A funny book that bird feeding enthusiasts will love!

A garden bird-feeding fanatic and his troubled wife ride the roller coaster of family relationships, while fending off a social media frenzy and an army of invading squirrels.

Marjorie Peckersley would prefer to be twenty-something again. Trouble is, she’s just turned 70, which cannot be remedied even by sitting in her garden fishpond. If only husband, Norman, had noticed that she was slowly losing the plot, while their wider family relationships fall into ruins.

But he’s too busy caring for his pride and joy – Peckersley’s Bird Café.

When some local animal lovers start rescuing distressed squirrels from a nearby MOD research facility, Norman learns one important truth. Squirrels love both peanuts and bird food in general. The bird café faces wipe-out.

Trouble is, squirrels are very cute and capable of getting the whole world of social media on their side. Norman is very grumpy and in danger of becoming the internet’s #EvilGrandad.

Marjorie is very confused, but hopes her husband can come through. In the meantime, she realises she can take steps to rescue herself.

So why not take a slightly bonkers a ride to Nowtmuch village with the Peckersley’s? Norman and Marjorie – together with a supporting cast of ever-hungry garden birds and squirrels – will be so pleased to meet you there!

Comedy book for our times.

This book from the author of Gavin and the Bodysnatchers is about birds. And squirrels. Bird enthusiast Norman Peckersley takes pride in his elaborate bird-feeding operation, which he touts as Peckersley’s Bird Café (hence the title). When red squirrels appear and begin to steal the nuts and seeds that Norman sets out for the birds, he declares war. But these are no ordinary squirrels. They’re a group that a Ministry of Defence research center has mysteriously “modified” and that are smarter, stronger, and more aggressive than your average squirrel.

Despite his good intentions, Norman manages to bumble into a series of comical situations, often with the help of his somewhat dim-witted neighbor, Barry. Their antics and those of their wives, Marjorie and Orla, are funny, eliciting many a chuckle and the occasional guffaw. These multiple misadventures are tied up with neat little bows in the final pages, providing a feel-good ending.

My problem with Peckersley’s Bird Café was that some of its situations were so over-the-top that I had difficulty suspending disbelief. For example, an army of red squirrels engaging in a coordinated attack may be humourous enough, but it’s also more than a little unrealistic. Other situations are similarly outlandish, but I won’t give spoilers and will let you discover them yourself.

Peckersley’s Bird Café, while not the gripping page-turner I expected, did manage to hold my interest once the various themes started to come together. The book, with its off-the-wall humor, is a decent read that can certainly entertain those who can appreciate its unique brand of comedy.

Born in the North West of England, Michael A. Duffy’s formative years were shaped by the cobbled streets and colourful characters of a declining Lancashire Mill town. When he became old enough he escaped off to Merseyside to watch his favourite footy team, Liverpool FC. Then he became a student in Manchester in the late Seventies, becoming heavily involved in the indie music scene, playing in bands and writing for both national and local music magazines.

Once his head had been turned by the bright lights of both Liverpool & Manchester, he reckons that he could never return to his dreary though charming Cotton Town roots. So he then moved to and fro between these two far more exciting Northern cities, embarking on a glamorous working life. Well not particularly glamorous, but he did have a few jobs anyway. Varied stuff like English teaching, commercial management and then marketing, each work-life chapter claiming to result in varying degrees of enjoyment and success.

So, as he observed life in both Lancashire and Merseyside, he eventually assembled the mosaic fragments of characters he shamelessly stole for the basis of his three novels, ‘Sixth Beatle’, ‘Gavin & The Bodysnatchers’ – plus latest offering, ‘Peckersley’s Bird Café’.

He now lives on Merseyside with his wife, Sue, occasionally visited by their grown up kids – none of whom wish to listen to Michael’s later life singer-songwriting efforts, nor indeed hear him wax lyrical about his next novel idea, the one that’s sure to be the Next Big Thing!.