The Cowbird's Song

About this book

In "The Cowbird's Song," award winning author Joe Markko draws you into 1795 England where a small society of Methodists known as the Shiloh Covenant board the good ship Aurora with hymnbook courage and a covenant stitched tight as sailcloth.From that bold beginning rises Shiloh Mills, a town carved into the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Across generations, its people mark life by the rhythm of devotion-river baptisms, candlelit weddings, weathered funerals and the hard, holy labor of those who believe God is present in the ordinary work of human hands.But every sanctuary has a shadow.A single heart, quietly unmoored, nurtures a monstrous religious delusion, hiding it behind Scripture. When the righteous begin to call evil good, devotion becomes camouflage, trust becomes a weapon, and innocence becomes prey. In this sweeping blend of historical fiction, suspense and young adult intensity, one secret threatens to rot the very covenant that built an entire town.The Firebird Book Award for New Adult Fiction (April 2026) Literary Titan Book Award for Historical Fiction (May 2026) Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Novels (May 2026