Murder With Puffins

October 1, 2000
YA-Meg Langslow and her boyfriend take a ferry to an island off the coast of Maine to share a quiet, romantic weekend together. Instead, they arrive during a pre-hurricane storm and find most of her family staying in what should have been her aunt's empty summer cottage. With the ferry cancelled and the tempest upon them, they all try to make the best of several uncomfortable situations: the weather, cramped quarters, coping with the many birders who are also stranded on the island, and everyone's anger at the island's resident artist, Victor Resnick. When his body is found in a tidal pool, Meg focuses her sleuthing skills on finding the murderer, a wet and slippery proposition as the storm rages on. Andrews creates a host of quirky individuals, complete with intense birders and cranky curmudgeons. Her sense of humor adds a lot to the novel, with one-liners and situations guaranteed to bring a smile. Built on the plot lines of a traditional "cozy" style of mystery, the story wends its way to a satisfying ending, treating readers to an entertaining cast of characters in an interesting locale.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2000
Meg Langslow is back for another loony adventure in the latest installment of Andrews' bird series. Although the author's dry humor and offbeat characters are much more entertaining than her mystery plots, enough happens in these stories to hold readers' interest. This time Meg and her boyfriend, Michael, head to the remote island of Monhegan, off the coast of Maine. Meg's hopes for a romantic interlude are blown away when a hurricane hits the island. Compounding matters, she discovers that her entire family is staying at the normally empty family cottage, and the island is being overrun by birdwatchers. The final blow comes when one of Meg's mother's old beaus is found murdered, making Meg's father a suspect. As Meg and Michael investigate, they learn a great deal about the colorful inhabitants of Monhegan--both human and avian. The puffin angle proves very amusing, especially as it is manifested in the character of Rhapsody, a weird children's book author who writes about the "Happy Puffin Family." An enjoyable flight of fancy. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)