Farewell, My Cuckoo

Birds of a Feather Mystery Series, Book 4

By: Marty Wingate

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Julia Lanchester must defend her love nest from an invasive species: her boyfriend's sister. And then there's the little matter of murder....

"The cuckoo comes in April and sings its song in May. In June it changes tune and July it flies away."

Wedding bells are ringing in the small British village of Smeaton-under-Lyme. Julia Lanchester's second-in-command at the local tourist center is finally getting married, and the lovebirds are giving Julia and her live-in boyfriend, Michael Sedgwick, ideas about their own future. But before anyone can say "Will you", Michael's flighty older sister, Pammy, crashes the party, fresh off a breakup and lugging all her worldly possessions around with her in a tangle of plastic bags.

Before long, Julia's cozy cottage starts feeling more like Pammy's bachelorette pad. To keep herself from going cuckoo, Julia throws herself into her pet projects at work - until death disrupts her plans. First a body is found on the estate. Then the police discover that Pammy was the last one to see the man alive. And soon Julia gets the feeling that if she ever wants her home - or her boyfriend-back, she'll have to get to the bottom of this mystery, even if it means breaking a few eggs.

©2018 Marty Wingate (P)2018 Tantor

Crazy Cute Sister

I've enjoyed this bird book series. Such interesting characters, and a tight knit English village.

Teenage style angst

Low rent romance. It is if a 16-year-old girl is attempting to write a grown-up novel; the foolish assumptions the narrator makes about her relationship are even more middle school than high school…plus, she says “tummy“ all the time, and it is really annoying.

Tiresome, so tiresome

I read all the books in this series. I liked the idea of including birdwatching in the stories. This book is the last and resulted in far too many eye rolls and urges to throw my phone at a wall. About halfway through, I skipped to the end. Over the course of the series, the main character has gradually gone from self-pity to someone who thinks she knows more about solving murders than a very competent professional and who thinks she knows what’s best for everyone else and tries to force her opinions on them, whether they like it or not.