**I received a digital copy of this book from Kensington Publishing via NetGalley in return for a fair, honest review**


Amy Simms is realizing her dream of opening a business. She purchased an old Victorian home for the location of Birds & Bees and is dealing with all sorts of pre-opening SNAFU problems: undelivered product, electrical problems, and worst of all, a dead body in her storage room. An older woman who rents an apartment on the second floor of the old house tells the local police that she saw Amy kill the man with a birdhouse hook. So added to her opening week woes are attorney fees, multiple police interviews, and sleuthing to try and clear her name. When the dead corpse is identified as an old flame of hers in disguise, and disturbing banging and scraping sounds are heard in the houses's basement and attic at night, Amy's problems further escalate. Can she juggle her fledgling business stress and defend herself from possible murder charges? Read this book to find out!

I enjoyed this book! Amy Simms is a fun, intelligent main character. At first, I didn't like her tenant, Esther Pilaster (or as the main characters call her behind her back, Esther Pester), but as the story went on the cantankerous old woman became one of my favorite characters.

The idea of a store selling products for bird and bee enthusiasts is interesting. Amy purchases locally handcrafted bird houses and mixes her own specialty bird seed. I would love a store like Birds & Bees! :)

The mystery portion of the plot kept me interested, although I did figure out some of the clues relatively early in the book. It didn't harm my enjoyment of the story though. The characters were enjoyable and developed as well as any light cozy mystery. All in all, a fun, quick read!

Die, Die Birdie is the first book in the Bird Lover's Mystery series. It has a release date of August 16th, 2016. J.R. Ripley is the pseudonym of Glenn Meganck, writer of the Tony Kozol and Maggie Miller Mystery series. He also writes the Kitty Karlyle Pet Chef mystery series under the pen-name Marie Celine. Check out his website here: www.glennmeganck.com ( )

Die, Die Birdie by J.R. Ripley is the first book in A Bird Lover’s Mystery series. Amy Simms is opening Birds and Bees in Ruby Lake, North Carolina in a beautiful old Victorian home. It is a shop that will have bird supplies, apiary gear and supplies, and other items related nature such as gardening items. Amy is hoping to open her shop soon if only her supplies will arrive. Amy has the shop on the first floor, apartments on the second floor (with a grandfathered in renter), and Amy lives on the top floor. Amy comes home and finds the front door unlocked (she remembers locking it). Amy decides to check out the place to make sure no one is inside (besides the crotchety renter). Amy is on the second floor and finds a body with a feeder hook nearby (which she touches). The next thing she knows Esther Pilaster, the renter, is accusing her of murder. The dead guy turns out to be Matt Kowalski. Amy knew him in high school and they had an encounter with a baseball bat. Unfortunately, Sheriff Jerry Kennedy (also knew Amy in high school) believes Amy to be the number one suspect (her fingerprints are on the murder weapon). Amy needs to clear her name pronto so she can open Birds and Bees. What was Matt doing in her house and why did someone kill him? Amy dives into the investigation. She will be busy as a bee trying to find the culprit and getting her shop ready for its grand opening.

Die, Die Birdie is a cute book. I found it easy to read and the writing was good. I did feel that the crime happened too early in the story (chapter one). I wish there had been a little more build up to the murder. The author tries to divert the reader, but the mystery is really easy to solve (it needed to be more complex or have a good twist). I give Die, Die Birdie 3.5 out of 5 stars. The main character and the tenant are good characters, though Amy is a little scatterbrained. We did not get a lot of information on Amy, but I hope we will in future books. The setting is a typical small town with gossip central (everyone knows everyone else’s business). I liked the idea for the shop (unique). I wish there was one in my area (I have several bird feeders in my yard). I did find some things to be a little too silly (i.e. idiotic) for me (had me rolling my eyes). Die, Die Birdie is a good start to a new series. I look forward to reading the next book in A Bird Lover’s Mystery series.

I received a complimentary copy of Die, Die Birdie in exchange for an honest evaluation. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own. ( )

In Die, Die Birdie, the first book in the Bird Lover's Mystery series, author J.R. Ripley weaves an intriguing cozy mystery tale that follows the amateur sleuth adventures of Bird & Bees shop owner Amy Simms, when she unexpectedly finds herself a suspect in the murder of Matt Kowalski, who she found dead in her storage room.

Set in the southern town of Ruby Lake, North Carolina, Amy has returned to her hometown and is a few days away from opening Birds & Bees, a birding supply store in an old three story Victorian home with her best friend and business partner Kim Christy. Amy's life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon Matt's dead body, and she suddenly finds herself a suspect in his murder when her nosy elderly renter Esther Pilaster, aka Esther Pester, finds Amy standing over the body holding a bloody wrought iron bird feeder pole in her hands. When Amy's ex-high school boyfriend Chief of Police Jerry Kennedy suspects her of the murder, Amy decides to search for clues into the identity of the murderer in order to clear her name and save her new business.

Die, Die Birdie is a slow building southern whodunit tale that has enough quirky characters, witty banter and humor, drama, secrets, frenemies, and intriguing twists and turns that will keep you guessing the identity of the murderer. You can't help but get caught up in the drama and calamity that ensues as Amy tries to solve the murder. Amy's amateur investigative adventure unfolds with a wonderful balance of comedy, drama, and suspense that easily kept me guessing, and left me wanting more.

Die, Die Birdie is an entertaining southern cozy murder mystery that will engage you to join in the crazy adventures and trials and tribulations that occur, while providing you with a dose of good ol' southern charm and humor. I really enjoyed the author's rich description of the charming western North Carolina small town of Ruby Lake and it's colorful townsfolk. So pull up a rocking chair and set down for a spell with some sweet tea while Amy takes you on her madcap adventure!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

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DIE DIE BIRDIE STORY LINE:

Author J. R. Ripley has created a hilarious cozy mystery filled with laughter, mystery, murder, and numerous worthy suspects. Amy Simms is just days from opening her new store Birds and Bees in Ruby Lake, N. C. She has purchased an old Victorian house, which unknown to her, needs lots of tlc and money spent for repairs; to top it off she has a busy body nosy tenant know to the residents of Ruby Lake as Esther Pilaster and better know to Amy secretly as Esther Pester. As result, Esther Pester finds Amy standing over the dead body of Matthew Kowalski, murder weapon in hand; things start to go side ways.

Amy begins to investigate on her own and things just become scarier and stranger with strange noises at night, strange goings on by the town elite, attempts on Amy's life, and break-ins.

Come along with Amy and friends as they ferret out the murderer and the reasons for the all the strange goings on.

DIE DIE BIRDIE CHARACTER, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:

First let me say, I found this an easy light read that provided hours of entertainment from the hustle and bustle of life. The plot was easy to follow without giving away the true villain. Author J. R. Ripley's writing style was clear and fresh with wit on each page. Amy was a charming character with a love for life and no illusions about herself.

In addition, the secondary characters in this story added much to the story-line. Esther Pester was a hoot and you just know she is breaking the lease rules. Also, Mr. Ripley created several characters that could have been the villain in this book and did not reveal the culprit until the end.

In concluding the review of Die Die Birdie, I found this book well-written with a steady pace that did not lag or bog down.

DIE DIE BIRDIE RECOMMENDATION: 4 STARS

In conclusion, Die Die Birdie is a clean cozy mystery that is suitable for anyone that likes a funny well-written story. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

I received this book from Netgalley.com in return for honest book review. Book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion; in addition, book reviews on line under my name and on my blog are my opinion. ( )