32 new this week · 3,571 honest reviews · 203 author interviews · 200K+ readersAboutWrite for usContact
Home / New releases / December 2026 / When the Birds Don’t Sing: A Novel
When the Birds Don’t Sing: A Novel by Imran Mahmood book coverOut in 46 days
Thriller

When the Birds Don’t Sing: A Novel

by Imran Mahmood

DEC1Tue
Publishes Tuesday 1 December 2026Hardcover · Bantam · 496 pagesSee everything out in December 2026 →
Pre-order on Amazon ↗

As an Amazon Associate, The Bookish Elf earns from qualifying purchases.

About the book

From the publisher

One man finally decides to out the truth of a festering, decades-long secret in this compelling dual-timeline novel that is equal parts revenge thriller and gripping coming-of-age story, from the acclaimed author of Finding Sophie.

He loved her from the day he met her. And now, he must find justice for the ones who killed her.

Caleb Silver—lovingly referred to as Silver—was never as warm, loving, or empathetic as his two best friends Honey Childs and Malaika Khan. And not nearly as brave. But when a fire breaks out at their middle school, it’s Silver who brings his fellow classmates to safety. Except the individual responsible used Silver’s lighter to cause the incident. And as they barrel towards a nasty court case, it becomes clear Honey knows more than she’s let on.

Decades later, Silver is living in London as a mycology professor. His wife has just died. Everything seems to link back to that day in the halls, when he let a bully take his lighter. As the net tightens, Silver must confront his past in a quest for truth—and vengeance—unearthing shattering secrets that may destroy them all . . .

This haunting, sweeping tale is about accountability, the cost of silence, the devotion of true love, and the courage it takes to find beauty in even the most challenging times.

Description supplied by the publisher.

✎
Not reviewed yet

We haven’t read When the Birds Don’t Sing: A Novel yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.

Out the same day

Also publishing 1 December

More Literary

More literary out in December