Kwoomac's Reviews > Gone Gull

Author Donna Andrews has been pumping out one of these books every year since 1999. They all have punny names. My favorite title is We'll Always Have Parrots. I liked the characters and enjoyed the mystery but...

The setting is the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, where a variety of one week long classes take place. Housing and meals are included. There are over two hundred students on the campus, either staying in one of the rooms or camping on the grounds. So, there were two murders within a span of two days. What I could not get past was the fact that nobody left. No teachers. No students. No staff. Think about it. Imagine you were somewhere and a murder was committed. There’s a murderer running loose. He or she is someone who is staying at the craft center. You would probably, I’m thinking almost definitely, pack up as fast as you could and get out of there. But no one left. Then, there was a second murder. Again, no one left. This includes our plucky heroine, Meg Langslow, her husband, and their two young sons. Wow, there’ve been two murders. We should all out iur heads together on this before someone else gets killed. Everyone gets back to creating herbal remedies, painting watercolors, and throwing pots. Meg does not even consider leaving until two thirds into the book when she reads a note saying, “Cute kids. I’d hate for something to happen to them.” Spoilerish comment. I’m not sure why the murderer wrote this note. The place is teeming with all sorts of law enforcement. Of course, in spite of all these professionals, Meg solves the murder.

Aside from this, I did like Meg and her family, and I did enjoy the mystery. There are 21 books in this series, so perhaps I should go back and “begin at the beginning.”