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Hetta Coffey Mystery #10

Just For The Birds

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Hetta Coffey is a sassy woman with a snazzy yacht and she's not afraid to use it!
While docked at Marina de la Paz, in Mexico's hauntingly beautiful Sea of Cortez, Hetta gets a surprise visitor that sets off a chain of events like only Hetta can manage to get herself embroiled in. With her best friend, Jan, and her dog, Po Thang, they are hot on the trail of some dastardly smugglers.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2018

273 people are currently reading
150 people want to read

About the author

Jinx Schwartz

29 books317 followers
Jinx Schwartz is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of the award-winning Hetta Coffey series.

JUST ADD WATER, first in the series, introduces Hetta, a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it. JUST ADD SALT, JUST ADD TROUBLE, JUST DESERTS, JUST THE PITS, JUST NEEDS KILLIN', AND JUST DIFFERENT DEVILS get her into hot Mexican Waters. JUST PARDON MY FRENCH, BOOK 8, FINDS HETTA IN FRANCE and Book 9: JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY, takes a wild ride on two continents, and JUST FOR THE BIRDS, Book 10, gets her afowl of exotic bird smugglers. Book 11 finds her in Texas, and living in an RV until her boat goes missing back in Mexico, and in Just On Porpoise (12 ) her attention is drawn to the almost extinct Vaquita, and JUST SO WRONG (13) finds Hetta taking on the dogfighting trade. Her other books: The Texicans (Texas 1806-1836 Historical Western), Land of Mountains, a YA/TWEEN set in Haiti in the 1950's, Troubled Sea, a thriller in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, and BAJA GET AWAY, suspensful romance in Mexico.

Jinx spends equal time in Arizona and Mexico.

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5 stars
398 (69%)
4 stars
122 (21%)
3 stars
39 (6%)
2 stars
8 (1%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
Profile Image for Betty.
2,004 reviews73 followers
July 15, 2018
TROUBLE is back creating chaos in Hetty Coffey's life in the 10th book of the series. He is slimy, underweight and refusing water and food. TROUBLE'S plight alerts Hetta that something is wrong at the bird sanctuary. She calls Jan to come to La Paz to aid her to keep P.o. Thang and Ground apart. Together they call several veterinarians to check TROUBLE. The parrot's and Po Thang's antics will have you laughing and smiling. Craig and Roger arrived and it is decided to scout out the bird sanctuary. When Hetta is angry anything can happen and the book begins a series of twists and turns that won't want to put the book down. I read in one sitting. Will the gang be successful in stopping the bird smuggling of the birds or will they lose their lives? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.
7,760 reviews50 followers
May 19, 2020
Hetta leaves her dog Po inside the cabin of her boat while she is out shopping. To returning find police have come onto her boat, because of the ruckus. Trouble got out from the bird sanctuary he was at, now at the boat their antics are great. Trouble refusing to eat or drink, something must be going on at the sanctuary and trying to tell Hetta. In which she find the smuggling of exotic birds. As usually where she is at, there is always trouble awaiting. Another good story full of laughs.
Profile Image for Kat Lebo.
855 reviews15 followers
October 10, 2020
𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒔, Hetta Coffey Mysteries, Book #10
by Jinx Schwartz

As usual, Schwartz a novel full of fun, action, intrigue and humor. This time, she adds some hot topic issues to the mix: exotic animal smuggling and human trafficking.

Jenks and Chino are only present on the phone, and Jenks makes it into the epilogue. Also, Rhonda and Nacho are present only on the phone and by e-mail. But the rest of the crew is onboard: Hetta, of course, her dog Po'Thang, her former parrot, Trouble, Jan, Cholo, and from stateside, Roger and Craig. Craig Washington's parents also have a cameo in this episode. Add to that some animal and people traffickers, lots of exotic birds, and a baker's dozen of kidnapped young girls, a crooked thug pretending to be an honest rancher/muleteer, some very awkward but still dangerous cartel members, a old man driving a taco truck, and the Members of the La Paz bay yacht owners, a literal pirate ship and the Mexican military convoy running a practice exercise and you have the making of a novel full of surprises.

The editing and proofing were very good, although I found a couple of errors, but I only bookmarked one of them. It occurs in the 6th paragraph of Chapter Twenty-nine: "All three of us rushed to the bridge -- make that four; Po Thang beat us up there, slipping making it past me as I shut the door..." I'm assuming the word slipping was to replace the word making, but then making never got removed. The plotting and pacing were perfect and the whole book flowed like the water the Raymond Johnson floats on. There was no cliffhanger ending.

My only disappointments were that I expected more action in a couple of places, namely the rescue at the bird sanctuary and the ending action scene of stopping the smugglers. There was action, but compared to some of the other scrapes Jan and Hetta have gotten into, it seemed more like a cozy mystery than a mystery/thriller. Still, I loved the book, so I'll be moving on to the next in the series soon.
Profile Image for Michele.
1,852 reviews63 followers
July 18, 2018
Hetta gets herself in more trouble--and she really looks for it! Her parents bird-which became her bird-named TROUBLE for very good reason-appeared on her boat and got in a tussle with Po Thang-her lovable dog! Well I will say that bird was mighty smart and picked up quickly what would work ---detente! I just love the cover of this book-it reminds me of when I had a trained canary and a puppy--the canary would dive bomb the puppy's head--the the puppy grew up-and chased that bird for all he was worth--detente between those two-never.

Because of the way Trouble looked--all greasy and barely eating--Hetta called her veterinarian friend. She found out they smuggled exotic birds--and she was bound and determined to stop those dirty no good---while at it--huffing and puffing up hills--she and her cohorts suddenly realize that birds aren't the only thing getting smuggled!! Hetta calls in the Calvary!

I found myself alternately laughing, shaking my head and worrying (hey I'm an animal lover). Do Hetta and gang manage to save the birds and the others? And just who was the ultimate smuggler? You will have to read this book to find out.
Profile Image for John Dolan.
Author 18 books259 followers
May 15, 2019
'Just for the Birds' is Book 10 in the Hetta Coffee mystery series, and although it would be a good idea to start with Book 1 ('Just Add Water'), you can actually jump in anywhere as 'Just' is not a series reliant on cliffhangers.
You've got to love a novel that starts:
"You just know it’s gonna be a crappy afternoon when you return from grocery shopping to find your boat’s deck crawling with armed men."
Hetta Coffee, Jinx Schwartz's no-nonsense protagonist, is a delight. The writing is sharp and witty,and the plot deliciously twisty and unpredictable: even after so many installments, Schwartz's invention shows no sign of flagging. Frenzied birds, swinging anchors, and a sharp-tongued heroine...
Summer is coming, folks, and the 'Just' series is ideal for a beach read - so load up your Kindle with some Hetta and enjoy!
Profile Image for D Jones.
47 reviews
February 11, 2025
Fun, Fast, Read with Lots of Action

Bird and child smugglers run up against Hetta and her gang. Everyone is involved in this adventure including Craig’s parents, Craig and Roger, Jan, Hetta, Cholo, Nacho and the pretty female agent from the States. It takes all of them to round up the bird smugglers. Having been alerted when Trouble showed back up on the boat with grease all over himself and missing feathers. Hetta starts trying to contact the rescue organization that had taken Trouble in. That is when she discovered the owners were missing and encountered a truck unloading dozens of exotic birds hidden under fruit shipments. Now Hetta has to save the birds (hopefully still alive), find the rescue operators, rescue the 10 children these creeps were also kidnapping, and make it back home alive.
Profile Image for Susan Hawthorne.
Author 9 books29 followers
July 27, 2019
Always exciting when Hetta and Jan have another adventure and take me along!

I'm always in line for the next Hetta Coffey story! And this one definitely was worth the wait!
This is one of the best series I've read in a long time, I've followed the author so I'll be sure to hear when the next book is coming out. I don't want to miss a moment with Hetta, Jan, Po' Thang and the rest of the gang.
Always laugh out loud funny, these book also always manage to pull you into the moment, feel the danger, wonder how'll they'll make it through this time AND tug at your heartstrings a time or two.
Give them a try, I think you'll love them!
91 reviews1 follower
November 6, 2020
So much fun!!

I love all the Hetta Coffey books! They all make me laugh out loud but Just For The Birds had me in stitches. I just kept laughing throughout the book. Not only is Jinx Schwartz is a great story teller but her descriptions make the reader feel as if she is right there on the Raymond Johnson with Hetta and crew. Hetta is very funny and definitely prone to speaking her mind. Her banter with Jan, her best friend keeps cracking me up! This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys righting a wrong all the while laughing and carrying on with Hetta and friends. I highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Karen Kearns.
346 reviews2 followers
July 14, 2018
TROUBLE Rides Again

Hetta Coffey, after having settled Trouble in a reputable bird sanctuary, is overwhelmingly surprised to return from grocery shopping to find her boat virtually surrounded by Mexican police, Po Thang making a ruckus, and neighboring boaters upset & concerned. The cause of said ruckus? The return of a scrawny, mottled parrot, Trouble. Thus begins the tenth Hetta Coffey adventure...thus taking on exotic bird smugglers.
A great read with a great characters and an interesting, often comedic storyline.
28 reviews3 followers
July 16, 2018
This is probably one of the best books in the series. Hetta actually almost behaves herself. The book followed well and made good sense. I love all the Hetta Coffey books but she does get a bit out of control. This plot could actually have happened. All the characters are wonderful and the relationships are great. Perhaps next book could even feature an adventure with Jenks (instead of him being left out). I would also like to see more of Chino. And, of course, Roger and Craig (with the Drs. Washington).
Profile Image for Nadine.
222 reviews5 followers
July 18, 2018
Please come 11

Well another fine Hetta and Jan adventure. Add PoThang and Trouble and voila! Pardon my French (pun intended). Trouble flies in and off they go after calling in a few friends who were down in Papas for a relaxing much needed vaca - haha. It never amazes me how our so called heroine finds herself in so many fixes - in Mexico Baja Sur no less and comes out smelling like a rose among a few other things this time. Put on your specks and sit down to enjoy numero Dietz of Jinx Schwartz's Just For The Birds.
549 reviews7 followers
November 12, 2018
Long live Hetta Coffey! But this wasn't one of my favorites. For some reason, I kept thinking that I'd already read this.
Hetta is as feisty as always as she attempts to rescue some Mexican girls and exotic birds. It was nice to have some former characters revisit her to help, but they really weren't present enough to make a big impression. The "bad guy" was never really developed enough to despise appropriately. And no appearance from Jenks, Hetta's long-distance love!
Maybe we need a different setting again? But please keep the bird!
864 reviews7 followers
June 18, 2019
I read every Jinx book I come across. I am not a sailor and never hope to be one. Reading her books I live through her high jinx's with the characters. The characters are so memorable that I will be going over the story with them for days. Her stories are so full of suspense and action. I want to be part of the crew and sail with them and experience it all even though I know it is fiction. One of the few books I give 5 stars too.

I hope Jinx will write about her motor home experiences woven into exciting reads now that she is living on shore.
Profile Image for SandyL.
3,730 reviews
October 27, 2019
This is the first book I've read in this series and it was a fun and entertaining story. Hetta Coffey is a wealthy woman who has a yacht she docks at ports in Mexico (and I guess other places based on conversation in the book.) She had given a parrot she acquired to a bird sanctuary, but when the bird, named Trouble, reappears and she can't get ahold of the sanctuary, she knows something is up. Her and her zany cohorts uncover a bird smuggling operation and try to shut it down. Lots of witty banter, drinking and shooting people in this book!
5 reviews
July 23, 2018
Way to go Hetta

Another great crime solving adventure for Hetta and friends. I've read all 10 of Jinx's book and have enjoyed each one. Hetta, our sassy heroine, fights for what is right. This time she goes after exotic bird smugglers only to find more immoral crimes.
Love reading Jinx's books. I wiz through the pages enjoying Hetta's go-get-'im determination to solve the dilemma then cheer the happy ending. Another Hetta adventure that puts a smile on my face.
836 reviews10 followers
July 15, 2018
Lots of Trouble!

Trouble is back in more ways than one! I love the relationships that abound in this book. BFF Jan, Craig, Roger, & Topez come down to LaPaz to support their friend Hetta, where they find themselves in some very dangerous trouble. I really enjoy the humor that twists in & out. Craig’s mother was hilarious. And the setting is as gorgeous as it is deadly!
Profile Image for KELA Goodridge .
107 reviews6 followers
July 20, 2018
I have no plans, and I'm sticking to them.

Laugh out loud funny, as is every Hetta Coffey book. I really enjoy how Jinx uses words... Yabbut, lee-tle, midnight procurement, cocolocos. Number 10 in the series was extremely hard for me to put down. Please don't take too long to bring us another Hetta, Jan, and Po Thang adventure in the Sea of Cortez!
61 reviews4 followers
July 20, 2018
More fun with Hetta

What a nice morning I've had with Hetta, Jan and company. All of my favorites were at least mentioned this time. Bad guy was a smuggler of birds and girls sadly. Read the book! I would love to really be asea on boat under the night sky in that beautiful place.
Thank you, Jinx Schwartz and condolences on the loss of your dear spouse.
13 reviews
July 22, 2018
Always a pleasure to find out what trouble blows in for Hetta

Always in a fix and trouble seems to follow Hetta. That she has a dog and a bird ready to help and save the day is no surprise.. Danger and shenanigans are her normal, it is always fun to see whatever is in the middle if this time..
Profile Image for Cindy B. .
3,899 reviews219 followers
December 23, 2018
Nice mystery plot and characters are defined. I read this previously and didn’t want to re-read it. Some LGBA references (not graphic but still unnecessary - we know you’re out there and don’t need to start conversations with, “I’m gay.” Try it like us, it works better for everyone. It’s part of good manners). Would’ve rated higher but...can’t recommend.
Profile Image for Loretta.
386 reviews
January 1, 2019
Hetta Coffey and her do Po Thang live on her boat in Mexico. Trouble her Parrot was at a bird sanctuary but suddenly flew to the boat weak and sick. Hetta found out that something was not right and called her friends for help to find answers. There is always a lot of action and excitement in Hetta's life.
Profile Image for Jennie Ersari.
409 reviews3 followers
July 28, 2019
More trouble for Hetta!

Once again trouble finds Hetta again, this time in the form of her old bird named Trouble. The bird shows up on her yacht covered in something greasy and missing feathers. Hetta is determined to find out what happened at the bird sanctuary where Trouble was living.
2 reviews
March 1, 2020
I enjoy Jinx’s books and do look forward to the next. They are like comfort food. This book (#10) was not up to the author’s standards with what appeared to be minimal effort put into the story line. I do have the author’s 11th book lined up to read so I hope it is up to Jinx’s past standards. Easy for us to criticize, but I don’t profess to be a writer.
155 reviews3 followers
September 8, 2020
Another super fun summer read!

This is my second time reading this series and I’m loving it all over again. This story was action packed! You might think, how much can really happen to a girl living on a boat? Oh my gosh, the adventures she continues to have, the trouble she gets into. I love all her pals and her pets. So much fun! Can’t wait to start the next book!
42 reviews3 followers
April 28, 2022
More Coffey?

My first Coffey won't be my last...Hetta and her cronies seem to enjoy being badass good guys and appear pretty capable!!! Beating up on crooks trafficking in endangered birds and kidnapped children is all in a day's work. Throw in a big dog and an attack parrot and you get a fast moving, fun read!
84 reviews3 followers
July 15, 2018
Hetta goes to the Birds

Hetta's Macaw, Trouble, shows up on the boat without warning. Por Thang gets best up by the bird! Why has Trouble come back after he was in a bird sanctuary?
Profile Image for Jackson Bell.
92 reviews5 followers
July 16, 2018
Trouble arrives for Hetta. Trouble her former terror of a pet Monk Parrot returns to terrorize Po Thing and drag Hetta and Jan into another mystery. Jinx is a writer who keeps me turning pages and laughing while on the edge of my seat. Recommended.
19 reviews1 follower
July 18, 2018
Love Hetta, Jan, Ok Thang and Trouble.

I love this series. Hetta is always getting in some jam. She always gets out of it. Funny characters and story lines. I can't wait for
the next book.
31 reviews2 followers
July 22, 2018
Birds

I have read everyone of Jinx Schwartz's books and I have loved everyone of them. You laugh a lot as you are trying to figure out who done it. I love P.o. Tang. Wish I had a dog like him.
42 reviews4 followers
July 29, 2018
Love Hetta Coffey!

This is an entertaining series with interesting characters. I love the setting in Mexico and the strong female characters. Hetta is a hoot and you never know what she will do!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews

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