As I expect from this series there is a lot of chaos going on. The Pomeranians are up to mischief and are now doing scent work. Some are better at search and rescue and others are showing promise in cadaver work. Both are useful in this book. There is also a new group called the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) who are creating headaches and possibly up to no good. I think anyone who lives in a smallish area that people are suddenly moving to can relate to Meg and the Police Chief's (and pretty much everyone else's) eye rolling about the NIMBY's complaints.

The body shows up fairly early in the book but it felt like it took the investigation to really get going. While I always enjoy seeing what Meg and the rest of her family and friends are up to it felt like it had a bit of a slow start. This is a series where I enjoy seeing the characters - especially Meg's parents - as much as reading about the actual murder.

If you are new to this series I don't think you'll love it but if you are a regular reader - even if you haven't read them all because I certainly haven't- you will enjoy the latest Langslow hijinks.

As always, Ms. Andrews does not disappoint! Meg Langslow is a sleuth who always finds herself embroiled in an exciting mystery!

Meg is hoping for a relaxing time sitting in her hammock, watching the hummingbirds. However, very quickly, this quiet time disappears. Her grandmother, Cordelia, is being interviewed by a reporter for a magazine, but Meg senses something else is going on with this situation. On the same day, she needs to help her dad and brother with a beehive, trek into the words to help Deacon Washington with finding an old African American cemetery, and she finds a dead body!

The story moves at a fast pace, complete with additional family and friends stepping in to assist, a multitude of Pomeranians and other dogs, as well as more bees. Ms. Andrews always does an excellent job at researching the birds and other animals in the story. While you can read this as a stand-alone novel, I recommend checking out the other books in the series, as Meg and her family always promise an enjoyable time.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press, Minotaur, and Netgalley. I also bought the book for my own library as well.

Read it by yourself because you’ll laugh out loud…

Some mysteries draw you in with the depth of their plot, and others with the intensity of their action. Books in Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series, on the other hand, have good plots and plenty of action, but mostly pull you along because you can’t wait to see what outrageous – and hilarious - thing is going to happen next. And Birder, She Wrote is no exception. Whether it’s learning that “hummingbird bullies” are really a thing, or being amazed – and a bit apprehensive – at Meg’s father’s insouciant attitude towards the bees he’s keeping, or trying to imagine the kind of articles that would appear in a magazine called “Sweet Tea and Sassafras”, there’s plenty of humor to go around.

There’s also a bit of seriousness, though, as Meg helps out in a search for a long-lost Black cemetery – not an easy place to find when the gravestones probably wouldn’t have been anything formal, and would have instead been just now-decayed wood or at best a pile of fieldstones. And when the group does find the cemetery, unfortunately, there’s a much more recent body to be found too – the body of one of the least liked of the McMansion newcomers to Caerphilly. So there are lots of suspects, and along with the humor, Andrews is also a master at dragging red herrings under readers’ noses! In the end, though, of course, Meg and her crew manage to figure things out, and there’s a nice little twist for good measure.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of the series that I have to read by myself, since I never know when I’m going to end up laughing out loud, and that was definitely true of Birder She Wrote. But although it’s the 33rd in the series, the author does a nice job of filling in the essential backstory, so I think this could easily be read as a stand-alone – and you’d still get probably 95% or more of the jokes. So if you want a fun and funny cozy mystery, Birder, She Wrote is for you. And finally, my thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews is a cozy mystery set in a small town in Virginia and featured Meg Laslow. Meg is a wife and mother and works part-time for the city of Caerphilly, mostly, it seemed like, trying to calm people who were upset abut one thing or another. She tended to her hummingbird feeders and was generally available to people who needed her. One day she agreed to help try to find an old cemetery out in the sticks. It was a black cemetery so the chance of finding any markers was almost nil. She drug along her grandmother and that silly woman who was to write a profile on her grandmother for Sweet Tea and Sassafras, Britni, who was the picture of boredom most of the time, especially was she was interviewing her subject. They found the cemetery but also another body. This was a newer one, one of the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard), a group of folks who had built McMansions right in the middle of farm land and then complained. Well, wasn’t that interesting. It turns out this was also the place many drug deals, mostly from the neighboring county, took place, also.

It was a complicated story, mostly with the trivia of daily life amongst the characters, natives, and NIMBYs, both. Edgar, one of the farmers, was missing, too. His bee hives had all been poisoned. They had been the bane of the NIMBYs existence. Was it related? They tackled several problems at once: the murder, the bee hives, finding Edgar, and sending Britni home. She was turning out to be nothing more than a huge bore and her magazine was tripe. Meg was peripherally involved with all of it, often doing no more than observing and listening. Some of the characters where intriguing, many were not. The mystery was decent, but there might have been too may characters. This is the first of the series I have read so I probably would have gotten to know more of them if I had read earlier books. It was an entertaining enough read, but nothing spectacular. But, what a great title!

Bernadette Dunn was the performer for the audiobook and she turned me off from the beginning. She sounded too old to be Meg, for one. Also, she created odd voices for some of the characters, which always turns me off. The book was better in written form than in audio.

I was invited to listen to a free audio of Birder She Wrote by MacMillan Audio and a free e-ARC by St Martin’s Press, both through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #MacMillanAudio #StMartinsPress #DonnaAndrews #BernadetteDunn #BirderSheWrote

I love when a new Meg Lanslow book arrives. I know I have a nice long visit with one of my favorite amateur sleuths and her family to look forward to reading. This book was wonderful as always. Like a visit with old friends! Although this is book number 33 in the series, it would be fine as a standalone too.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

All Meg wants is to spend an hour in the hammock with a good book, but, as usual, the world has other plans for her. We go along for quite the ride as she learns about hummingbird bully control, beekeeping, and transplanted city-folk management while trying to figure out which of all the reasons someone might find to dispense with the life of a cranky complainer will lead her to the right suspect. Replete with humor and chaos, Birder, She Wrote is the 33rd of one of the best humorous mystery series out there. While you could read this book as a stand-alone, I strongly suggest starting from the beginning so that you can appreciate the various relationships and roles of the people in Meg’s life.


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this exemplary cozy mystery.

Welcome to Meg’s world where there is a bully hummingbird and beehives that have been contaminated in the neighborhood. A fast read with so much humor with so many angles that one realizes why Meg is never without her notebook which guides her through the day. Her tranquil (never) life involves the local farming community and a newer community living nearby: the NIMBYs who don’t like the smells and noise created by farm life. Particularly engaging is this story is the hints for dealing with the hummingbirds and bees while still assisting the sheriff with a murder and drug problem while trying to locate an old cemetery. Pure Langslow life in the neighborhood. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC; the review is my honest opinion.

There is nothing inherently wrong with it. There's nothing particularly outstanding about it either so even with lots of things going on, it's boring.
Meg has her hand in many, many different pies and spends her days running around helping people in her community and her family. It's a busy life and one she enjoys. Until she's on an expedition with friends and family and finds one of the most ornery members of her community murdered. She tries to stay out of the murder investigation while things with her family and friends keep pulling her back in as she makes one discovery after another.
I really wanted to like this one because the individual pieces are interesting and there really is a lot going on plotwise and with the characters, but it feels overfilled with activities and details and what feels like a forced love for small farming towns. It never managed to make me care so much for the characters that I didn't mind that the big plot points were familiar and obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the early read!

This was an engaging cozy mystery in the wildly popular series starring Meg Lanslow. This is the 33rd book in this series. Meg has a good investigative nose and often helps solve mysteries. There is a clever cast of witty characters that you will love. This mystery had it all including a murder, a missing neighbor, drugs, destruction of property and my favorite the NIMBY's (not in my backyard). These are city folks who decided to move to the country and then complain about things that go on in the country - smells, bees, animal noises, etc. - you get the picture.

It was interesting to read about bees and plant life, There is a thread of humor as well that will keep you smiling as you try to solve the mystery.

If you enjoy a fun cozy mystery with a wonderful cast of characters as well as a well written mystery, you will enjoy this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As always a good quick read. I enjoy these mysteries as I find them to be a great escape. I've read a couple in this series and find that you can pick them up in any order and still enjoy them. The mystery in this one was good and was full of quirky characters. The story moves quickly. I like the main character and her family. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A delightful addition to a charming series. Bees, hummingbirds, boys, and murder. Some interesting technology, too. It kept me guessing and smiling. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Funny little who done it mystery. When the neighborhood weirdo is found shot to death Meg runs into all sorts of characters and conclusions as she tries to figure out who the murderer is. This is part of a series, but it definitely stands alone.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews in exchange for an honest review. It publishes August 1, 2023.
Once again, Donna Andrews brings a fun mystery to the table! I really did not see the killer coming, I was thrown off so many times, just the way I like it. I loved learning about bees in this story, and as always, cannot wait for the next installment! Also, any cozy mystery lover would love this as a gift! I know my mom will love these books when I get them for her for Christmas!

#33 in the Meg Langslow series but easily read as a stand-alone, this cozy mystery launches with the discovery of a fresh dead body above ground as Meg, her grandmother Cordelia, a writer from a fluffy magazine writing a feature on Cordelia, a couple locals, and a small pack of Pomeranian tracking dogs set out to find an historic "lost" cemetery in the woods. The victim turns out to be a local nuisance, which means there are many people who may have wanted him dead. Meg and her extended family are a wonderful and diverse set of characters, and Andrews really knows how to set a scene with her descriptive writing. You may think you've figured out who the killer is, but it's hard to be sure since Andrews presents reasonable red herrings.

I really enjoy this series . The mystery kept me guessing . I do miss some of the characters , but I realize the series has gone on a long time and it would be impossible to have all of the characters in each book .

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

Excellent cozy. I enjoyed visiting Meg and her family again and following along on the adventure.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

This is a red herring-filled puzzle!

Meg's grandmother is the subject of a magazine reporter's story, which seems odd as she doesn't seem like the type this magazine usually covers, her dad has installed a bee aviary in her backyard, and while helping locate a long-lost African-American cemetery, she and her companions stumble upon a fresh corpse. Throw in blackmail, a missing person, drug trafficking, and a request from the Mayor, and Meg has her hands full!

Andrews consistently crafts a solid whodunnit with engaging storytelling, and the popularity and longevity of this series are a testament to that. Well-written, humorous, and delightful, this series is still going strong thirty-three books in. Meg is a decorative blacksmith and amateur sleuth with a charmingly offbeat and often zany family, and it is fun to step into this world and see what they're up to. In addition to the murder mystery, I always enjoy the animal and rural living info woven into these books, and this time featured fascinating stuff about honeybees and hummingbirds.

Andrews skillfully weaves several plotlines together in this while having Meg really flex her investigative skills to sort out the various crimes. While this is lighthearted and fast-paced, it also broaches more serious topics, such as drug trafficking and the difficulties in locating tragically lost African-American cemeteries. Cozy mystery lovers and fans of this series will want to add this to their tbr!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, for the opportunity to review this ARC. I really enjoyed it!

*3-3.5 stars

This is a long-running cozy mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Meg Langslow and her family. I've only read a few previously and usually it's been the Christmas edition but took a chance on this one which works fine as a standalone. A lot of the story is about beekeeping and the local neighbors who protest having them nearby. I have to join the latter camp from my own experience of a neighbor with a hive. That summer, I was stung 5 times and developed a serious allergic reaction. Ugh! Anyway, after an annoying neighbor is killed, Meg can't help but involve herself in the investigation but seems to miss some obvious clues. I found the story repetitive and just so-so. My favorite parts were about the local hummingbirds and their antics.

I received an arc from the author and publisher from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

It's the new people, isn't it? The small town where Meg and her family live has been inundated with people who have moved from the city but that's only a small problem. Cordelia, her grandmother, has been looking for an African American graveyard and she finds.....a body. The body of the town crank. This is the latest in a very long running series that features Meg, a blacksmith, and her wild family including her calm husband Mike and their kids, as well as the rest. She's an ace crime solver of the cozy sort- the mysteries might have familiar elements but they'll always keep Meg and the reader guessing. This was no exception. There are bees, hummingbirds, and anyone who has dealt with NIMBY will have a laugh. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one.

This is a fun cozy mystery. It is my first time reading a book in this series and I am impressed. Meg is an amateur detective who is plugged in to the small community’s police department. The book is filled with wonderful and fun characters of the human and animal variety. It is easy to read and will offer reasons to laugh and witty dialogue. Readers will enjoy the turning of the pages as Meg helps to solve the crime.