This is a delightful, quirky mystery that moves quickly and keeps you guessing. Marcella Hollister is an antiques dealer whose husband, Quinn, enjoys breeding and showing birds. They're taking a few days off from the antiques business to attend a bird show, where Quinn hopes his parrot, Ruby, will win Best New Color. Marcella's mother Thelma, living with them since the death of Marcella's stepfather Raoul, is along for the trip, and in fact is paying for it from the money she's inherited from Raoul's carefully tended 401(k) plan. Thelma seems unusually jumpy, and is convinced that a certain white van is following them. Once they're at the hotel for the event, things don't calm down. Thelma and Quinn have a silly tug-of-war over Ruby's cage that ends in Ruby and Thelma falling into the pool along with a live electrical wire. They're quickly rescued, and Thelma is rushed to the hospital.

It takes a few days before they figure out that there is now psychic connection between Ruby's mind and Thelma's, and they are likely to unexpectedly spout each other's favorite words and phrases.

Over the next few days, a stranger offers to do a psychic reading of Ruby, Thelma is kidnapped out of the hospitals, and Marcella finds out from the FBI that her mother has been spending currency that was stolen in an unsolved bank robbery in the 1960s. Alarmed by the sinister events suddenly swirling around them, Marcella and Quinn decide they have to get to the bottom of the mystery themselves.

Which is, of course, when things start to really spiral out of control.

Marcella, Quinn, and Thelma are all flawed but likable characters, and digging into the mystery of Raoul's background and the source of his money is in equal measures confusing and fascinating.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher. ( )

As I get older, I find that I'm less and less willing to work hard for a read. That isn't to say that I don't like rich, deep characterisation, complex plots, or intriguing, well crafted settings. I just don't want to have to take a lot of time or energy to become absorbed into them. That's why Aaron Paul Lazar's mysteries are always such a pleasurable reading experience for me. They're easy without being facile. They're lighthearted and fun without being silly, and they're warm without sentimentality. You can't help liking the characters, and admiring the way in which they use brains and integrity rather than brawns to outsmart the bad guys. The newest series is the Tall Pines Mysteries, of which For the Birds is the first book. Like all of Lazar's books, the settings are based on places Lazar himself knows well, and are beautifully depicted, showing a respect for the unique beauty of nature. The Tall Pines are all set in the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks regions of New York, with their white water lakes, tall trees (of course) and blue mountains. For the Birds is set primarily in a large, fancy hotel of the same name, designed specifically for bird lovers, with a two story glass aviary centre piece surrounded by star shaped rooms radiating outward.

The narrator of the story is the gutsy Marcella Hollister, married to the attentive and handsome Quinn, who has a propensity to walk around shirtless, showing off his toned physique. Lazar does a superb job with Marcella -- it's hard to believe that this novel is written by a man, as Marcella admires her husband, removes makeup, and ponders her relationship with her mother in a way that's authentically female. Quinn is a good foil for her with his obsessive compulsive tidiness and fear of germs coupled with a tender protectiveness, while Marcella's mother Thelma provides a strong comic element with her sharp opinions, and generous bankrolling of the holiday. The star of the book however is without doubt, Ruby, their colourful parakeet:

The vet stepped back with a smile when Ruby raised her little beak in the air and wobbled to her feet. She took one false step, then trotted across the table to the edge toward Quinn and me. .“You da man!.” Her weak voice cackled. She jumped back into her cage and swung from her wooden perch. .“You da man! Feed Ruby! What da heck. Gimme cookies..”

Ruby is not only clever, she's the 'paranormal' element, as a bolt of electricity causes her to share portions of her personality with Thelma, providing much needed clues to the mystery that unfolds when Thelma suddenly disappears. Despite the supernatural elements, Ruby is utterly believable, and by the end of the novel, the reader becomes thoroughly enamored of her. For the Birds is a charming, engrossing story that keeps the reader guessing throughout, combining fast-paced plotting, and high quality thematics, with fun, easy to follow narration and a rich, enticing setting. It's hard to read this without being charmed by the real affection that the characters have or develop towards one another. There's much to be excited about in this new series and I hope we'll be seeing more of Ruby and Marcella in future books.

Article first published as Book Review: For the Birds by Aaron Paul Lazar on Blogcritics.

Review:

I agree with other reviewers, For the Birds by Aaron Paul Lazar is what I would call a sit-back-and-relax comfy-cozy mystery. Plenty of action, humor, and of course, murder, but the author's writing style is more fun and lighthearted than the typical run-of-the-mill murder mystery. It is one of those rare multi-genre novels that manages to pull-off a seemingly intricate plot-line without having the reader burst into a sweat. At first, the book lulled-about, I enjoyed reading about Quinn, Marcella, Thelma, and Ruby, although, like the family van, the story seemed to be going nowhere. Fortunately, the story jerked back into motion almost as soon as the characters were back on the road, and it kept at a decent pace until the end. I loved the characters, even Earl, and was very surprised that Aaron Paul Lazar managed to capture the actions and emotions of several females in a sensitive but realistic way - even better than some female authors. Personality-wise, I found most characters to be well-developed and diverse, however, Quinn annoyed me. I felt that his character was almost "too good to be true", and I wished that I could have seen more into his "thoughts" like I did with other characters; but overall, I felt that every role and relationship played into the plot. I actually did not see the ending coming, except for a few minor details, and I enjoyed the comical true-to-life and down-to-earth dialogue throughout. I also loved reading about the Adirondacks of New York - beautifully detailed and a great setting for the Tall Pines Mystery series. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, Essentially Yours! For the Birds is a wonderful mystery recommended for readers young adult and above.

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. ( )

An enchanting, thrilling and comical tale of love, secrets, discovery and learning to embrace those as they truly are.

This is the second book I have read from the author Aaron Lazar and he was already one of my favorite authors from the first read. Lazar’s beautiful, picturesque, descriptive scenes are not only relaxing but also very intense and perceptible. I actually find myself longing to be there in real life. I am being honest here when I tell you that the title of this book first had me a little confused. I thought, “has Lazar gone off the deep end writing a paranormal mystery novel about birds.” However, the meaning of the title of the book is kept secret until the very shocking and surprising end. This narrative keeps you on your toes yet at the same time it is very comical. I love Lazar's sense of humor and his characters are so life-like and witty one forgets one is reading a book. I was immediately captivated by this story of Marcella, who's husband Quinn's real love of his life is his parakeet. Marcella's mom, Thelma, is a spunky little lady who never fails to tell anyone exactly what is on her mind. I really could relate to this lady as my own mother has this type of personality. She can be so annoying yet you can't help but love her for it. Just when you are done being awestruck by the scenery, Lazar throws in mishaps, bird psychology and a kidnapping. Secrets linger in the shadows throughout the novel and some of these secrets turn out in the end to be unfathomable, at least for Marcella. ( )