I loved Lefteri's first book, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, and have been looking forward to this one. Like Beekeeper, Lefteri uses her considerable writing talents to create a fictional narrative centered around a nonfiction injustice that exists in our world. Beekeeper focused on Syrian refugees trying to escape to England, while Songbirds is more specific. Through fiction it explores the real-life disappearance of domestic workers in Cyprus--workers who socially subjugated due to their status as migrants and domestic workers who have to work for pay--part of which goes to the employer.

Nisha left her home of Sri Lanka when her own daughter was two to work as a nanny for Petra, a wealthy widow living in Cyprus. Nisha's lover and Petra's upstairs tenant, Yiannis, is a man who, after being laid off, had to turn to poaching to make ends meet. Nisha uses his iPad to talk to her daughter in Sri Lanka and Petra has no clue her nanny and Yiannis are in a relationship. When Nisha disappears one night without her passport or other personal items, Petra and Yiannis become concerned. Nisha's disappearance sets Yiannis and Petra on paths of personal growth, while they try to find out what happened to her.

Through this search, the characters grow/change, with Petra especially (and through her, the reader) awakening to the subjugated lives of migrant domestic workers in Cyprus. Nisha leaves all she knows, including her own child, to work in Cyprus. She sends part of her pay home, but she also has to use some to pay back the employment agency for placing her in Petra's home. When Petra goes to the police about Nisha's disappearance, they're uninterested and do nothing to help . Flyers of Nisha are all over Cyprus but no one, aside from Petra, Yiannis, and other domestic workers, make an effort to find her.

Lefteri's prose is affecting, both emotionally and visually. The descriptions of the birds that Yiannis traps and the small details of the relationships between the main characters are presented delicately and beautifully. The echoes of real life that are presented here--the dismissiveness of police in regards to migrant workers, Petra's distanced relationship from her child, the horrific way some domestic workers are treated by their bosses--are devastating and may make the book too heavy for some readers. As well-written and engaging as the storylines and Lefteri's prose are, it's still a difficult subject and can, at times, be presented by Lefteri in a didactical sort of way. That doesn't mean the story shouldn't be told--it absolutely should--it just takes away from the theme of hope in the face of tragedy that runs through the novel.

Even with the heartbreaking subject matter and the occasional preachy tone, I really liked this book. Quiet yet powerful, it concurrently broadened my knowledge about other parts of the world and mended my broken heart with themes of hope and solace. I'm thankful that Lefteri brought eloquence, humanity, and grace to this tough story.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @BallantineBooks for a free eGalley in exchange for an honest review.