 |
- Mystery - |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Murder With Puffins |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Murder With Puffins byDonna Andrews St. Martin’s Press 352 pages, 2000 ISBN 0312262213 Reviewed by PJ Nunn Read our review of Murder With Peacocks, winner of an Agatha Award for First Novel. Ever have one of those days? Meg Langslow is having one of those lives. She’s survived a summer of three disastrous weddings - with the bonus of a murder thrown in for fun. She’s also accepted the fact that her family, and possibly everyone she knows, is a little crazy. And, she’s made up her mind to evict the procrastinating artist who’s overstaying his lease in her apartment, necessitating a prolonged stay at her mother’s house. But first, she’s made arrangements to spend a long awaited, romantic weekend with her friend Michael at her aunt’s cottage on the island of Monhegan. It’s such a lovely plan. Too bad every living relative she has seems to have planned their vacations at the same time – and at the same place. As if it isn’t bad enough to find a houseful of relatives when they arrive, a hurricane follows, trapping them all together on the island indefinitely. Sleeping on the couch, while Michael shares a room with her brother, is not Meg’s idea of a good time. Top that off with the island’s most hated resident found floating dead in a tide pool - followed by the discovery of his nude paintings of Meg’s mom - and you’ve got a festive gathering indeed. Of course, Meg’s dad thinks she’s the ultimate amateur detective and he’s thrilled with the opportunity for a little sleuthing. Unfortunately, he appears to be the most likely suspect. The guy’s death was no accident. Does Meg dare keep looking and risk uncovering another family secret? Andrews is back and better than ever. Murder With Puffins picks up right where MURDER WITH PEACOCKS left off - depositing readers on the island of Monhegan where chaos reigns. Once again, Meg and Michael seem to be the only sane people around, but the others are delightfully quirky. Andrews’ descriptions enable readers to taste the salty ocean spray, hear the relentless pounding of hurricane rain and feel the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small cottage filled with eccentric relatives and birdwatchers. In the midst of it all, there’s a mystery. And if you look hard enough, you’ll even find a puffin. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||