A Parliament of Owls (6) (Birdwatcher Mystery) - Softcover

Goff, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941286623 ISBN 13: 9781941286623

Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions, 2016

Synopsis

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent, Angela Dimato discovers the body of a woman in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado. Not only is the woman found in a bizarre and contorted position, her body is located within a few feet of the nest of the protected burrowing owl. Angela uncovers that the dead women is a local "soccer mom" and activist, suing the city over the encroachment of prairie dogs onto the local soccer fields. She's made some folks mad and, with the help of local police, Angela sets out to crack the seemingly open-and-shut case of murder. 

Then, in a relentless hunt, things grow stranger with the discovery of two more deaths that same morning that may have ties to the Refuge. With her trademark instinct, Angela digs toward the truth. But the investigations takes a sinister twist, putting more lives at stake, and Angela's forced to turn to the case's only eyewitness--a burrowing owl--for answers.

Goff's suspense-filled writing combined with authentic Colorado locations and precise descriptions of bird life will keep Birdwatchers and cozy mystery lovers enthralled.

About this title

About the Author

Growing up in a small mountain town in Colorado, my father and I fed the hummingbirds. Years later, my husband taught me to stand very still with my hand outstretched and let the hummingbirds perch on my fingers to eat. As a child I watched ouzels bob for food along the shore while I was fishing and stood open-mouthed as a red-tailed hawk caught dinner among the wildflowers just beyond camp. But it wasn't until years later, after I'd decided to try my hand at writing mystery novels, that I found myself coming back to stories with environmental themes involving birds.

By then, , I could identify all the birds that clambered to my feeders―51 to be exact. But in researching my books, I soon discovered there was a bigger world of birding.

Birders come in all shapes and sizes and with a huge diversity in knowledge. Some enjoy just looking at birds, others want to know the breakdown of species and subspecies. Some delight in spotting a bird in the trees, others are only content when they can hear its call. To expand my knowledge of birding and birders, I decided I should sign up for a birding trip. After that I was hooked. Since then, I have birded in nearly every state in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Eastern Europe and Israel. Yet, I'm an intermediate birder at best. I'm good at spotting the birds, slow at identifying them and hopeless at birding by ear. Yet I'm fascinated by how the issues affecting birds have global themes that resonate with all of us: money, land, love, pride, power.

It was with this basic understanding that I set out to write the Birdwatcher's Mystery series―a group of funny, sometimes serious stories that spin on themes like: the illegal trading of peregrine falcons to the Middle East, the effects of the coffee industry on migratory songbirds, and the impact of humans on endangered species. Mostly, though, I hope my stories are entertaining and get people thinking about the world they live in. 

Happy reading!

Edition details

• Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1941286623
• ISBN 13: 9781941286623
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176