"You can ask just about anybody in town about the Pine County Rod, Gun, Dog and Social Club and probably the first thing they will tell you is that the five of us are a bunch of worthless bird hunters that spend all of October in the woods with our dogs and shotguns. Which is more-or-less true, although we would not agree with the worthless part, because anyone who is a real bird hunter would say it is about the most worthwhile thing in life. "Now I know family should be first on your list, but there are times when any man alive will tell you that your wife and kids make this family-is-always-first business a blister on your heel because she wants all your free time and every dollar of your money, and they want all of your attention even on days when you have got important things to do. And if you think your wife is going to show any appreciation, well you can just forget that and expect that you will get no respect and be treated like her hired man or something no matter what you do. "But your dogs will never treat you like that. Even on the days you don't find any birds or you shoot bad or you get lost or get caught in the rain, they still have a good time and they still like you, and they like whatever you fix for lunch." If you enjoy outdoor humor stories you will enjoy "Hunting Birds," a tale of a rural county murder mystery woven around the lives of the Pine County Rod, Gun, Dog and Social Club whose misadventures are ribald, sincere, cynical, hilarious, and heartwarming.