Donna Andrews books in the Lanslow family series are some of my favorites. I love Meg’s wacky relatives and the Caerphilly residents. Somehow Meg manages to get things in order. This time it was settling problems with a group of newcomers including one of them being murder victim. Side plots of a disappeared bee keeper and a “not so honest” magazine writer keep things lively. I can’t wait for the next installment.

Donna Andrews brings the Langslow family back in Birder She Wrote which is the 33rd installment of her Meg Lanslow Mystery series. In this book, Meg is tasked by Mayor Shiffley to intervene in a dispute between a group of newcomers to Caerphilly and the neighboring long-time farmers. Adding to the tensions, Meg’s grandmother is being interviewed for a profile in a Southern ladies magazine but asks Meg to accompany her and Deacon Washington in a search for a long-lost African-American cemetery. Unfortunately during the course of the search for the cemetery, the group happens across the body of one of the newcomers who has obviously been murdered and one of the neighboring farmers has disappeared leading him to become an initial suspect in the case.

As with the earlier installments of this series, the author has woven an intricate tale that incorporates numerous individuals from the community and the protagonist’s family. Through creative storytelling, the author also introduces her readers to the intricate details of what can occur when people who have lived in an urban area their entire lives move to an area where there are working farms and the accompanying inherent activities. Within this story, the author also throws numerous twists into the situations that the characters find themselves in leading the reader down one path to prospective motives and culprits just to switch it up to a totally surprising conclusion in the end.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and am leaving this review voluntarily.

For fans of Meg Langslow mysteries, this addition to the series will provide the same entertainment and mysterious happenings as the previous ones. Fans will feel like part of the family as the novel features characters from previous novels, such as Grandfather (zoologist and wildlife expert), Dad (physician and wildlife lover), Meg (blacksmith sleuth), and her husband and sons. Readers new to the series will be able to jump right in and get cozy, as the author has honed her craft well and does a fine job of introducing the characters and setting quickly.

In this novel, Meg and friends become involved with snobby neighbors, bee keepers, and a magazine reporter, as they assist local law enforcement in solving crimes of blackmail and murder! To me the quirky characters are the best parts of the novels, although readers can learn a lot about wildlife and nature as they read these novels. The characters have matured along with the series and this adds to the realism of these cozy novels.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Donna Andrews is one of my favorite authors. Her new book Birder, She Wrote is so enjoyable. Happy reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

This is book 33 in the Meg Langslow series. It has certainly changed over the years and I love that the book is relevant in today's world. The NIMBY's are complaining about the neighboring farm's bee hives. Meg has become the go between between the long time residents of Caerphilly and the newcomers who have built their mega homes . I learned a lot about the bee and hummingbird population while enjoying a good cozy mystery. All your favorite characters are back. You can enjoy this book as a stand alone but Meg and her crazy family are fun in all the books.

Donna Andrews involves Meg Langslow in another neighbourhood controversy ending in murder in Birder She Wrote. Meg is supposed to placate the NIMBY's who are wealthy homeowners next to farmers who have bees, goats etc and who want the farmers to get rid of the animals. As she embarks on that she discovers a neigbour farmer has had his bees killed. When Meg and others seek out an African American graveyard and fall over one of the worst NIMBYs, who was murdered. Between a suspect journalist who is interviewing her grandmother and the other NIMBYs never a dull moment. Follow the circus of suspects.

This is the 33rd book in the Meg Winslow series. While I enjoyed the book, it was at times very predictable like most cozy mysteries. It’s also still very unbelievable that a woman in her 40’s would be as unfamiliar with technology as Meg seems to be. The plot points about the bees were entertaining and the reporter was quite the interesting character. Overall, 3.5🌟

Birder, She Wrote is #33 of the Meg Langslow series
Okay, how cute is that title! I can honestly say I wanted to immediately read this book based just on the title alone.
And I'm so glad I did read it because it was a great, fun, cozy little mystery! Definitely recommending this series!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Meg has a relaxing day planned…until it is spoiled and spoiled again! She is asked by her dad to help with setting up his new bee hives. She thinks this is going to be the extent of her helpfulness. But, low and behold a dead body turns up and this sends everyone into everyone else’s business.

Well, I am in the minority on this book. This story, as with most cozy mysteries, is very predictable. I anticipated every scene. And the part about the bees…just went on and on.

Ok, now that my rant is over about what I didn’t like. Let’s talk about what I liked. I did enjoy the characters, especially Meg and her father. These two have some really cute conversations which had me smiling!

I also enjoyed the tale surrounding the reporter. There are quite a few story lines moving along in this novel. But the reporter is the best part of the whole book…she really is a piece of work!

Need a quick book for a road trip…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Birder, She Wrote is a cozy neighborhood mystery that will keep you on your toes. I thought Donna Andrews did a great job at weaving together storylines that felt fresh and engaging. Using bees as a plot device was fun and I enjoyed the ending.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

I enjoyed this new addition to one of my favorite mystery series. The mystery was good. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the bee and hummingbird bits that surrounded the core mystery. There's not a lot of Meg's over-the-top extended family in this one which made for a nice little break. (I do enjoy them, but I also enjoy a more focused story with mostly just the core characters.) There are some great community characters in this one. Overall the story was fun and I enjoyed spending time with Meg and the usual crew.

Caerphilly, Virginia Is a community small enough for everyone to know everyone. When nobody’s seen wildlife photographer Edgar Bortnick for a couple of days, his neighbors start to worry. Meg’s father, Dr. James Langslow, is especially concerned because Edgar is a veteran beekeeper. Neighboring farmer Isaac Washington takes Meg; her grandmother; reporter Britni Colleton; deputy Horace Hollingsworth; and some cadaver dogs (pomerians) on a search for the Washington family’s lost African American graveyard, they find a new corpse. But the victim, shot in the forehead, isn’t Edgar Bortnick; it’s Walter Inman, a retired D.C. businessman widely known as Wally the Weird because of his NIMBY (not in my backyard) is rants which included ranting against Edgar’s bees. Edgar does turn up alive but had fallen ending up with a broken leg so he couldn’t walk back home. Edger is found even though cell service is not available in the woods so he kept hoping someone would find him. Edgar finds that all his bees have been terminated by insect spray. Britni is a reporter that has been following Cordelia because she is doing an article for a magazine. Britni has not been very happy trudging along with Cordelia as she thinks Cordelia is boring. Cordelia doesn’t care for Britni either. Britni claims headaches when she doesn’t want to go with Cordelia’s boring life that might include mud or ridiculous conversations at meetings Cordelia is involved in.

The author has written a mystery novel that gave me chuckles and made me curious about events that happened. It will include blackmail, family skeletons, and about the hummingbirds and the bees.. I enjoy the author series but haven’t read her for quite a while. I think that this novel had more murders

Thus is the 33rd in the Meg Langslow Mystery series.

Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, has given permission to have a reporter follow her around. This reporter will be writing a feature article for an almost unknown magazine. Cordelia is already regretting her decision. The reporter doesn't like the type of things that Cordelia does in her daily life. She prefers to interview women that decorate their homes and give dinner parties.

Cordelia starts the day observing her son, Meg's father install a new beehive in Meg's backyard. After that excitement is over, Cordelia, Meg, Deacon Washington
and the reporter go in search for a long-lost African-American cemetery. Just as they think they have found remnants of this historical cemetery, they come across a fresh dead body.

The dead man is one of the NIMBY's (not in my backyard). The NIMBY's live in McMansions located near the farms and always complain.

Meg, along with her family and friends, sets out to find the killer and identify the person who is poisoning local bees.

As always, a great read!
#BirderSheWrote

Another great one in the series. A great amount of characters/ suspects and mystery. Looking forward to the next in the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Thanks to SMP and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a longtime fan of this series, but even I had to admit that the last few books have been a little stale, maybe a little too twee? Honestly, I can get that from any old cozy, so I'm happy to say that this instalment has a bit more edge. Meg is back!

In this story, there has been an issue with the denizens of the McMansions built not too far from long standing farms in Caerphilly. The owners of these homes have a tendency to complain about, well, everything really, and especially things that are just normal part of life in a small farming town (manure, for example, or bees from a neighbor's hives coming into one's yard to forage). Meg, lucky woman, is tapped by Mayor Shiffley to try to deal with these folks, and she's just about to do so when one of them turns up dead while Meg, Horace, Deacon Washington, Grandmother, and an annoying "journalist" profiling Grandmother are out searching for a lost Black cemetery.

Andrews does a good job of weaving in good environmental stewardship through the story without being weird about it, and she seems to be pulling back on some of the wackier regular characters (thank god). I'm hoping she keeps going with the solid plots and relies less on Rose Noire and Co. in future books.

I always love all the books in the Meg Langslow series! So many quirky characters to love, along with the assorted shenanigans. There were just enough red herrings in this story to keep me guessing on who the murderer might be. In addition, I feel like I always learn things as I'm reading these books. In this case, I learned a lot about beekeeping. Can't wait for the next book!

Meg's grandmother Cordelia is being profiled by a Southern magazine, but she is not the reporter's typical subject. Instead of wanting to visit the fancy restaurants, Cordelia rather traipse into the woods looking for an unmarked slave graveyard. Meg tags along with the group going into the woods which includes cadaver dogs in training. The dogs though find more than century-old graves - they discover a much more recent corpse. With a friend, who could either be the prime suspect or another victim, is missing Meg knows she has to pitch in to find the true murderer.

I discovered this series when I read the Christmas installment last year. I enjoyed Dashing Through the Snowbirds and added the series to my wishlist at the library so I can remember to pick up earlier books in the series when I have the time. I was happy to accept Birder, She Wrote when asked to review it.

Christmas cozy mysteries are supposed to be fun and festive but they don't always read the same way as a regular book in the series. I felt a little lost as to who everyone was. Well, I didn't feel that way with Birder, She Wrote. It was a delightful read and makes me want to read the backlist even more. I got to know the characters more in this book and I really liked them.

I like that Meg is an older protagonist. She has school-age boys and an extended family. I also like that she gets along well with the local law enforcement. There is a mutual respect that sometimes you don't get in a cozy mystery.

I love the little country town with its bee hives, livestock, and herb gardens. We don't get to see a lot of the town itself, but the surrounding farms sound like somewhere I would love to live.

I love that there are so many books to read as it is such a fun read. This is book 33 and it can totally be read as a stand-alone novel.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/08/birder-she-wrote-by-donna-andrews-review.html

If you enjoyed Murder She Wrote (I’m dating myself) and you like birdwatching and bees, this is your cozy.
As cute as this was, there is a lot of information both about beekeeping and about birds. I did catch myself looking up what a few of the birds that were the highest points in the birding contest.
I did think this was a little slow at times. It is a long-running series so I may go back and see what the flow of the reading is at the beginning. It’s even possible that had I known the characters a little better, I might have felt it moved better.
I will say this, from the picture the author gave me of the characters in the town, I bet this would make a good tv series.

Cozy mysteries are perhaps my favorite genre to read and I always jump at the chance to try a new series. Meg is the leading character and I instantly took a liking to her. In this book she is surrounded with bees, hummingbirds, a nosy reporter, a missing neighbor, a murder victim and a blackmail scheme-woo! Lots of twists and turns had me turning the pages to see how the craziness played out. I loved the quirky characters and the conflict between the "country" living folks and the NIMBYs. I read this is a standalone but plan on "catching up" in the series- although 32 books is a lot! I highly recommend spending a leisurely afternoon curled up in a hammock reading this entertaining mystery- hopefully you'll have a more relaxing time then Meg! Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress @minotaur_books for the ARC. My review is voluntary and
the opinions expressed are my own.

This was my first read from author Donna Andrews, but it won’t be my last! Her newest Meg Langslow series book, “Birder, She Wrote” is the thirty-third in this series! Now I NEED to go back and read the others. Thankfully, this book can be read as a stand-alone. That said, I feel like I would have been better acquainted with some of the character mentions if I had been familiar with the series, but that’s on me, not the author.
While searching for a lost cemetery, they stumble across not only the target of their search, but a dead body! But blacksmith and amateur sleuth Meg is on the case.
I love cozy mysteries….the settings, the quirky characters and the humor! Birder, She Wrote fulfills all of that. Can’t wait to read the rest!
I received a complimentary copy of this book but my opinion is entirely my own.