From Publishers Weekly
The usually reliable Bannister (The Lazarus Hotel, 1997, and the Castlemere series) gets off to a surprisingly bland start in this kickoff of a new crime series. Her sleuth is advice columnist Rosie Holland, a rotund, tough-talking middle-aged woman living in Birmingham. Fiona Morris's bird-watching brother, Philip, has gone missing in the remote Hebrides islands off the coast of Scotland. She contacts Rosie, who turns to Arthur Prufrock, another ornithologist, who in turn brings along Shad Lucas, a young gardener and the reluctant possessor of psychic powers. This unlikely detecting team sets forth for Edinburgh and the offices of the British Trust for Wildlife, a bogus organization soon revealed as a front for immigration agents on the lookout for illegal aliens entering the country. Philip's lonely watching brief in the islands has clearly made him a witness to more than just nesting seabirds. Rosie is pleasant enough, although some readers might find her a bit too maternal and wise. And, although the pace picks up toward the end and the plot, once unfurled, is intriguing, the book suffers from the fact that so much of the suspense is backloaded.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Bannister's critically acclaimed Castlemere series stars three cops who tackle some of Britain's grisliest crimes. Here she debuts a very different series, as cozy as the Castlemere novels are grim. Primrose Holland, an ex-pathologist turned advice columnist (or, "agony aunt"), displays a mix of intelligence, intuition, humor, and common sense that would have won Miss Marple's heart, though Christie's sleuth would have deplored Primrose's complete lack of tact. When one of Primrose's readers tells an odd story about a brother who disappeared while bird-watching in Scotland, Primrose is intrigued enough to look into the situation, which leads to encounters with avid birder Arthur Prufrock and his gardener, a reluctant psychic. Along the way, Primrose stumbles onto an illegal scheme run by as ruthless a criminal as ever appeared in Castlemere. Bannister transforms this improbable, even slightly ridiculous, plot into a coherent, believable whole that is both very funny and very entertaining. A most surprising and enjoyable mystery from one of the best.
Stuart Miller
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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