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Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm #6
A Little Bird Told Me
A Little Bird Told Me is book six in the Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm Series.
Harriet Bailey’s job as a veterinarian often means reassuring pet owners about their adored animals. So, when a local resident is distraught over her missing cat, Harriet does her best to calm the woman’s frayed nerves, advising her to wait a bit to see if the cat returns on her own. However, the arrival of a mysterious envelope containing a ransom note immediately proves Harriet wrong. Someone has taken Nessie!
As Harriet investigates, she discovers that Nessie is the subject of her late grandad’s most valuable painting, due to the highly publicized story of how Old Doc Bailey rescued and rehomed her as a kitten. When more pets are nabbed, Harriet redoubles her efforts to find the thief. In her search for answers, she discovers old tape recordings of her grandad sharing the stories behind his artwork. Could Old Doc Bailey’s own words about Nessie be the key to reuniting the famous feline and the other animals with their families?
Harriet Bailey’s job as a veterinarian often means reassuring pet owners about their adored animals. So, when a local resident is distraught over her missing cat, Harriet does her best to calm the woman’s frayed nerves, advising her to wait a bit to see if the cat returns on her own. However, the arrival of a mysterious envelope containing a ransom note immediately proves Harriet wrong. Someone has taken Nessie!
As Harriet investigates, she discovers that Nessie is the subject of her late grandad’s most valuable painting, due to the highly publicized story of how Old Doc Bailey rescued and rehomed her as a kitten. When more pets are nabbed, Harriet redoubles her efforts to find the thief. In her search for answers, she discovers old tape recordings of her grandad sharing the stories behind his artwork. Could Old Doc Bailey’s own words about Nessie be the key to reuniting the famous feline and the other animals with their families?
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2024
About the author
Laura Bradford
50 books891 followersAka Elizabeth Lynn Casey.
While spending a rainy afternoon at a friend's house nearly forty years ago, Laura Bradford fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons, and a freshly sharpened number two pencil.
Those early attempts at the craft had her writing and illustrating stories for young children. Wise beyond her years, Laura saved her first writing attempt in a hand decorated shoe box (complete with sparkly stickers) and moved on to her next idea. Her second book—O’Casey’s Wish—was so utterly brilliant, she sent it off to a well-known New York publishing house at the tender age of ten, confident she was on the verge of becoming the next Don Freeman (Corduroy) or Shel Silverstein (Giving Tree).
Months later, she received her first form letter rejection.
While she wasn’t of the mindset to save that first crushing blow for posterity, Laura did save the original copy of this particular literary masterpiece in the event the letter was a mistake.
Desperate to prove her flexibility as a writer, Laura soon found herself dabbling in jokes (for her Girl Scout troop’s newsletter), stories of angst (a somewhat autobiographical look at her teenage years), movie reviews (for the Xavier University Newswire), and countless news and feature articles (for newspapers in CT, SC, TN, and MO).
It wasn’t until Laura was home raising children of her own though, that she was finally able to dust off that rainy day dream and bring it back to its original form—writing fiction. Today, she is a bestselling mystery author with Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin Publishing), and an award winning romance author with Harlequin American. She lives in New York with her family.
Oh, and if you meet Laura at a book event in the future, ask her about O’Casey’s Wish. It tends to travel with her everywhere she goes.
While spending a rainy afternoon at a friend's house nearly forty years ago, Laura Bradford fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons, and a freshly sharpened number two pencil.
Those early attempts at the craft had her writing and illustrating stories for young children. Wise beyond her years, Laura saved her first writing attempt in a hand decorated shoe box (complete with sparkly stickers) and moved on to her next idea. Her second book—O’Casey’s Wish—was so utterly brilliant, she sent it off to a well-known New York publishing house at the tender age of ten, confident she was on the verge of becoming the next Don Freeman (Corduroy) or Shel Silverstein (Giving Tree).
Months later, she received her first form letter rejection.
While she wasn’t of the mindset to save that first crushing blow for posterity, Laura did save the original copy of this particular literary masterpiece in the event the letter was a mistake.
Desperate to prove her flexibility as a writer, Laura soon found herself dabbling in jokes (for her Girl Scout troop’s newsletter), stories of angst (a somewhat autobiographical look at her teenage years), movie reviews (for the Xavier University Newswire), and countless news and feature articles (for newspapers in CT, SC, TN, and MO).
It wasn’t until Laura was home raising children of her own though, that she was finally able to dust off that rainy day dream and bring it back to its original form—writing fiction. Today, she is a bestselling mystery author with Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin Publishing), and an award winning romance author with Harlequin American. She lives in New York with her family.
Oh, and if you meet Laura at a book event in the future, ask her about O’Casey’s Wish. It tends to travel with her everywhere she goes.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 3, 2025
4 stars ✨ Christian Fiction - Cozy Mystery
About this book:
“Harriet Bailey’s job as a veterinarian often means reassuring pet owners about their adored animals. So, when a local resident is distraught over her missing cat, Harriet does her best to calm the woman’s frayed nerves, advising her to wait a bit to see if the cat returns on her own. However, the arrival of a mysterious envelope containing a ransom note immediately proves Harriet wrong. Someone has taken Nessie!
As Harriet investigates, she discovers that Nessie is the subject of her late grandad’s most valuable painting, due to the highly publicized story of how Old Doc Bailey rescued and rehomed her as a kitten. When more pets are nabbed, Harriet redoubles her efforts to find the thief. In her search for answers, she discovers old tape recordings of her grandad sharing the stories behind his artwork. Could Old Doc Bailey’s own words about Nessie be the key to reuniting the famous feline and the other animals with their families?”
Series: Book #6 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Review of Book #1 Here!, Book #2 Here!, Book #3 Here!, Book #4 Here!, and Book #5 Here!
Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:32 at the beginning; A Scripture is mentioned & quoted; Church going; A couple Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Harriet feels comforted by being in church and not alone while in His presence; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of church, church going, services, sermons, & a pastor; Mentions of blessings; A mention of Bible study;
*Note: The phrase “thanking his lucky stars” is said once; A mention of jinxing one’s self; A mention of tempting fate.
Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Some grief (Harriet for her grandfather & starting to feel homesickness); All about & many mentions of missing/stolen/abducted pets, the culprit and motives, the worried owners, & ransom notes (including a threatening note); Many mentions of break-in, a stolen painting, & the thief; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for a grandfather, a wife, & a mother); A few mentions of jail; A few mentions of a pub; A few mentions of lying & a liar; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of a car accident; A mention of a cat being rescued from a burning bin;
*Note: Mentions of a car brand; A mention of an author (Ernest Hemingway).
Sexual Content- A tiny bit of noticing & blushes; A handful of mentions of dates & dating; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of an implied handsome man (Polly when she tries to watch the new handyman).
-Harriet Bailey, age 31 (?)
P.O.V. of Harriet
257 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Four Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars
It drove me a bit batty that Harriet doesn’t have cameras around the clinic or the galley, but I suppose having cameras doesn’t always solve the problem of who is trespassing and up to no good.
I actually wasn’t quite sure who the culprit was until the end when everything was revealed, so this mystery kept me on my toes as well. That doesn’t happen too often, so I would say I was invested in and impressed by this mystery!
Like many of the other books in this series, this sixth book was very clean and I would say it’s safe for avid reader preteens as well, especially those who like animals.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
About this book:
“Harriet Bailey’s job as a veterinarian often means reassuring pet owners about their adored animals. So, when a local resident is distraught over her missing cat, Harriet does her best to calm the woman’s frayed nerves, advising her to wait a bit to see if the cat returns on her own. However, the arrival of a mysterious envelope containing a ransom note immediately proves Harriet wrong. Someone has taken Nessie!
As Harriet investigates, she discovers that Nessie is the subject of her late grandad’s most valuable painting, due to the highly publicized story of how Old Doc Bailey rescued and rehomed her as a kitten. When more pets are nabbed, Harriet redoubles her efforts to find the thief. In her search for answers, she discovers old tape recordings of her grandad sharing the stories behind his artwork. Could Old Doc Bailey’s own words about Nessie be the key to reuniting the famous feline and the other animals with their families?”
Series: Book #6 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Review of Book #1 Here!, Book #2 Here!, Book #3 Here!, Book #4 Here!, and Book #5 Here!
Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:32 at the beginning; A Scripture is mentioned & quoted; Church going; A couple Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Harriet feels comforted by being in church and not alone while in His presence; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of church, church going, services, sermons, & a pastor; Mentions of blessings; A mention of Bible study;
*Note: The phrase “thanking his lucky stars” is said once; A mention of jinxing one’s self; A mention of tempting fate.
Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Some grief (Harriet for her grandfather & starting to feel homesickness); All about & many mentions of missing/stolen/abducted pets, the culprit and motives, the worried owners, & ransom notes (including a threatening note); Many mentions of break-in, a stolen painting, & the thief; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for a grandfather, a wife, & a mother); A few mentions of jail; A few mentions of a pub; A few mentions of lying & a liar; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of a car accident; A mention of a cat being rescued from a burning bin;
*Note: Mentions of a car brand; A mention of an author (Ernest Hemingway).
Sexual Content- A tiny bit of noticing & blushes; A handful of mentions of dates & dating; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of an implied handsome man (Polly when she tries to watch the new handyman).
-Harriet Bailey, age 31 (?)
P.O.V. of Harriet
257 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Four Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars
It drove me a bit batty that Harriet doesn’t have cameras around the clinic or the galley, but I suppose having cameras doesn’t always solve the problem of who is trespassing and up to no good.
I actually wasn’t quite sure who the culprit was until the end when everything was revealed, so this mystery kept me on my toes as well. That doesn’t happen too often, so I would say I was invested in and impressed by this mystery!
Like many of the other books in this series, this sixth book was very clean and I would say it’s safe for avid reader preteens as well, especially those who like animals.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
October 7, 2024
I have to say this is the best so far in the series (to me). A lot happening. More than one missing animal this time around, a voice from the past, reminders of faith, and, of course, plenty of mystery. As I thought of new suspects while reading it would be at the same time that Harriet thought of them as well....how cool is that!! And a nice homey surprise to end it all.
September 7, 2024
Loved It!
This was a feel good book you don’t want to miss. Although I had not read the other installments of the Cobble Hill Mysteries, I felt connected to the characters immediately, like they had been a part of my circle of friends for years. The culprit turned out to be a surprise, and Dr. Harriett is someone one you want to root for and be friends with. Excellent book!
This was a feel good book you don’t want to miss. Although I had not read the other installments of the Cobble Hill Mysteries, I felt connected to the characters immediately, like they had been a part of my circle of friends for years. The culprit turned out to be a surprise, and Dr. Harriett is someone one you want to root for and be friends with. Excellent book!
May 26, 2025
I have been really enjoying this series, and I think "A Little Bird Told Me" is my favorite so far.
Harriet Bailey is a very likable character and easy to root for. The story had a nice pace and a good variety of possible suspects to keep the reader guessing. Laura Bradford is a great cozy mystery writer, and I love that she got to write one of the books for the Cobble Hill Farm series.
Harriet Bailey is a very likable character and easy to root for. The story had a nice pace and a good variety of possible suspects to keep the reader guessing. Laura Bradford is a great cozy mystery writer, and I love that she got to write one of the books for the Cobble Hill Farm series.
July 5, 2025
3.5. I am nearing the end of this series, I think and am a little glad. I have adored it but the last one and this one just seem to drag the story on longer than necessary. Still love the characters, still love the story, it just feels like author's are meeting a page quota and instead of giving more nuggets into the mystery throughout, they repeat or rehash info to simply drag it all along.
May 17, 2025
I'm really enjoying this cozy mystery series! Set against the beautiful backdrop of the English countryside, the charming villages, rolling green hills, and vibrant gardens create a lovely atmosphere. This series is perfect for animal lovers, and the plot kept me guessing until the very end!
August 2, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were interesting, the plot believable and the medical mystery captivating. There were enough red herrings to keep me guessing. Well done. Made me cry a few times as well.
March 12, 2026
Creative
Using a parrot as the clue holder was brilliant. The care and concern the heroine shows for a bird is inspiring.
Learning that some dogs cant digest meat was informative as well.
The compassion Harriet showed others despite her own troubles was inspiring.
Using a parrot as the clue holder was brilliant. The care and concern the heroine shows for a bird is inspiring.
Learning that some dogs cant digest meat was informative as well.
The compassion Harriet showed others despite her own troubles was inspiring.
September 8, 2024
Love love love this series. Each books takes up where the last one left off.
October 13, 2024
If a bird could talk
Twists and turns abound in this book. It kept me thinking I knew the answers to the mysteries and then it took me in another direction. It’s a great read.
Twists and turns abound in this book. It kept me thinking I knew the answers to the mysteries and then it took me in another direction. It’s a great read.
November 9, 2024
Solid mystery. Enjoyed.
March 7, 2025
I really enjoy this series through Guide Posts.
April 23, 2025
Enjoyable, fun, light reading.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews