In Bickering Birds by
Mildred Abbott, Winifred “Fred” Page and her corgi sidekick, Watson, gets involved in yet another murder in her new hometown of Estes Park, Colorado. On the day that her new bookstore, The Cozy Corgi, opens, Myrtle Bantam and the 12 members of her Feathered Friends Brigade come in. After Myrtle tastes the delicious baked goods made by Fred’s partner, Katie, she hires Katie to cater the next meeting of the Brigade. Before they know it, Fred and Katie are joining the group, along with park ranger Leo, on a night bird walk through the Rocky Mountain National Park. However, just as they enjoy seeing some elk, a scream pierces the air and scares the elk away. The club curmudgeon, prone to accusing everyone in the group in turn of poaching, has been murdered.
Fred has solved a couple murders in the recent past, so the man she has been seeing, Police Sgt. Branson Wexler, approasches her to order her not to get involved. What a big mistake! Fred gets so enraged at the order that she sets out to solve the case before Branson can do so. But as always, it is Watson who truly saves the day.
I have had fun listening to the Cozy Corgi Mysteries, and Bickering Birds is a good addition to the books. As someone who personally has a hate- love relationship with a parrot, even I found myself feeling sympathetic towards the birds of the title. The book drew me to appreciate Watson all the more, making me cheer as Watson saves the day.
Angie Hickman narrates the audio edition of this book and gives a strong performance. She plays the role of Fred, who gives a first- person narrative of the book, with the flavor and energy one might picture coming from Fred. Her depictions of the dignified Watson’s inner voice add to the fun.
Bickering Birds proved to be a fun, clever book with a unique angle. Abbott exercises creativity in her plots, something I have come to fully enjoy.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no effect on the content of my review.