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Fowl of the House of Usher

(A Bird Lover's Mystery #7)

J.R. Ripley (Goodreads Author)

4.14 · Rating details · 56 ratings · 25 reviews

It really is the dead of winter in Ruby Lake when a party becomes an invitation to murder for Birds & Bees owner Amy Simms . . .

No one ruffles Amy’s feathers like Craig “The Gigolo” Bigelow. Not only has the two-timer returned to town, but his new girlfriend has invited Amy to a dinner party. And at Usher House of all places—legendary home to ghosts, freak accidents, ...more

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Published May 15th 2018 by Lyrical Underground

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May 25, 2018 Juli rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-review-copies-2018

Amy Simms is in a bad mood. Not only is her cheater, jerky ex-boyfriend back in Ruby Lake, MN but she gets talked into taking her best friend Kim out to his creepy rental house for a dinner party. The Usher House has a lot of bad history associated with it and it's out in the middle of nowhere. Add in the fact that Amy does not want to pal around with Craig's too-perfect girlfriend, Cindy. She agrees to go to Usher House only because Craig says he is concerned for the health of the flock of Amy Simms is in a bad mood. Not only is her cheater, jerky ex-boyfriend back in Ruby Lake, MN but she gets talked into taking her best friend Kim out to his creepy rental house for a dinner party. The Usher House has a lot of bad history associated with it and it's out in the middle of nowhere. Add in the fact that Amy does not want to pal around with Craig's too-perfect girlfriend, Cindy. She agrees to go to Usher House only because Craig says he is concerned for the health of the flock of ducks at the nearby lake. When a blizzard hits and the group is stuck at the rural house with no phone or cell signal, it seems a killer is intent on picking them off one by one. As dead bodies pile up, Amy and Kim try to discover which one of them is a murderer. Can they survive until the roads are cleared and they can escape the Usher House?

I absolutely love this series! I've been faithfully reading each book since the first one came out. Amy runs a shop that sells supplies for bird and bee lovers. Her ex and his business partner own the beer garden next door to her shop. Adding to Amy's angst is that her boyfriend's ex-wife (also named Amy) has opened an upscale bridal boutique in town. And her curmudgeonly renter, Esther Pilaster, is now an investor in the business. Seems Amy is up to her nose in weird vibes. Kinda seems fitting that she's also a dead body magnet. If someone in town gets murdered, it's pretty likely that Amy Simms will be dragged into the middle of it.

The setting for this particular book in the Bird Lover's Mystery series had me thinking of Vincent Price movies. A huge, dark, creepy house in the middle of BFE....a blizzard.....dead bodies everywhere. Definitely has that Price feelin' to it. Loved it! The mystery moves at a nice pace. The bird watching background theme is cute but doesn't get in the way of the mystery. The characters are fun (even Esther the Pester). And the plot had plenty of suspense and surprises. I love it when I'm not quite sure how the story is going to end clear up until the last chapter of the book. Well done!

Fowl of the House of Usher is the 7th book in the Bird Lover's Mystery series. The cover art is just awesome! Very eye catching!

J.R. Ripley is a penname for author Glenn Meganck. In addition to the Bird Lover's Mystery series he also writes the Maggie Miller Mysteries and the Tony Kozol series.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ...more

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May 02, 2018 Sabine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-2018, 2018, usa-north-carolina

I don't know why I waited so long to read my first book from this author! Maybe it is just because I am not a bird person and therefor these mysteries never caught my attention much....BIG MISTAKE! This was one of the best mysteries I have read this year so far.

I loved everything about this mystery! Great characters and some sound writing that pulled me right into the story. The setting is an old and possibly haunted mansion where the whole cast is snowed in and one body after the other shows ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Betty rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, cozy, e-books, animals

This series keeps getting better with each book and #7 continued in the same vein. It is essentially a lock room story as Amy and Kim are snowbound with a group of strangers and several of them are found murder. Amy ex-boyfriend asked her to have dinner with and his fiancee telling her there are ducks nearby his isolated house that appears ill. Amy and Kim accepted to check out the ducks. While at dinner an unexpected snow storm beginning stranding the group for a couple of days. The first night ...more

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Apr 23, 2018 RO G'ma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-craving-for-cozies-challenge, read-in-2018

Fowl of the House of Usher is the seventh book in J. R. Ripley’s the Bird Lover’s Mystery series. This is a clean read with a good plot, interesting mystery, well-developed characters, humor, and a little romance. The story flows at a steady pace, with red herrings and twists and turns thrown in to keep the reader engaged and guessing until the surprising reveal. I recommend this series to readers who enjoy reading well-crafted cozy mysteries. I’m looking forward to reading future installments Fowl of the House of Usher is the seventh book in J. R. Ripley’s the Bird Lover’s Mystery series. This is a clean read with a good plot, interesting mystery, well-developed characters, humor, and a little romance. The story flows at a steady pace, with red herrings and twists and turns thrown in to keep the reader engaged and guessing until the surprising reveal. I recommend this series to readers who enjoy reading well-crafted cozy mysteries. I’m looking forward to reading future installments in this series.

Amy Simms and her friend, Kimberly “Kim” Christy, are the owners of Birds & Bees in Ruby Lake, North Carolina. Kim quit her real estate job and now works full time at Birds & Bees. The shop is on the first floor and Amy lives on the third floor with her mother, Barbara. Amy’s tenant and employee, Ester Pilaster (a/k/a Esther the Pester) who she “inherited” from the previous owner, recently became an investor and her buy-in is allowing Amy to have some much needed renovations done. Paul Anderson is her temporary tenant while his house is being renovated and the co-owner of Brewer’s Biergarten, along with her ex-boyfriend, Craig Bigelow. Amy is quite upset when she learns Craig is filling in for Paul while he’s on a three-week vacation. Craig and his new girlfriend, Cindy Pym, rent Usher House, which is purported to be haunted, and Cindy decides she wants to host a dinner party inviting Amy and her boyfriend Derek Harlan, Kim, and her boyfriend, Dan Sutton, a Ruby Lake police officer. Derek and Dan have previous commitments and are unable to attend. The last thing Amy wants to do is spend time with Craig or Cindy, but he plays on her love of birds by telling her there are ducks on the property that look sick. Two other couples are staying at Usher House, Mike Holberg and his wife, Helen, and Robert Flud, and his girlfriend, Rosalie Richmond; the caretakers, Jackson and Augusta Canning, are temporarily staying in the main house because of an electrical problem at the caretaker’s cottage. A storm hits during the dinner and Amy and Kim are forced to spend the night at Usher House. A loud banging wakes Amy in the early morning hours and she finds the front door open. After securing the door, she decides to warm herself in front of the fireplace in the study where she finds Mike with a knife in his chest and later discovers Augusta is missing. Amy tries to call Jerry Kennedy, the Chief of Police, but cell service is sketchy at Usher House. Later that morning, she has limited cell service and learns Ruby Lake was hit hard by the storm and it will be at least a day before the authorities will be able to get there. Being concerned a killer is amongst their small group, Amy begins snooping and soon discovers things can always get worse.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
...more

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Apr 19, 2018 Jennifer Ritter rated it it was amazing

Fowl of the House of Usher is the seventh book in the Bird Lover’s Mystery series by JR Ripley. In this story we find Birds and Bees shop owner Amy Simms come face to face with her cheating ex, Craig Bigelow, and his new young squeeze, Cindy Pym. Craig is part owner of Brewer’s Biergarten, located next door to Amy’s business. He is usually nowhere near Ruby Lake, but is there now to run the Biergarten while co owner Paul Anderson is away on an extended vacation.

Since Paul rents an apartment from
Fowl of the House of Usher is the seventh book in the Bird Lover’s Mystery series by JR Ripley. In this story we find Birds and Bees shop owner Amy Simms come face to face with her cheating ex, Craig Bigelow, and his new young squeeze, Cindy Pym. Craig is part owner of Brewer’s Biergarten, located next door to Amy’s business. He is usually nowhere near Ruby Lake, but is there now to run the Biergarten while co owner Paul Anderson is away on an extended vacation.

Since Paul rents an apartment from Amy and the ex isn’t welcome there, so he and Cindy have rented a house outside of town. Cindy has decided she needs to be friends with Amy and has organized a dinner party inviting Amy, her best friend Kim, and their two boyfriends, who are unable to attend. As Amy and Kim drive to the Usher house, Kim fills Amy with haunted tales of the place, and it is a bit spooky.

When a freak snowstorm hits during the dinner, they are all snowed in. The group includes the caretakers, two houseguest couples from Craig’s businesses, the hosts, Amy and Kim. Accommodations are made for Amy and Kim to spend the night in a small girl’s room. Amy is awakened in the middle of the night and discovers the front door open and banging in the storm. Unfortunately, she also finds the body of one of Craig’s associates stabbed in the study. And, even more unfortunately, that won’t be the only body found.

This story is filled with foreshadowing and makes reference to such classic tales as Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, even making reference to its movie adaptations of The Haunting. As the power fails, the food falls into short supply, and they are cut off from the town by deep snow and poor cell service, Amy and Kim are put into a dangerous position. And even after rescue, Amy is yet again put in harm’s way.

A page turning mystery, Mr. Ripley has once again given us tale to keep us page turning way into the night. I have enjoyed this series and do recommend it.
...more

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Jul 02, 2018 Becky Lewis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cozy, kindle, lyricalpress-kensington, mystery, netgalley, read-in-2018

This was my second book to read by JR Ripley, although Fowl of the House of Usher is actually the seventh in A Bird Lover’s Mystery series. It is a very tense time for Amy and Kim, who along with a handful of other guests, are snowed in at a mountain retreat, guests of Amy’s ex-boyfriend Craig and his girlfriend. First, they find one guest murdered. After that terrible beginning, the remote location and the weather both collude to cause events to move quickly downhill.

I enjoyed getting to know ...more

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May 02, 2018 Lisa Morin rated it it was amazing

This series just keeps getting better and better. Fowl of the House of Usher is a fantastic addition to the series.
Set in the quaint little town of Ruby Lake, this story is full of great characters who will win you over.
Esther the pester is still annoying Amy, owner of Birds and Bees, a great little store that caters to bird and bee lovers alike.
This story takes place in the house of Usher, rumored to be haunted. Amy can deal with ghosts, but murder victims, not so much.
What do duck decoys and ...more

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Jun 19, 2018 Ann rated it really liked it

Amy's ex is back in town and she's not happy that he and his fiance are running the beer garden next door to her bird shop. When he invites her and Kim for a dinner party she's reluctant to go but attends to check out some sick ducks. Everyone in town knows the House of Usher outside of town is haunted and getting stuck overnight in a snowstorm isn't part of her plan. Murder seems to be the dish of the day and when two of the guests are found dead, Amy and Kim need to solve the deaths before the ...more

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Oct 12, 2018 Theunis Snyman rated it really liked it

The title is a word play on the title of a story by Edgar Alan Poe: The fall of the house of Usher. Poe's story is a horror story. This, however, is not a horror story but a cozy detective story about people stranded in a vacation house on top of a mountain. They are cut off by snow from the rest of the world. And then the murders start. There are many stories with this situation, but I always love them. And every such story has a twist of its own. This one is no exception.

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Apr 17, 2018 Patricia Romero rated it it was amazing

Shelves: birds, bees, cozy-mystery

Craig is back and with a sweet, little thing on his arm. With Paul away on vacation, Craig has rented a house outside of Ruby Lake to oversee things until Paul returns. Knowing he won't be allowed to stay in Paul's apartment in Amy's house with this little chippy on his arm.

When she is invited to come to dinner at a supposedly haunted mansion, she is adamant about not attending. Until Craig brings up the wood ducks that look sick. Amy is a sucker for a bird in need and if Amy has to go, well, ...more

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May 06, 2018 Patty rated it it was amazing

Fowl of the House of Usher by J. R. Ripley is the 7th book in A Bird Lover's Mystery series, and they just keep getting better. I am not a bird enthusiast, but I really enjoyed this book/series. Amy and her best friend Kim get stuck with her ex and his new girlfriend when they become snowbound, at the ex's rental haunted house. When a body is find a body, the mystery begins. There is only one thing I don't like about this series, is how everyone sides with Esther the pester, where is the loyalty ...more

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May 16, 2018 Verity W rated it did not like it

Shelves: avoid-this-author, netgalley

***Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****

So this was the second book in this series that I've read - I read book 3 this time last year and wasn't massively keen but thought it had potential and wanted to check in to see if it was more to my taste. Short answer is no -there is still too much going on in the mystery, the heroine is way too stupid to live and all the characters annoyed me. But I can see from the rest of the reviews that I'm an outlier here - so it may be one of ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

Fowl of the House of Usher is the seventh installment in the A Bird Lover's Mystery series set in Ruby Lake, North Carolina and featuring Amy Simms, owner of Birds & Bees, a store devoted to supplies for bird lovers. With Paul Anderson, her tenant and the co-owner of Brewer's Biergarten next door, away on vacation that means that his partner Craig Bigelow is in town to oversee things. Unfortunately for Amy, not only is Craig her two timing ex but he's brought his new girlfriend Cindy Pyms ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Jessi rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, ebook-from-netgalley, appealing-characteristic-story, picked-because-of-description, part-of-a-series, cozy

Amy Simms' ex is in town. Along with the young and gorgeous psychologist he dumped Amy for. The young and gorgeous psychologist who has invited Amy (and her beau) to a dinner party. A dinner party at the Usher House, known in local parts for its... rather eerie atmosphere. Amy's boyfriend can't come and neither can her best friend Kim's. So it's the two of them, headed up the mountain at the start of a snow storm for the most awkward dinner party. Besides the ex and the redhead, there are two ...more

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May 19, 2018 Nyarlathotep Twelfth Month The Haunted Reading Room rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018_let-s-read-indie_challenge, 2018_reads, 2018_bout-of-books-22_may-14-20, 2018_4-seasons_ha, may_2018_reads, a1-netgalley, a1-i-own-books, armchair-applachia, dog_marathon, cold_marathon

Review: FOWL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER by J. R. Ripley

I would have read this for the title, but fortunately I enjoyed the story, very much, and am reading more from this author. J. R. Ripley (a pseudonym) is a quite prolific author who writes under a variety of names, always winningly, with a very "down-home," emotionally realistic, human touch. His characters are easy "to snuggle up to" and cheer on.

This mystery is set in Ruby Lake, North Carolina, in the mountains, a scenic tourist destination. ...more

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May 15, 2018 Susan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-craving-for-cozies-challenge

I don't know much about birds beyond crows, robins, seagulls and bald eagles but that in no way hinders my enjoyment of this delightful series. In this, the 7th of the series, Amy is planning some renovations now that her tenant, Ester the pester, has invested in her business, Birds & Bees. She has a lot going on in her life and it's about to get worse. She and her friend Kim find themselves stuck at Usher House, rumored to be haunted, with Amy's ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend. Plus ...more

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Sep 30, 2018 Wendy rated it did not like it

Amy owns a bird-lovers' store and I couldn't understand how she could survive, much less run a business. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, pushes her around. One of her tenants has a cat (against the rules) - she rents out a couple of apartments above the store; her cheating ex-boyfriend cons her into coming to the creepy house he's renting for a dinner; her mother lets the ex stay in the apartment directly below Amy's room after the murders; her ex talks her into cooking dinner when the cook is ...more

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Apr 15, 2018 Annarella rated it really liked it

Shelves: cozy-mystery

This is the second book I read in this series. I found it entertaining and kept hooked till the end.
It's well written, kept me guessing till the but there are some minor plot hole like a character saying that she has to talk to heroine and we never know what this was about.
The book is a classic "Group of characters in a contained space with a killer amongst them", thrilling and a bit claustrophobic at times.
The main weakness is the heroine that seems to have some unsolved issues with ex ...more

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Aug 13, 2018 Maxine rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I wanted to give this book 2 stars at least, but I didn't like it, so that rating would have been unfair to the books that I liked, but didn't love.

It isn't that the book was bad, because it wasn't. It was light, and cozy, and almost gave off an Agatha Christie vibe (& I love A.C.'s work!). However, the characters in Fowl read flat and trite to me, and I didn't sympathize with any of them.

Maybe I needed to be in a different head-space to appreciate the story. Maybe I should have started with ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 Jan rated it really liked it

Shelves: amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder, cozy-mystery, humor

Interesting characters that you either love or despise stuck together in an odd house (only one bathroom, and that on the second floor!) when an unexpected snowstorm traps them there after an uncomfortable dinner. Then the murders begin, idiot host destroys the bridge needed to leave, there is rare cell phone service, and the electric goes off! Lots of situational humor, red herrings, and plot twists make this a quick, fun read.

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Apr 09, 2018 Kelly rated it it was amazing

This is the first book that I have read by J.R. Ripley, but it won't be my last. I was hooked from the time that Amy and Kim got stranded at the Usher House by a snow storm. It was slightly reminiscent of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie because of being stranded with no way to get back to town, in this case because of the snow. Amy finds a body during the night of one of the other guests, Mike, and he has been stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife. Things get worse for the guests ...more

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May 13, 2018 Barbara Tobey rated it it was amazing

Loved it! Entertaining, engaging and clever. Some surprises, some suspense, some laughs. There is another bird themed cozy mystery series that I tend to think of when I see the bird pun titles in this series. Both authors and their bird series are terrific. I am looking forward to reading the next one(s). The publisher provided a copy via NetGalley.

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