A Siege of Bitterns

October 15, 2012
At the start of Canadian author Downie’s rote second mystery set on the island of Guernsey (after 2011’s Daggers and Men’s Smiles), Bernard Masterson, a bullet hole in his forehead, lies on his bed on his opulent yacht, apparently shot from a distance, perhaps by a marksman. Det. Insp. Ed Moretti and his partner, Det. Sgt. Liz Falla, soon discover that Masterson, an international arms dealer of dubious legality, had any number of people who might have wanted him dead. The subsequent murder of Masterson’s bodyguard suggests that whatever purpose the killer had in shooting Masterson, that person’s quest is not yet finished. This gray procedural, as gloomy as the channel weather, will appeal more to armchair travelers than to mystery buffs, who may be reminded of Ngaio Marsh on an off day. Agent: Bill Hanna, Acacia House.

May 1, 2014
In the first book in a projected new series, a Canadian police officer, newly installed as a detective chief inspector in a small British town, gets off to a rocky start when he insists that the murder of a noted activist is connected with bird-watching. His colleagues are skeptical, but DCI Domenic Jejeune, who is (like his creator, Burrows) a longtime bird-watcher, is convinced. Unfortunately, another murder doesn't make his task any easier. Jejeune is a likable protagonist: the new guy in town, boss to a bunch of cops who don't know him, with a theory of the crime that he knows is solid, but you'd have to be another bird-watcher to really understand it. Readers who share Jejeune's (and the author's) hobby will have a great time with the book. But what about readers unfamiliar with the nuances of birding? Well, they'll have a great time, too. The author explains everything we need to knowsubtly, without great chunks of exposition. This is, finally, a solid, well-constructed murder mystery that happens to involve a subject with which many mystery readers might not be familiar.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)