Author: Charlotte MacLeod
Title: Vane Pursuit
Publication: 1989 - The Mysterious Press
First Lines: "Hey, you! You kid! Get the hell down off that cannon."
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This is my third book for the BoutofBooks readathon and the seventh book in the Peter Shandy mystery series by Charlotte MacLeod. The first book in the series was the very first book reviewed here and I've loved every one of them. I was actually thinking that this wouldn't be as wonderful as the others as there is very little mention and no sighting of my beloved President Svenson (vacationing with the family in Sweden) ... but I was happily mistaken.
Charlotte MacLeod's Peter Shandy books are kind of like the tv series Midsomer's Murders. There's always some whacked out mystery involving something you would never think would be interesting and a cast of characters that make you shake your head at how in the world they could be interesting ... and it all makes sense somehow. This time around, the local soap factory is burnt down just hours after Helen has taken photos of the antique weathervane for a historical society project and the weathervane disappears (as has been the case after a few other local fires). While Peter's wife, Helen, and Iduna Stott head up to stay with a friend in Maine and do some more weathervane research, Peter stays behind to help local journalist Cronkite Swope clear his brother's name in the arson of the factory.
Sure. Soap factory arson and weathervane theft. Call me riveted.
No, really! I was!
And, in the end, it all made sense.
I loved getting to see more of Cronkite and Iduna and fell in even more in love with Peter and Helen. (And, seriously, if I ever get thrown off of a boat I hope I have someone like Iduna with me!) I really think that one of the reasons this series is one of my favorites is that in spite of the "yeah, right ... like that would make a decent book" feel some of the storylines might initially have, the way MacLeod told them makes them feel so much more real than a lot of cozy mysteries. These people feel like family and all of their strange little stories and acquaintances along the way totally remind me of listening to my grandparents, their siblings, and various second/third/whatever cousins over the years.
I'm crushed that I only have three more books left in the series, but absolutely know that it'll be a series I'll re-read.
1 comment:
I need to try this series.
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