Fowl Prey

I've been rereading Mary Daheim's Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery series backwards, so I was already spoiled for a few things in Fowl Prey, the last chapter of which explains why Joe Flynn never called Judith after his Las Vegas disaster.

Joe does have a role in this book, even though most of it takes place in Canada, where Renie and Judith are on vacation. The cousins run in to an old school friend of Judith's who has since become famous as a dancer. Maria also married a famous producer, Max Rothstein. Max and his 'Sacred Eight' are having a reunion at the Hotel Clovis.

Luckily for the cousins, whose reservation has been lost, the last two members of the Sacred Eight, movie star Jonathan Castle and his wife, rock star Clea Rome, are being show more held up. Maria offers Judith and Renie their room.

Besides the colorful theatrical-or-related members of the group, we readers are treated to an even more colorful local popcorn vendor called 'Bob-o'. Thanks to Judith's genuine interest in others, she and Renie have tea at Bob-o's shack. Is Bob-o just making up a more interesting past for himself with what he tells them? We soon have reason to think not.

The police are on strike and the cousins need to be home by Thursday -- Thanksgiving in the USA. Can Judith solve the mystery so they can get home in time before her grouchy mother can pitch a world-class fit? show less

Judith McMoingle's vacation to Canada with her cousin Renie was supposed to be a relaxing one, far away from the busyness of her bed-and-breakfast. But when a local popcorn vendor is found murdered and suspicion falls onto Judith and Renie, they must work to clear their name.

I was really looking forward to this one. It's set in my home country of Canada, a location I haven't seen too often in cozies before, and it's supposed to be set in Vancouver, a city I've visited before. It's not set in Vancouver. Instead, it's set in the fictional town of Port Royal, which appears to be somewhat modelled off of the Canadian city of Victoria.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that for much of the book, I thought it was actually a historical cozy show more mystery set in some indeterminate period in the past. It is not. In my defense, there were heavy references to British culture in this Canadian town and the dialogue often seemed unnatural and a bit dated. I admit that I may have missed some context having not read the first book in the series, but still: I wouldn't expect the time period to be a major source of confusion.

On top of that, I found the mystery to be difficult to follow. There are many characters and suspects to follow. Key clues pointing to the murderer were difficult to pick up on, leading to a surprise ending.

That being said though, the plot has a lot of potential! A travel cozy combined with glitzy and eccentric celebrity suspects in the Sacred Eight, a who's who of theatre people who are staying at the same hotel as Judith and Renie, could make for a very fun read. Unfortunately, the confusing nature of the book dampened my enjoyment.

Readers should know that there is an animal murder in this book. In general however, the book has little violence.

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This book is yet another mystery. Never before has Canada seemed like a crime spree waiting to happened. But in this murder mystery, concealed identities, family fortunes, and hidden relationships turn out to reveal a twisted story of one crazy man and his death.

I think I missed something with this one — namely the "Eureka!" moment where our amateur sleuth clued in on whatever was going on. I had to re-read an entire chapter and still was left in the fog.