ARC Review: Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Birder, She Wrote
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 33)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 1, 2023)

Description: Meg is relaxing in the hammock, taste-testing Michael’s latest batch of Arnold Palmers and watching the hummingbirds at their feeders when her hopes for a relaxing early summer morning are dashed.

First her father recruits her to help him install a new batch of bees in the hive in her backyard. Then Mayor Shiffley recruits her to placate the NIMBYs (Not in my backyard), as she calls them – a group of newcomers to Caerphilly who have built McMansions next door to working farms and then do their best to make life miserable for the farmers. And finally Meg’s grandmother, shows up, trailed by a nosy reporter who is writing a feature on her for a genteel Southern ladies’ magazine.

Cordelia drafts Meg to accompany her and Deacon Washington of the New Life Baptist Church – and the reporter, alas – in their search for a long-lost African-American cemetery. Unfortunately what they discover is not an ancient cemetery but a fresh corpse. Can Meg protect her grandmother – and Caerphilly – from the reporter who seems to see the worst in everything . . . and help crack the case before the killer finds another victim?

My Thoughts: Meg is hoping for a restful day, but she doesn't get it. The mayor asks her to deal with the NIMBYs who are always complaining about the nearby farms. They are currently most upset by their next-door neighbor Edgar Bortnick's beehives. 

Since Meg's father is currently an enthusiastic beekeeper, Meg is familiar with the situation. In fact, she has a newly installed beehive in her garden. But before she can go soothe ruffled feathers again, she is drafted to escort her grandmother Cordelia and Deacon Washington on a hunt at the southern end of the county for a lost black cemetery. 

Cordelia is being trailed by Britni Colleton who writes for Sweet Tea and Sassafras - a Southern living magazine. She plans to spotlight Cordelia in a forthcoming issue. But Britni is a fish out of water on their hunt for a graveyard. She's always complaining about being hot and getting dirty. And when they discover a fresh dead body near the cemetery, things get even more interesting. 

The body is that of Walter Inman, aka Wally the Weird, the most obnoxious of all the NIMBYs. He hasn't made any friends in town with his complaints and demands and has an extensive array of enemies including many of his fellow NIMBYs.

Between trying to solve Inman's murder, locating a missing Edgar Bortnick, discovering who murdered all of Edgar's bees, and trying to find out why Britni chose Cordelia for her article, Meg is kept quite busy. 

This was another fun entry into the Meg Langslow series. I was especially taken with the Pomeranians who were being trained as search and rescue dogs and cadaver dogs. I also always like the way Meg handles all the outrageous situations she finds herself in. 

Favorite Quote:

While I very much approve of the Bite Bag, whose contents included everything from antihistamines and topical steroids for itching to epinephrine injectors for anaphylactic shock, I wanted to avoid anything that would require my getting treatment from it.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.