The Rhyme of the Magpie: A Birds of a Feather Mystery
By: Marty Wingate
Rating: 5 of 5
“The Rhyme of the Magpie” is a first in a series of new books by Marty Wingate. It is also the first book I have read by this author but I will certainly be picking up her previous series based on how much I enjoyed this book.
The story is a delicious cozy mystery involving wind farm developers, bird enthusiasts, “typical” small village citizens, and even an Earl. It was a fun book to read, with lots of laughs and giggles. While I was able to figure out whodunnit, I had a blast reading through the rest of the book as the characters and the story were charming.
After some life-changing occurrences, our sleuth, Julia Lancaster has found a new job setting up estate tours as the tourist manager in the small village that has big aspirations, Smeaton-under-Lyme. The Earl wants to make the place a tourist destination and is delighted to have the daughter of a famous television personage on staff. The delight seems to fade a bit as the murder occurs and the police visits start.
Julia finds herself smack in the middle of the investigation and feels she has to find the resolution so she can clear her estranged father’s reputation and, by the way, find her now missing father. She is aided by her father’s new assistant, Michael Sedgwick, who has taken on Julia’s previous job (which she left in a snit over her father’s re-marriage too soon after her mother passed away.
There are magpies and many other birds – which makes sense as this is the beginning of a series involving birds. I really enjoyed this mystery and recommend to those who love a good cozy mystery with clever dialog, charming characters, and a fun plot that makes sense. I look forward to more books in this series in the future.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher Alibi (Random House) via Netgalley.
“The Rhyme of the Magpie” is a first in a series of new books by Marty Wingate. It is also the first book I have read by this author but I will certainly be picking up her previous series based on how much I enjoyed this book.