REVIEW: To Kill A Hummingbird

To Kill A Hummingbird
Author: J.R. Ripley

Amy Simms is happy that her friend and former professor, Mason Livingston, is coming to Ruby Lake, NC on his new book tour. Mason is an ornithologist and arrives in style, driving a large truck pulling a tiny house decorated like a giant birdhouse. The man seems changed, however. He's drunk, is a no-show for the monthly Birds & Brews meeting, and just seems off. He does make it to his signing event at the local bookstore, Bookorama, and gives a lively presentation. Too bad it will be his last. Amy returns to the bookshop after hours to retrieve their copies of Mason's book, Hummingbirds And Their Habits, only to find the author dead, a pair of scissors protruding from his neck. Bookstore owner, Rose Smith, immediately confesses to the crime. But did she really kill Mason Livingston? Or is she covering for someone else? Amy immediately jumps into investigation mode to solve the murder of her friend.

To Kill A Hummingbird is the 4th Bird Lover's Mystery. I really enjoy this series by J.R. Ripley! Amy is a great main character. She's intelligent, independent and loves running her store for bird lovers, Birds & Bees. Much to the chagrin of the local police chief, Amy also seems to be a dead body magnet. If someone in town is murdered, Amy always seems to find the body. The cast of supporting characters, from the owners of the Biergarten next to Amy's shop, to the unwanted renter, Esther Pelaster (AKA Esther the Pester), add humor and depth to this series. The background theme of bird watching and bee keeping is always enjoyable. Hummingbird facts are sprinkled throughout this newest book. The mystery portion of the plot is well-paced, with plenty of suspects and lots of twists and turns. The ending is great!

The cover art, as usual, is amazing. The covers for this series are always bright and engaging.

It isn't necessary to read these books in order. A reader could jump in with this book and understand the characters and plot just fine. I highly recommend the entire series. Every book is a fun read with a well-written mystery and plenty of great bird and bee facts.

The Bird Lovers Mystery series just keeps getting better and better with each book! I can't wait for the next one! Luckily, I don't have long to wait. There are two more books in the series scheduled to release in 2017:  Chickadee Chickadee Bang Bang and How The Finch Stole Christmas are coming soon! Yay!

J.R. Ripley is a pseudonym for the author Glenn Meganck. Meganck has written more than 20 books. To discover more about the author and his books, check out his website at http://www.glennmeganck.com/

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Lyrical Underground/Kensington Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**