Dance of the Scarecrows (A Jonathan Wilder Mystery #1)

Author:  Ray Sipherd
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback;
ISBN #:  9780312143060; 9780373262878
Worldwide Mystery
252 Pages
Various Prices Amazon
September 1, 1998

⭐⭐⭐

It's a scene straight from Hitchcock.  Renowned ornithologist and bird artist Jonathan Wilder finds the body of local politician Rod Ramsey dressed in a scarecrow costume and propped up in the middle of a cornfield in the company of crows.

Unfortunately, Jon is also the prime suspect.  He's had a very public argument with Ramsey, but worse, the murder weapon has Jon's fingerprints on it.  In fact, the knife was taken from Jon's house.  Is the killer nursing some grudge against Jon?  Is he about to become prey to a murderer who's struck once and could do so again?

Now Jon is hunting for a killer as if his life depends on it.  It just might.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Jonathan Wilder is a bird artist and a birder - someone who spends time watching birds and noting where they found them - and one morning he's teaching a group of people how to draw them.  But while they're watching the ducks feeding, they hear two shots ring out and two young females are dead.  Jon recognizes the hunter as Rod Ramsey - the town's first selectman (akin to mayor), who's hunting illegally.

Angered, he goes to Rod's business and confronts him, calling him a murderer.  But he can't prove it was Rod, so he leaves.  At a Halloween event where several men are dressed as scarecrows (Ramsey among them) entertain the crowd dancing a funny bit, Jon and everyone leave once it is over.  The next morning Jon is out hunting a bird rare to the area when he comes across a scarecrow in someone's field.  The scarecrow turns out to be the body of Rod, still wearing his outfit from the night before.

He reports the crime and wonders who hated him enough to kill him.  Ramsey had plenty of enemies, from spurned lovers to angry clients and everyone in between, but someone wanted him dead.  When Jon learns that his prints were found on the murder weapon, he has a personal stake in finding the killer, even though several people tell him to leave it be.  Now Jon, usually a mild-mannered person, finds himself in the cross hairs and if he's not careful he'll be next to die...

I wanted to read this book because I was intrigued by the title and the fact that it takes place at Halloween, and I love to 'read the season,' as it were.  Unfortunately, it began extremely slow and I almost gave up on it at several points.  While the murder occurs almost immediately, we don't discover Jon's involvement until at least a third of the book is past, and the conversations before that are rather mundane.  They involve thinking and talking about bird (if you're an avid bird watcher you will probably love this book) and general conversations and thoughts about the town and its businesses and people.  Nothing much to keep one interested.

But once Jon realizes that he's the only suspect and begins to ask questions, then it picks up a little.  Not much, but a little.  This book wasn't one I couldn't put down.  In fact, I put it down several times to do other things, which tells me that it's a bit of a ho-hum read.  The possibilities are there, but they just aren't followed through.

What does follow is another death, and Jon begins to start connecting the two into something that he thinks is bigger.  He looks for a connection between the deaths, all the while keeping it to himself because, as he thinks, he brought information to the police once and was wrong.  Knowing he could put himself in danger, he continues to look for the clues.

All in all, the mystery wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either.  It was a book to pass the time although I was disappointed that it wasn't really a book about the two holidays it encompasses.  When the killer is revealed the reasons for the murders seemed rather odd, nothing worth killing for.  As I stated, it wasn't a bad book, but I don't think I'll read this author again.

https://smile.amazon.com/Dance-Scarecrows-Jonathan-Wilder-Mystery/dp/0312143060/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3006983019

More on Ray Sipherd's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/ray-sipherd/

Every Trick in the Rook (A Birds of a Feather Mystery #3)

Author:  Marty Wingate
Genre:  Mystery

Ebook
Alibi - Random House Publishing
251 Pages
$4.99 Amazon
March 7, 2017

✮✮✮✮✮

Julia Lanchester is flying high.  She's nesting with her boyfriend, Michael Sedgwick, and she's found her niche as manager of the tourist center in her picturesque British village.  Thanks to all her hard work, visitor traffic is up - way up.  Her reward is an even more hectic schedule.  Michael's busy, too, traveling all over as well as the personal assistant to Julia's father, celebrity orinthologist Rupert Lanchester.  With precious little time together, Julia's romantic weekend with Michael can't come soon enough.

But the getaway is spoiled when Julia's ex-husband is found murdered on her boss's estate.  And after a witness reports seeing Michael near the scene of the crime, the press descends, printing lies and wreaking havoc.  To protect Julia, Michael vanishes into thin air, leaving her to pick up the slack on Rupert's show and track down the real killer - even if it means putting herself in the flight path of a vicious predator.

********

Julia Lanchester is the manager of the TIC (Tourist Information Center) on the estate of the Earl of Fotheringill.  Her boyfriend Michael Sedgwick works for her father Rupert who is a famous British avian expert with his own television show, A Bird in the Hand.  Since their schedules are very different - Michael is gone quite a bit traveling with Rupert - they've managed to snag a weekend away together.  But before their weekend is over, they're contacted by both Rupert and the police and need to return immediately.

The reason?  Julia's ex-husband Nick Hawkins has been found dead on the Fotheringill estate, and  

the police want to know why he had a photo of Julia and Michael on his person and if they know anything about the murder.  While they both deny any knowledge of Nick's unexpected arrival from his isolated home on St. Kilda in the Hebrides they're now being hounded by 'journos' - those of the magazine rag profession (tabloids) who make up headlines when they can't locate the truth (or don't care to look).

In order to protect Julia from the jackals and unwanted press, Michael (whom they have decided is guilty of the murder) leaves her, hoping to draw them off with him.  Her one saving grace is a young girl named Tennyson who has a pet Rook (of the Corvid family) named Alfie, who is both intelligent and protective, and a master of learned tricks.  He's taken a liking to Julia and leaves gifts for her in the pocket of her Mackintosh.  In fact, he's taken such a liking to her, he shows his displeasure of the journos whenever they come near (if you get my drift).

With her life slowly unraveling before her Julia refuses to allow the police to take their time in finding the true killer and searches for clues herself.  But she doesn't count on being the next target on the killer's list, and it's almost too late before she realizes the person she's been looking for has been using clever tricks of their own...

I enjoyed reading this book immensely.  The characters are given depth; they are believable and have faults like everyone else, which makes them more human somehow.  You can sense the caring that surrounds Julia, from her father to her friends, and while she tries to do it all by herself, there are still those that watch out for her throughout, which makes for a delightful read.

While it may seem to some that the tabloids shouldn't have had this much interest in Julia's ex-husband, we must remember that Rupert is very famous indeed, Julia works for an Earl, and the body was found on the latter's estate.  Those things do make news.  Not to mention the fact that there was someone who was 'feeding the fire' as it were, and keeping the interest alive.  Keeping that in mind will help you enjoy the story.

This is the third book in the series, following The Rhyme of the Magpie and Empty Nest.  This time around, Ms. Wingate has given us a story that merges love and hate together, drawing them tightly into a tale of suspense and uncertainty, and keeps the reader drawn into the narrative until the very end.  When we finally discover the murderer, it is a reason that is as old as time, but always relevant; and it never ceases to amaze me what can be created in the human mind.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Trick-Rook-Feather-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01LK8YU2O/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1970647641

More on Marty Wingate's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/marty-wingate/ 

Dangling by a Thread (A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery, Book 4)

Author:  Lea Wait
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback; Ebook
ISBN#:  9781496706263
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
October 25, 2016

Four Stars

The Mainely Needlepointers are about to learn that no man is an island - especially when greedy developers want his land...

Hermit Jesse Lockhart lives alone on King's Island, three miles east of Haven Harbor, Maine, where he's created a private sanctuary for the endangered Great Cormorants.  But when a wealthy family wants to buy the island and Jesse's cousin Simon petitions for power of attorney to force him to sell, Jesse is the one who becomes endangered.

Mainely Needlepointer Dave Perry, who befriended Jesse in the VA hospital, rallies the group to his defense.  Angie Curtis and the ravelers stitch "Save the King's Island Cormorants" pillows and sell T-shirts to pay for Jesse's legal counsel.  But tragically, on a visit to the island, Angie finds Jesse dead.  Now the search is on for a common thread that can tie the murdered man to his killer...

********

Angie Curtis has recently returned to Haven Harbor, Maine from Arizona, where she worked as an assistant to a private investigator.  She's currently living in the home where she grew up, once belonging to her grandmother, who has recently married the local pastor.  She's also inherited the running of Mainely Needlepointers, a business her grandmother began with other Mainers.

One morning while watching the boats in Haven Harbor, she sees a small skiff enter the harbor and its lone occupant walk toward town.  Angie, her curiosity getting the better of her, eventually finds out a little about him from Dave Percy:  his name is Jesse Lockhart, he lives alone on a local island, but Dave won't tell her any more, so she decides to drop the subject.

When Angie and another needlepointer, Ruth, are having dinner at Dave's home the next evening, Jesse shows up unannounced and nearly frantic.  He tells them that someone said he had to sell his island, which will also disturb the nesting grounds of the Great Cormorant, which is a threatened species.  It seems that the island was left to both Jesse and his cousin Simon, and Jesse fears that Simon wants to sell and will force him to do so also.

Wanting to help Jesse, the Needlepointers decide they will enlist help from anyone they can (including the Audubon Society) to keep the island from being sold to the rich tourist who wants to

buy it to build a home.  But when Angie and Dave go to the island to warn Jesse about something they discovered, Jesse, not recognizing Dave right away, shoots him with an arrow, and Dave has to be taken back to the mainland immediately for treatment.

When a local police officer informs Angie that Jesse will have to be brought in for questioning, she insists on going along, but when they arrive at the island they find Jesse dead.  Not too long after that it is discovered that Jesse was murdered; it appears someone didn't want to wait for the island to be sold, but who?  There's plenty of suspects - was it Jesse's cousin Simon, local real estate agent Jed Fitch, or Gerry Bentley, the tourist who wanted the island?  With Dave in the hospital and Jesse dead, Angie's determined to find the killer...

This is the fourth book in the Mainely Needlepoint series, and the needlepointers (Angie, Anna, Dave, Ruth, Sarah)are back again.  When they are told of the trouble regarding Dave, Jesse's only friend, they band together in a campaign to save the Great Cormorants, a threatened species.  But they also find that not everyone thinks the birds are worth saving - others thinking they could just as easily find nesting grounds elsewhere - including Gram's new husband, Reverend Tom, who believes an influx of wealthy residents could be good for the town and with the everyone divided, Angie will have to be careful in her questioning if she isn't to raise suspicions.

While Angie's love life is still pretty much up in the air, it appears that there is one or two possibilities that will be interesting to watch as they develop; yet Angie is a strange bird who doesn't seem sure of herself at all - trying to decide if wearing eye shadow is "too much".  (Which begs the question that if she thinks eye shadow is too much, then do any of the Haven Harbor women wear makeup?  It seems odd that the entire female population of a town would eschew trying to look their best).  For myself, I like to see that female protagonists wear makeup rather than just throwing on lip gloss.  (Does anyone except preteens even wear lip gloss?)  But this is just my opinion, and I digress...

I enjoyed reading this book so much that I read it in one sitting; the mystery was well-written and the pieces were woven nicely together, giving the characters more depth than they had in previous books, which is always nice to see.  I do love the descriptions of the Maine coast; the harbor, the boats, the sea air; it really makes me want to make a trip Down East, and soon.  This book is more about others pitching together when a tragedy strikes, but I didn't feel it detracted at all from the murder.  When we finally find the identity of the killer and the reason that Jesse was murdered, it all seems so sad, somehow; convoluted beliefs that led to murder.  However, it gave a satisfying ending to the book, and I look forward to reading the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496706269/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1784742136

More on Lea Wait's books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/lea-wait/

Empty Nest: A Birds of a Feather Mystery

Author:  Marty Wingate
Genre:  Mystery

Kindle
ASIN: B00UEL0JQU
Alibi Publishing
284 Pages
$2.99
December 1, 2015

Five Stars

Manager of a tourist center in a quaint British village, Julia Lanchester finds herself with more ideas than time.  Her boss is the Earl Fotheringill himself, but apart from him, she doesn't mix well with the aristocracy.  Unfortunately, toxic mold forces her from her cottage and into one of the earl's countless spare rooms at the Hall.  She tries to get a handle on her overload of work, while she finds herself arguing with dinner guests, chaffing at the sudden interest the earl's son has in running the estate, and missing her new beau, Michael Sedgwick.

Her life goes from bad to sinister when Julia discovers poisoned sparrowhawks on the expansive estate grounds.  And soon after, she finds one of the Hall's visitors murdered - felled by the same poison.  While simultaneously both spooked and angry, she still can't keep herself from snooping, and dragging Michael along into her investigation.  But will she find the culprit before her own wings are clipped?

********

Julia Lanchester works for the Earl Fotheringill, as director of the Tour Information Center in his village.  Due to the fact that her little cottage has been discovered to have mold, she is currently residing in the earl's home as a guest.  On one evening at home, they are unexpectedly joined by the earl's son Cecil, who hasn't been there in years, and Cecil's friend Mr. Freddy Peacock.  Even though Julia is soon becoming uncomfortable staying at the hall now that the heir apparent has returned home, she is even more uncomfortable when a death occurs - just down the hall from her own rooms.  Then Cecil's mother Isabel appears, ready to do battle with the woman she considers an interloper, even though Isabel has been long divorced from Linus, the earl.

So Julia finds herself in the middle of what first appears to be an accident, but is later deemed to be a murder, and when everything points to Cecil as the suspect, she sees that her friend Linus is in pain over this and knows she must do whatever it takes to find the true killer.

Amongst all this, an old boyfriend reappears and asks for Julia's help, leaving her current boyfriend Michael suspicious and their budding relationship in danger of being derailed; her sister Bee is about to give birth; and a new estate agent, Geoffrey Addleton, questioning her about everything she is doing around the village and being belligerent in the process.  Julia indeed has her hands full.

While trying to keep her relationship with Michael on an even keel while she sorts out her feelings, she is at the same time staying at the hall out of her friendship for Linus and the fact she has decided she will help Cecil.  But at every turn Isabel, who sees Julia as a threat, does her best to make life uncomfortable for her and Julia soon finds herself sneaking back into her temporary home every evening after work in order to avoid the woman.  What Julia doesn't realize is that the murderer knows what she is doing and is determined to put her out of the way permanently.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  Ms. Wingate is able to give us a little slice of English village life, with a nice dose of murder to solve along the way.  Her characters are substantial without being over the top, and Julia is an intelligent woman who never needlessly puts herself in harms' way, nor takes actions which seem rash or unthinking, (which, as most people know, drives me crazy from time to time.)

In the end, Ms. Wingate has given us another delightful entry to the list of books she has already turned out, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Empty-Nest-Birds-Feather-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00UEL0JQU/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1454400515