I’m excited to have my friend and fellow mystery author G.P. Gottlieb as a guest today on my blog. I am also happy to welcome G.P. aboard as an Anamcara Press author. Her delightful mystery, Battered, the first in her Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series, is a delectable blend of mouthwatering recipes, quirky neighborhood drama, and page-turning suspense. Perfect for fans of culinary cozies, it’s a tale where friendship, food, and murder are always on the menu. Enjoy the following synopsis.
Birding and Murder at Montrose Point in Chicago
The sun was breaking through the morning mist as we pulled on our old sneakers, filled our backpacks with supplies, and headed to the bird sanctuary at Montrose Point, a few miles from where we live near Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive.
We don’t know much about birds, but our 9-year-old great-nephew, whose “life list” would impress all but the most advanced birders, was enamored. A twice-exceptional child, he discovered the world of birds after deep dives into several other subjects, including carbonated drinks and batting averages.
When we caught up with him and his father at “the Magic Hedge,” a stretch of trees and shrubs that attracts thousands of migratory birds, he’d already started seeking the Great Lakes Piping Plover that was said to be making a rare appearance.
Binoculars glued to his face, he immediately began calling out the names of birds we could hear but not see, patiently pointing out their locations. Other birders were also wandering the trails, and many gathered near our great nephew, knowing from experience that he’d probably be the first one to spot the elusive plover. One older man called out the name of a different bird swooping by, I didn’t catch what he said, and our great nephew corrected him, much to the admiration of the other birders.
And what was I doing as we scanned the trees? I write murder mysteries, so my thoughts were about where a murder might take place, where a body might be hidden, and where a bird might draw attention if its nest had been disturbed. I imagined birders competing and an argument ending in tragedy, though birders are mostly known as kind and thoughtful people. (I’m sure there are a few bad eggs, if you’ll pardon the expression).
But Montrose Point closes at dusk, so the only way a murderer could dump a body would be by bringing it in by boat, dragging it through the swampy sand, and trying to bury it deep enough that it wouldn’t pop up overnight.
Our great nephew and his dad got ahead of us – they moved quickly up and down the trails. We tried to follow, but looking at things through binoculars is not in my skill set (not even at the opera), and hurrying while gazing at the treetops is not always healthy for an aging grandma with balance issues. I bumped into other birders, exclaimed “Oops,” and “Sorry” when it was least appreciated, and only saw blurry glimpses of wings and feathers.
They didn’t see the plover that morning, and I hardly saw anything, but as we enjoyed the warmth of summer and the sound of birds singing, I realized that the coast guard would see a flashlight after the park was closed and investigate, so a murderer’s only chance would be to skip the bird sanctuary and dump the body in the lake. He wouldn’t be the first.
GP Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series (Battered was re-released 9/2025 in Paperback, Kindle and Nook). She’s a member of the Blackbird Writers, on the Sisters in Crime Chicagoland Board, and active in SinC Colorado. She likes posting on Facebook, reads voraciously, and has interviewed over 250 authors for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. Her stories have been published in Pure Slush, Another Chicago Magazine, Grande Dame Literary, and other journals and anthologies. Over 250 of her essays on travel, music, culture, writing, and things that annoy her are available in various publications at Medium.Com.
