The Puffin of Death by Betty Webb (Cozy Mystery, Crime, 10E/10E, NetGalley, short 'n' sweet review)

They are gorgeous!

  November 2015, Poisoned Pen Press, 259 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: murder, humour, major peril

Summary from Poisoned Pen Press

California zookeeper Theodora Bentley travels to Iceland to pick up an orphaned polar bear cub destined for the Gunn Zoo’s newly installed Northern Climes exhibit. The trip is intended to be a combination of work and play.

But on day two, while horseback riding near a picturesque seaside village, Teddy discovers a man lying atop a puffin burrow, shot through the head. The victim is identified as American bird-watcher Simon Parr, winner of the largest Powerball payout in history. Is Teddy a witness—or a suspect? Others include not only Parr’s wife, a famed suspense novelist, but fellow members of the birding club Parr had generously treated to their lavish Icelandic expedition. Hardly your average birders, several of them have had serious brushes with the law back in the States.

Guessing that an American would best understand other Americans, police detective Thorvaald Haraldsson grudgingly concedes her innocence and allows Teddy to tag along with the group to volcanoes, glaciers, and deep continental rifts in quest of rare bird species. But once another member of the club is murdered and a rockfall barely misses Teddy’s head, Haraldsson forbids her to continue. She ignores him and, in a stunning, solitary face-off with the killer in Iceland’s wild interior, concludes an investigation at once exotic, thrilling, and rich in animal lore.

 

Nayu's thoughts

Puffins play a part in this fun read which is part of series I'm looking forward to reading more of. My love of ouffins started with Neil the puffling (baby puffins have suuch a cute name!) in Jenny Colgan's Little Beach Street Bakery books including Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery. 

While Teddy doesn't end up wih a pet puffin, or do leaps of joy when she sees them in a murder investigation, she has a job which iis super varied, interesting, and one I'd love to have if I had a healthy body. 

She runs into a lot of trouble, some of which is more humourous than harmful and made me smile a lot, a plus for any book. There are many heart in mouth moments, again balanced by Teddy's humour and her slightly gun ho attitude. Thankfully there are friends to help her out of tricky situations which most definitely stick close to Teddy. While it's the 4th book in the series I didn't feel that I missed out by not knowing the backstory to both Teddy and her friends, which is another plus point. There's no reason not to read this fun book! 

Find out more on Betty's website.