Chris Sweeney

reverse heist movie where a single snake has to chase all the priests back into ireland

So awesome to see The Feather Detective on this!

New books this week explore why shade is so important, the first bird detective, and more New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.

New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.

So fortunate to work with the Audubon editors from time to time. Check out this stunning piece on some fun artifacts I came across while researching The Feather Detective (out today, plz order a copy!)

Deadly collisions: how airports try (and fail) to keep birds out of plane engines Bird strikes cause fatal crashes and cost airlines money. Experts have tactics for chasing away these errant fowl

Deadly collisions: how airports try (and fail) to keep birds out of plane engines

Deadly collisions: how airports try (and fail) to keep birds out of plane engines Bird strikes cause fatal crashes and cost airlines money. Experts have tactics for chasing away these errant fowl

While reporting out my book on Roxie Laybourne, I spent some time shadowing the guy at Boston Logan whose job is to keep birds out of flight paths. Excited to see it in @theguardian.com today and still thinking about how much it must hurt to get bit by an otter www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

👇 Pre-order discount for The Feather Detective (thanks @theliteratelizard.bsky.social )! If you like narrative nonfiction, women in science, true crime and birds, give it a go. I don't think you'll be disappointed. #birds #books #nonfiction

Incredible to speak with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition @npr.org about Roxie Laybourne and The Feather Detective. Listen here: www.npr.org/2025/07/19/n...

The blurbing process is pretty painful for many authors, self included. But it also allowed me to reconnect with the great Amy Stewart. So grateful so took the time to do this Q&A with me: amystewart.substack.com/p/the-feathe... #books #birds

If you live in the Providence area and like cool shit, including crazy bird-related disasters and crimes, come to Riffraff book shop next Thursday. It’s gonna be fun!

'The Feather Detective' caught murderers, solved plane crashes Chris Sweeney's new novel is about Roxie Laybourne, a trailblazer in bird research, which led her to take part in feather forensics work for crime cases.

A fun & incredible review of The Feather Detective in @startribune.com !“Sweeney’s simple, elegant writing makes the technicalities of Laybourne’s work easy to understand and the sexism she dealt with infuriating.
It also captures what a vivid, contradictory character she was”

👀 I spy The Feather Detective 👀

Yes! The Feather Detective makes the cut. How freaking awesome.

The fine folks at Elle name The Feather Detective one of the best books of summer and give it a stylish review. Yessss! www.elle.com/culture/book...

Coming this summer, the first biography of Roxie Laybourne, who pioneered the field of forensic ornithology and forever changed our understanding of birds and the feathers they leave behind! Preorder here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

Gary England, Meteorologist Who Brought Doppler to Tornado Alley, Dies at 85 A popular meteorologist in Oklahoma, he had the science to save lives and the voice that people would listen to.

This is a terrific obit. "After an F5 tornado devastated parts of the region on May 3, 1999, there were survivors who painted the sides of their destroyed homes with messages like: “Thanks Gary England For Getting Us Out Alive.”
www.wsj.com/us-news/clim...

Mark Parrett struck by a bird, breaking his arm, ending his Isle of Man TT Mark Parrett had arm broken by bird strike in Superstock TT

Wow. Motorcycle racer strikes gull, breaks arm. Crazy! www.crash.net/rr/news/1072...

Virginia Hunter Gets 1 Day In Prison For Poisoning Bald Eagle, Beating Hawk: Feds A Virginia man who admitted to poisoning a bald eagle and brutally bludgeoning a trapped hawk with a pole was sentenced to just one day in prison, according to court records.William Custis Smith, of A...

How fucking cruel. “the camera captured horrifying footage: a red-tailed hawk landing on the trap and getting snagged in its metal jaws, prosecutors said. The bird writhed in pain for more than six hours before Smith showed up, grabbed a pole from his truck, and bludgeoned the hawk”

is it time to bust out my "bigfoot is bears" photo collection again? if your mental image of a bear is a thick-furred, fat glossy male bear in autumn, you're probably not prepared for how weird their proportions can look in spring, or when walking upright, like they frequently do.

Coming this summer, the first biography of Roxie Laybourne, who pioneered the field of forensic ornithology and forever changed our understanding of birds and the feathers they leave behind! Preorder here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

Bird strike: Stowaway pigeons on Delta flight cause mayhem and almost an hour’s delay They were probably just tired of flying without snacks, one passenger quipped. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

“Then the pilot got on the mic and confirmed a pigeon was on the plane, and said he had no experience with this situation,” www.straitstimes.com/world/united...

Book giveaway for The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris Sweeney May 09-May 24, 2025 Enter to win one of 10 free copies available. Giveaway dates from May 09-May 24, 2025. We're giving away TEN advance reader copies of THE FEATHER DETECTI...

Hey you! Good Reads is giving away 10 copies of "The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne." A few hours left to enter. @publisherswkly.bsky.social says it entrances and @npr.org
picked it a summer favorite. #books #birds goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

My book about Roxie Laybourne drops two months from today. If you’re interested in birds, disasters, true crime, tough women, and pioneering science, please preorder a copy of The Feather Detective here bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

a book with a chill tiger on the cover

the front page of the book Tigers Between Empires, with a large, blue tiger track stamped upon it

***GIVEAWAY*** This signed/stamped Advance Readers Copy of TIGERS BETWEEN EMPIRES, forthcoming Nov 2025 from @fsgbooks.bsky.social! Like=1 entry, Share=1 entry, Like + Share=2 entries. Will randomly select winner on Friday, May 23, 2025. US addresses only.
Preorder info: shorturl.at/OXr0Z
#booksky

17 new books our critics can't wait to read this summer We asked some of our trusted critics which upcoming books they are most looking forward to. Here are the fiction and nonfiction titles they picked.

Holy cow, unbelievable to see The Feather Detective make the cut! Thank you @npr.org. How freaking cool. www.npr.org/2025/05/21/n...

This snowy owl at @vinsnaturecenter.bsky.social is named
LaGuardia because it was rescued from the airport in 2014 after sustaining bad injuries from a “jet blast.” One lucky bird… Love VINS and the work it does. If ever in Vt, pop by and say 👋 to LaGuardia and the many other raptors in care

Pavos absolutely flexing in Medford, Mass.

The Ballad of U10: How One Mischievous Bird Taught Me to Love Gulls Even More After a chance beach encounter with a banded Herring Gull, cartoonist Rosemary Mosco dug deep into the surprisingly popular bird's life and adventures.

this is excellent, from @audubon.org

I don't write about this in The Feather Detective, but one day while hanging around the Smithsonian's Feather ID Lab, I noticed a book about Bong Joon Ho's "Snowpiercer." Seemed out of place but turns out Roxie Laybourne inspired the costume for Minister Mason, played by Tilda Swinton

Very grateful for such a positive review! If you’re into birds, true crime, history, aviation, and all types of bizarre calamities at which feathers turned up, consider learning more about the life & work of Roxie Laybourne by pre-ordering my book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...