About the Book

Title: Belinda Blake and the Birds of a Feather

Series: #3 Exotic Pet-Sitter Mysteries

Author: Heather Day Gilbert

Publisher: Lyrical Press (Kensington)

Released: February 2020

Genre: Clean, Cozy Mystery

When exotic pet–sitter Belinda Blake starts pecking at the details of a suspicious accident in her sleepy hometown, she inadvertently digs up a murder case that won’t be solved without ruffling a few feathers . . .

The moment Belinda arrives in Larches Corner, her Upstate New York hometown, she’s immediately recruited to care for a deceased friend’s flock of homing pigeons. But Belinda’s plans for a swift visit scatter after a local college student is mowed down in a malicious hit-and-run that has the whole town reeling.

At first, the gruesome demise of Jackson Hait appears to be a random tragedy. But Belinda quickly uncovers connections to a tight-knit group of friends and a similar death three years earlier . . . one that wasn’t as accidental as it seemed. Now, Belinda must pluck the truth from a tangled nest of lies before a cruel killer takes wing.

My Review

The third novel in the Belinda Blake series by Heather Day Gilbert has finally arrived. Birds of a Feather is a great addition to Gilbert’s superb cozy series. I have loved the love triangle that developed between Stone the Fifth and Belinda and Jonas, but never quite understood so well Belinda’s attraction to Stone the Fifth until this book: Stone looks like a ”modern-day Remington Steele.” Ooh, la, la, pretty certain that might have swayed me a little more (ok, a LOT more) to Team Stone the Fifth over Team Jonas.

Belinda returns home to her little hometown for the funeral of Jonas’s mom. She reluctantly agrees to sit the pigeons Jonas’s mom was watching at the time of her death. While home, Belinda meets up with an old reporter friend who quickly involves her in a mystery of first one drunk college literary club member, then another.
I would have liked to see the pets (pigeons) play as big a role in this novel as the snake and the wolves did in the first two. I did enjoy the heightening of romantic elements. I also loved this mystery. I could really feel the tension of needing to “help” solve the crime before Belinda herself is in mortal danger. But guess the correct murderer? Nope. Gilbert still was wilier than me. AND Gilbert left the door open, that just MAYBE, there COULD be a book four. Bring it on!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley. This did not influence my opinions, which are my own, and for which I am solely responsible.

My Rating

5 Stars- Hits My Reading Sweet Spot with a Flock of Praise

About the Author

HEATHER DAY GILBERT, an ECPA Christy award finalist and Grace award winner, writes contemporary mysteries and Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. Publisher’s Weekly gave Heather’s Viking historical Forest Child a starred review, saying it is “an engaging story depicting timeless human struggles with faith, love, loyalty, and leadership.”

Find Heather on Pinterest (heatherdgilbert), Instagram (@heatherdaygilbert), Twitter (@heatherdgilbert), and Facebook (heatherdaygilbert). You can find all her books at heatherdaygilbert.com.