Customer Reviews

Fowl Prey (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this book Judith McMonigle, madcap proprietor of a bed-and-breakfast, leaves her establishment to go on a vacation to Vancouver with her cousin and best friend, Renie. They go to the Clovia Hotel, a favorite with Renie and her husband, and while there they meet Marie, a girlhood friend who was a professional dancer and is now married to Max, a famous producer. Marie asks her old friends to join her and her friends who are all luminaries in the theater. Early in the book there is a murder, and Marie and her friends are the chief suspects. Judith, of course, feels that she is better qualified to solve the case than are the local police investigators. She and Renie follow several red herrings and pursue the pasts of each of their eight companions, with sometimes disastrous, sometimes hilarious results. This is a pleasant "cozy" for those who enjoy the genre.

I read "Just Desserts," and found it pretty interesting, and was looking forward to seeing what happened with Judith and Joe, her high school boyfriend from several years ago. While this book mentions Joe and there is some slight interaction, it seems to me to be long and rambling, and the "Sacred Eight" characters are just annoying. I may try to read the next in the series, but I'm struggling to finish this one! Have no doubts, I WANTED to enjoy this book, but it seems tedious and slow-moving.

Okay, so this is Nancy Drew for grown-ups. Judith and Renie are fun characters, and while half the fun is in trying to solve the puzzle, ( you don't have a chance here ), the other half is just in enjoying the relationship between the two women and the antics they get up to. Either you like them or you don't. As far as the mystery goes, in this one you are not given all the clues, or if you are they were too obscure for me, but that didn't really bother me. If you like the writer to be scrupulously fair then this isn't the book for you. Love Renie's food obsession Lots of food tips if you are ever in the Pacific Northwest, and if you have Renie' constitution. It is also fun, for me, to read about slightly older heroines who are not relegated to Knitting and rockers. Reminds me of Elizabeth Peters' Jacqueline Kirby series. I wish she'd written more of those, but Amelia Peabody is still around, so that's good. I enjoy Daheim's writing, both for the throw-away humor and the plotting, and I don't see why the previous reviewer was so upset about her relationship with Gertrude. Might as well say she ought to give Sweetums to an animal shelter. Judith just accepts what is, and so should the reader. This is Daheim's world, and she can populate it any way she likes. Recommended.

This second book in the Bed and Breakfast series continues to build the characters of Judith and Renie. The story is a bit convoluted and is not possible to solve without cheating, but the development of the main characters is imporant as you continue to read the series. These first few books were good reads. What I call 'bubblegum' in that they are not War and Peace and they help to unwind from the daily stressors without being over-taxing. What I found important when I continued to read this series was it helped me get a 'feel' for the characters. Not being of their generation, each book helps you to understand why the character would put up with an overly abrasive mother, a condescending 'love of her life' husband and various and sundry other characters. Sometimes throughout the series I find myself frustrated with the lack of spine in the main character, but taking her in context helps me to understand that forcing my morals and traits on her would not be true to her generation and beliefs. So I let things slide and just enjoy the books for what they are. Nice cozy reading.

I bought this book after noticing it rated 5 stars from someone that i had noticed had read and felt the same way about other books that i really liked. Thankfully I didn't read the first one (it was not liked at all). But 5 stars ? I forced myself to read the whole thing, it is a thin book, waiting for it to get better and it just never did. The characters were overly quirky but at the same time weakly developed. The was no one to cheer for or identify with. I love reading and like nothing more than to sink myself into a good book. Am always looking for new authors to try. If anyone has suggestions pass them on!

This is worse than the first book Just Desserts.