Beware the Laughing Gull [Unabridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Lydia Adamson (Author), Norman Dietz (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1999

Amateur sleuth Lucy Wayles and her bird-watching group are surprised by the sudden announcement that one of their members is planning to get married after their morning session of birding. But before the bride can say I do, she's shot down during the ceremony. When the police are unable to find the killer, Lucy hatches a plan to trap the killer herself!.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

This is a thin mystery in which the characters are just characters, and none of them are well rounded. The Olmsted Irregulars should be a lot of laughs, but they aren't. They don't have snappy New York conversations, see themselves as being at the center of the universe, or eat in delicatessens. Norman Dietz does very well with the enigmatic, brilliant sleuth Lucy Wayles, but the men sound pathetic to the point that one wonders why Lucy would have anything to do with them, especially Marcus, who sighs a lot. The mispronounciations by all the characters are also disconcerting. B.H.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079272299X
• ISBN-13: 978-0792722991
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,819,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Note about the author, November 29, 1999

By 

C. Quillen (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beware the Laughing Gull (Lucy Wayles Mysteries) (Paperback)

The reviewer from California is way off base. Lydia Adamson is the pseudonym of Franklin B. (Frank) King, so I would say that HE is well-qualified to write as a male character in the first person.

1.0 out of 5 stars Pity the poor gull . . ., October 17, 2000

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beware the Laughing Gull (Lucy Wayles Mysteries) (Paperback)

Beware the Laughing Gull by Lydia Adamson

I've rather enjoyed the Alice Nestleton books by this author, but more for the theater background than the cats. Heresy, I know. I tried one of the Dr. Nightingale books, and found it so hard going, there was no inclination to try any of the later ones about this erstwhile female veterinarian. Somehow, I missed the first two books in this new series about bird-watchers in New York--Central Park, to be exact. On further thought, I don't think I did miss much that I'd care to replace.

Subtitled "A Lucy Wayles Mystery" I found her to be a rather obnoxious and uninteresting character, once I'd gotten over the surprise of discovering that the first-person narrator wasn't Lucy. Rather, it is a male retired doctor, Markus Bloch, who is at least one sandwich short of a picnic, although long on patience. Lucy and Markus are the eldest of the six-member group of bird-watchers centering the story. Markus is totally in love with Lucy, who either uses or ignores him. Or talks in riddles over, behind and around him.

If you like puzzles in which most of the important clues are missing; if you like being part of what seems like several conversations going on at the same time, although it's usually only the same two folks talking--Lucy and Markus--then you might like this enigmatic book which is over-loaded with non sequitors. I can promise that the solution will come as a major surprise to the reader, as there was not one clue anywhere until about 30 pages from the end of the book. Sorry, but I find no reason to recommend this book, and probably not any of the others in the series, either, if they're all like this one. I haven't the patience that Markus has, to begin with.

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep On Lucy, Keep On, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Beware the Laughing Gull (Lucy Wayles Mysteries) (Paperback)

Enjoy all the series this author puts out under the Adamson name. These books are great to read and move along enough to keep interest up. I have never been to Central Park but writer makes me feel right there with his words. But please mister author give your male lead a small backbone transplant. I know he is lovesick for Lucy ( and wish someone was that way with me) but I feel so sorry for him that even in his own home he is afraid of his roommate. The man needs a quite, safe place to go to after a day with Lucy. This "roommate" needs to sniff out a clue once in a while to earn his keep so to speak. Anyway, the male lead telling the story spins a good tale in an way that makes me look forward to the next book. Would like to see some more snippets of birding facts scattered about. It is nice to be entertained and educated at the same time without really knowing it.