Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer

5 stars

In this twisty eco-thriller, you’re left in the dark much of the time until what’s going on slowly gets revealed. By this point, your heart is pounding, and you’re fully enveloped in the precarious survival of the heroine, or make that possible anti-heroine and unreliable narrator, analyst who ditches her job, marriage, and daughter to unravel a deep mystery with innumerable dead bodies piling up in its wake. Where’s the line between passionate environmentalism and eco-terror, and who’s deciding? Sylvia, a daughter of a wealthy and nefarious Argentinian family, rejects the family business which includes the illegal sales of endangered species. Sylvia instead embarks on a mission to turn back the environmental damage to the Earth, which in this near future dystopian setting has set off radical climate change weather events and refugees from no longer inhabitable zones. But Sylvia has been killed in a hit-and-run and left behind with a coffee barista a taxidermy preserved endangered hummingbird with a cryptic note for the analyst, “Hummingbird Salamander.” Unraveling this mystery draws us into a world of shadowy killers, corrupt businessmen, a group trying to save the Earth from ruin, and ultimately the mystery of Sylvia herself. As long you’re up for some hard-core violence in this quest, it’s a wild ride with a big reveal ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.