Rocky Mountain National Park has it all: rugged peaks, pine-scented forests, enchanting bird-watching locations, and… murder.The Cozy Corgi bookshop finally opens, and Winifred Page and her headstrong corgi, Watson, are ready to welcome their first patrons. With her new best friend, Katie, creating heavenly pastries in the bakery on the top floor of the store, Fred’s dreams are all coming … together in delicious and unexpected ways.
When Katie caters a meeting of the Feathered Friends Brigade and drags Fred along, they expect nothing more than loquacious chatter about birds as they endeavor to build a professional relationship with the owner of the wild bird shop. Fred and Katie are quickly roped into a moonlight snowshoeing hike in hopes of spotting a rare owl. While the endangered bird proves elusive… the murdered man in the snow is hard to miss.
Fred’s growing relationship with Sergeant Wexler hits a snag when he forbids her from donning her sleuth hat yet again. But Fred is a lot like her corgi—she doesn’t like being told what to do, even if it puts an end to a possible romance.
As Fred and Watson delve into the lives of the ornithological club members, the tangled birds’ nest of an investigation makes Fred wonder if she should have left this one to the police. But when feathers begin to fly, Fred has no choice but to flush out a killer…
more
cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, relationship-issues, family, friendship, murder, murder-investigation, small-business, pet, dogs
I thought it might be a toss up as to who would get done in from the lead in. Not the persnickety head of the birders club, but the cantankerous coot with the paranoia. WiniFRED is the bookshop owner with a history of solving local murders and a thorn to the local law enforcement as well as anyone with something to hide. Watson, her grumpy corgi is sidekick and comic relief. All the characters certainly are and are well portrayed by author and narrator Angie Hickman (who does a great job!). Excellently wrought mystery!
I won the audiobook in a giveaway! I really win!
A little bird told me, as I was searching for the elusive creature n the sky, that a mystery was brewing and I am eager for another adventure with Fred and Watson. I am having such a good time with Mildred Abbott’s cozy corgi series. If you are a dog lover you may enjoy Watson, an incorrigible treat eater. I believe each book can stand alone and can be read in any order, but always best to begin at the beginning. Each is its own mystery, but the characters do grown and develop along the way.
Even though Fred has a romantic interest with the local cop, she has to get involved. Is it because she doesn’t trust the cops to get the job done? Her and Watson put a lot of miles on their feet, which her feet sometimes end up in her mouth, but she always gets her man…or woman and everyone know its.including the bad guys.
Watson is special in his own right, seeming to sense wha is necessary and taking the appropriate action.
Plenty of suspects that kept me guessing. A sometimes humorous and lightly written cozy with wonderfully unique and quirky characters. Another great edition to the series.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bickering Birds by Mildred Abbott.
See more at http://www.fundinmental.com
Great cozy mystery
Love Fred, Watson and their adventures together. This series is well written and very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing more.
Wow, can Fred be stubborn! Just don’t tell her what to do, that part of the book frustrated me a little. She had that “I’ll do it just because you told me not to” attitude, not one of my favorites. But the story with a bird group in the middle of the mountains in Colorado well, not what you would expect. Of course another murder has to be solved.
This has become one of my favorite series.
Wonderfully written, Fabulous Characters. Excellent story line.
You feel like you really know these characters and the charming
Town of Estes Park Colorado.oh did I say Charming.. Besides the
constant murders that keep occurring around Fred/Winnifred and
her sidekick Watson the adorable yet grumpy always in the mood for a treat
Corgi of Freds. Watson goes everywhere with her, always to work at
The The Cozy Corgi Bookstore where Watson is Mascot.
You must read these books. I found myself laughing out loud at times.
Yes, it is a mystery, yes, there is murder, but oh my goodness little..Well
Maybe not so little because Watson has eating issues 🙁
Well, Fred kinda does too. Actually that is a fantastic part of everything because
Best friend and co owner of the Bakery above the Cozy Corgi Bookstore is
Katie Pizzolato who feeds both Watson’s food issue by baking a Special recipe
Dog treat, and Fred’s very special dirty chai that makes her world feel just right.
Plus Katie is Always baking some fabulous Sweet yummy that Fred must have
1or 2 of. 🙂 Then something will happen….and you WILL meet more friends and family. Enjoy – I know you WILL. 🙂
Bickering Birds by Mildred Abbott has many aspects that contribute to the murder of one of Myrtle’s disciples.
Will Fred figure out what happened to Henry before the killer strikes again?
Feathered Friends Brigade
Myrtle and the 12 members of the bird watching club are at the center of this mystery. The group is all about saving birds, conservation, and not interrupting the birds’ habitat. They are an elite club, with limited members, a high annual membership fee, and they are crazy about birds (well, most of them). That is where it stops as they don’t all believe in the same things, that doesn’t seem to be an issue or does it.
I think that Myrtle is brilliant. She has found a way to help her favorite charity, birds. Myrtle keeps the members happy with vests and badges. Yet, the members don’t have Myrtle’s strength of character, which is disconcerting to her. I like Myrtle, her bird side is eccentric, but she seems to have a good heart. She wouldn’t like me for owning a cockatoo, of which I am sure she would tell me all about my wicked ways.
“I don’t like people very much. But I understand them, part of why I don’t like them. I was looking for a way to as much good as I could for the birds. I couldn’t do it on my own. So I made a club. Twelve spots, because people like things that are exclusive. I made it expensive, ridiculously so, because people like things that are expensive. If I’d made it only a thousand dollar annual fee, people would’ve balked, but ten grand? She laughed and winked at me. “Ten grand means it’s expensive and doubly exclusive. And that’s one hundred and twenty thousand a year that I can use to help save birds.” ~Myrtle
The Mystery
The mystery has a few things going on besides murder and possibly poaching. It reminds us that love should be reciprocated; otherwise, it isn’t real, and no creature should be forced to love another as that also isn’t real. The murder of Henry starts this domino effect on the bird club, which the members’ true sides come through.
Love Interest
So, Fred and Sergeant Branson Wexler are on the outs, maybe, and now Leo is on his way in, maybe. We shall have to see which one she picks. On the upside, the Cozy Corgi book store and bakery have officially opened, and business is good.
Five Stars
I really enjoyed the mystery and meeting different townsfolk. There is most definitely a bunch of unique people living in Este Park. My rating for Bickering Birds is five stars. I thought about this rating, and I have to say that even though I disagree with some of what Myrtle says, I think the story is well written, the mystery is well-plotted, and I still like Fred, Katie, and Watson.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Bickering Birds by Mildred Abbott.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
Until the next time,
~Jen
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
I’ve been waiting for The Cozy Corgi to open. And I know it can’t be anything but a smashing success. With Fred making it all cozy and packing it with books, to Katie using the upstairs for her bakery, filling the building with mouth watering aromas, how could it not be. Opening night and the place is packed. The opening is a big success and Katie even got hired to cater a meeting of the Feathered Friends Brigade. Fred and Katie go with the group on a moonlight bird watching expedition. They don’t see any birds, but they do find a dead body. One of the members lies dead and there’s no lack of suspects. Time for Fred to get back to sleuthing.
I loved how the author showed me The Cozy Corgi. I could see it in all it’s glory. And I swear I could smell some of Katie’s delicious Lemon Bars and homemade bread. But, back to the case. This time Fred isn’t a suspect, or a witness. She just happens to be in the vicinity of the murder. But she jumps right in and starts to investigate, even though Sergeant Branson and Officer Susan Green are adamant she stay out of it. Fred cracks me up. She gets all twitchy and just can’t help herself. She has to see if she can solve the case. Even if she’ll have to face the ire of Susan. The two never hit it off. Something about Fred causes her to act like she has a burr under her saddle.
Watson is his usual grumpy, adorable self. I was thinking and came to the realization that he actually does sniff out clues. They might not seem relevant at the time but they do later. And all he asks for in return is a bite of your scone or a nice big dog biscuit.
And Watson isn’t the only one that helps Fred investigate. Katie wants in, and Fred’s mom and stepdad, along with her uncles, know all of the latest gossip. Funny what you can discover just by eavesdropping. And you know what they say about small towns… everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Fred and Watson are on the case. The list of suspects is long. Romance has taken a back burner this time. Kind of. And there’s plenty of laughs. I’m having such a great time with these character’s and already reading Savage Sourdough, the next book.
This was a great installment in the series! This is the third book in the Cozy Corgi Mystery series but it could easily be read as a stand-alone. Readers of the series will enjoy catching up with all of the great characters in this small town. I have been listening to the series in order and had a pretty good idea what I could expect when I started this book and it completely delivered. I ended up listening to almost the entire book in a single day just because I was having such a good time with it.
Fred and Katie are finally getting their bookshop/bakery open. The grand opening is largely a success, although there are a few uncomfortable moments. When the town’s bird lover’s group comes into the store a chain of events begins that have a great impact on a lot of people. Fred and Katie are there when one of the members of the group is murdered. Of course, Fred feels like she needs to figure out what really happened.
The mystery in this book kept me guessing. I thought that there were a few more surprises in this book as compared to the previous books in the series. I felt like I was right there with Fred trying to figure out who was responsible. I loved the fact that this book was able to completely change my opinion of a character or two over the course of the story.
Angie Hickman does such a good job with this series. I think that the voices she uses for all of the characters in town are very well done and reflect each character’s personality. She reads the story at the perfect pace and includes the right amount of emotion in her reading. I think that the narration of the story increased my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would recommend this book to others. I am having a great time with Fred, Watson, and their friend Katie as they try to solve all of the murders that seem to be happening around them. I cannot wait to read more of this fun series!
I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author/narrator via Audiobook Boom and have voluntarily left this review.
This review is for the audio book.
I enjoyed this light hearted cozy mystery. The characters were fun and unusual enough to keep you entertained, with the added bonus of having a clever dog. There was a number of suspects to keep you guessing, I did pick up on the clue telling you who it was, I just hadn’t worked out what it ment. I like the way characters from previous books play a part in this book too but you don’t have to have read the other books or read them in order to enjoy.
Fred’s book shop is finally open but on the opening night she learns that she should have consulted with the locals about what books to have on her shelf and to help make peace with the bird group she agrees to help Kaie cater there next meeting. While there it seems a lot of feathers are ruffled over a poacher that is lose in the forest but it is only when the whole group trek into the woods looking for a rare owl that things go wrong. The most vocal protester is murdered. Fred and Watson were going to stand back and let the police handle the case until she is warned off one time to many and the police seem to be focusing in on the wrong suspect. Fred has to divide her time between selling books and questioning suspects in order to solve more than just a murder.
I liked the narrator and thought she did a good job of bringing a good book to life.
The things that people do in the name of love bothers me really bad. While not a bad story there was parts that I just couldn’t wrap my head around . I really started to like Myrtle and I am hoping she gets a bigger part in the next books .
This is the third book in the series. Yes in a very short time Fred helps solve a third murder in Estes Park. Interesting and fun characters.
Save the Birds
Corgis, the Queen’s choice of pooch, seem to be taking over as a favorite breed–for sleuthing! Our heroine’s own Watson is on the clues with his sensitive nose as Fred (Winifred) solves murders four and five since she moved to town, while opening a bookstore named (what else?) The Cozy Corgi–with a bakery upstairs. The imagination of others constantly astounds me, allowing me to expand me knowledge and stretch my own mind trying to puzzle out the clues as they are presented. Birdwatchers will enjoy the antics of the conservation club acting seemingly at odds with itself. Angie Hickman, the narrator, lovingly liquifies Leo’s “Ls” while giving gravitas to several of the other male voices and variety to the females.
Another author whose books I look forward to reading. Each one is entertaining and keeps you wanting to read more.
Love this wonderful cozy mystery series! Great introduction and interactions between characters. Beautiful descriptions of scenery and characters. I definitely will read all of Mildred Abbott’s other books. Fabulous writer; don’t miss any of these books!
This is book 3 in the Corgi Cozy Mystery. I am so enjoying this fun series. Fred (Winfred ) is someone I would enjoy meeting. Her love of dogs and her love of mysteries would interest me. I love Sherlock such a cute corgi with a great personality. I am also a big fan of Angie Hickman as her narration is very good. Can’t wait until the next book comes out. I was gifted this book by the author with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
Somehow I’ve become addicted to cozy mysteries. Fred has opened her bookshop along with Katie and her baked goods upstairs. Of course, another dead body shows up and Katie jokes that if you hang with Fred…they’ll keep popping up. What I enjoyed about book three is Leo plays a bigger part in this story. And I kinda love him! He seems so sincere, animal loving and shares the same interests as Fred. Branson…on the other hand…is more pragmatic and sometimes a Debbie Downer. Though I think he genuinely cares for Fred. The mystery was definitely one I didn’t quite see coming and got a bit twisted in the end. I also found it humorous that Fred is not always a favorite visitor amongst her fellow shop owners. I honestly can’t wait for the next book to see where Fred or Watson end up next.
Enjoyable murder mystery series that is very entertaining especially if you are an animal lover.