenty-five murder cases and more than fifty major felonies while assigned to the Homicide Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, including heading an investigation into the criminal actions of mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, recently convicted and removed from number two on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Burke's prosecution of Massachusetts serial killer, Leonard "The Quahog" Paradiso is recounted brilliantly in Burke's first book, The Paradiso Files. Currently in private practice, Burke is legal counsel to more than twenty Massachusetts law enforcement agencies and maintains his active law practice in suburban Boston.
