Customer Reviews

A Rant of Ravens (Birdwatcher's Mystery)

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

 

 

Rachel Wilder Stanhope's professional life is going great, but her personal life is in shambles ever since she caught her husband in bed with another woman. Two months after the incident, Rachel receives divorce papers. She decides she needs to recuperate at her Aunt Miriam's home, Bird Haven, a spread that adjoins Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. The place is a bird preserve that Rachel will watch over during the summer as Miriam traipses the Middle East in search of local feathered friends.

When a rare sparrow is spotted on her aunt's property, the local birdwatching group tries to find it. On the third day of the search, Rachel tumbles over the murdered body of a reporter who claimed he possessed damaging information on Miriam's late husband. The next day, Miriam vanishes along with two baby peregrines and a rare white gryfalcon. Rachel concludes the two incidents are interrelated. She begins to investigate, not yet aware that danger from an unknown two-legged omnivore threatens her life.

Though her first published novel, Christine Goff provides an interesting amateur sleuth tale. A RANT OF RAVENS contains ecoterrorists, bird-buying sheiks, and a glimpse into the bird watcher's fascinating world. The mystery unfolds at a solid, leisurely pace that allows the reader to relish the plot and ponder what will happen next. Sub-genre fans will rant evermore for Rachel to make future appearances.

Harriet Klausner

Wow. I thought I'd skim the first few pages, then get back to my other tasks--but that never happened! Shadows lengthened, night came, and I didn't put the book down until I finished it. I love the birding references, and the information about raptors (hawks), and the mountain setting. The story is fast-paced, with great dialog, and plenty of action. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Goff has a talent for creating believable characters and settings, which helped smooth over some of the less credible plot elements. The author was obviously new to birding when she wrote this debut mystery, and serious birders will roll their eyes at some of the gaffes (a rare bird alert is an informational phone message, NOT a state of emergency!). These problems were not serious enough to keep me from starting her second book immediately after I finished the first, and I look forward to seeing how Goff's birding knowledge and writing skills improve with future mysteries.

Cool book. Fun, fast. My wife brought it home, I liked the raven on the cover, so I read it. Not as dark as my usual stuff (King, Koontz, you know), but good. Liked all the smuggling and eco-terrorism details.

A gentle, non-gruesome mystery that is entertaining and engrossing, this one surprised me not by who did it, but who didn't do it. There's a lot of suspicion being tossed around, and an awful lot of shady characters... but in the end, it wraps up nicely in good cozy fashion.

The characters were likeable enough (the ones that you didn't suspect, at least) and I didn't find any of them wholly unbelievable. However, I will admit that my knowledge of birding and birders is lacking, so someone more versed in the activity might find problems with either their activities or the descriptions of the birds. For me the `bird facts' didn't overwhelm the story or distract me from the plot, unlike a few of the computer passages. In reading the book I honestly felt it must be much older than it was, because some of the `technology' seemed so archaic! This is a fine line authors have to straddle these days, with technology changing as quickly as it does. My preference is that unless it's a techno-thriller where the computer bits are integral to the storyline, stick with the bare minimum. `She did a quick internet search' is preferable to `She typed `X' into the dialogue box and pressed `Go' and the screen blah blah blah'. Some of those bits kind of distracted from the book and made it feel much more dated than it was.

It's a good cozy mystery for a nice weekend read, and any fan of the genre will probably enjoy it. I'm not saying I'll go out of my way to read more in this series (there are so many cozy series out there!) but I wouldn't toss it away if another book crossed my path.

Rachel Stanhope is reeling from a marriage that is falling apart, so she takes refuge with her Aunt Miriam in a bird sanctuary near Rocky Mountain National Park. A novice at birding, Rachel soon begins to pick up hints for spotting and identifying birds. While she is on her first birding trip, Rachel makes the grisly discovery of a dead body which launches an investigation and puts Rachel and her friends in danger. This book is a well-written debut novel which has a wonderful Colorado setting and lots of references to birds which will delight readers who also happen to be birders.