What do you think?
Rate this book
Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries #2
Fowl Prey
Who’s the turkey with a taste for homicide?
Leaving the Hillside Manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver’s Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered—along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet—a local copper’s suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the “Sacred Eight”—an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order!
Leaving the Hillside Manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver’s Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered—along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet—a local copper’s suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the “Sacred Eight”—an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order!
237 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
66 people are currently reading
568 people want to read
About the author
Mary Daheim
94 books441 followersMary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
August 17, 2021
Judith McMoingle's vacation to Canada with her cousin Renie was supposed to be a relaxing one, far away from the busyness of her bed-and-breakfast. But when a local popcorn vendor is found murdered and suspicion falls onto Judith and Renie, they must work to clear their name.
I was really looking forward to this one. It's set in my home country of Canada, a location I haven't seen too often in cozies before, and it's supposed to be set in Vancouver, a city I've visited before. It's not set in Vancouver. Instead, it's set in the fictional town of Port Royal, which appears to be somewhat modelled off of the Canadian city of Victoria.
I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that for much of the book, I thought it was actually a historical cozy mystery set in some indeterminate period in the past. It is not. In my defense, there were heavy references to British culture in this Canadian town and the dialogue often seemed unnatural and a bit dated. I admit that I may have missed some context having not read the first book in the series, but still: I wouldn't expect the time period to be a major source of confusion.
On top of that, I found the mystery to be difficult to follow. There are many characters and suspects to follow. Key clues pointing to the murderer were difficult to pick up on, leading to a surprise ending.
That being said though, the plot has a lot of potential! A travel cozy combined with glitzy and eccentric celebrity suspects in the Sacred Eight, a who's who of theatre people who are staying at the same hotel as Judith and Renie, could make for a very fun read. Unfortunately, the confusing nature of the book dampened my enjoyment.
Readers should know that there is an animal murder in this book. In general however, the book has little violence.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
I was really looking forward to this one. It's set in my home country of Canada, a location I haven't seen too often in cozies before, and it's supposed to be set in Vancouver, a city I've visited before. It's not set in Vancouver. Instead, it's set in the fictional town of Port Royal, which appears to be somewhat modelled off of the Canadian city of Victoria.
I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that for much of the book, I thought it was actually a historical cozy mystery set in some indeterminate period in the past. It is not. In my defense, there were heavy references to British culture in this Canadian town and the dialogue often seemed unnatural and a bit dated. I admit that I may have missed some context having not read the first book in the series, but still: I wouldn't expect the time period to be a major source of confusion.
On top of that, I found the mystery to be difficult to follow. There are many characters and suspects to follow. Key clues pointing to the murderer were difficult to pick up on, leading to a surprise ending.
That being said though, the plot has a lot of potential! A travel cozy combined with glitzy and eccentric celebrity suspects in the Sacred Eight, a who's who of theatre people who are staying at the same hotel as Judith and Renie, could make for a very fun read. Unfortunately, the confusing nature of the book dampened my enjoyment.
Readers should know that there is an animal murder in this book. In general however, the book has little violence.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
May 7, 2017
In Mary Daheim's Fowl Prey, the second installment in the Bed-and-Breakfast Cozy mystery series, this cozy will compel you to keep on reading to the last page. It's a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when Judith McConigle and her cousin Serena "Renie" Jones head to Canada for a brief respite. When they arrived in the Hotel Clovia, Judith bumped into an old high school friend named Maria. Due to a mix-up with registrations, Maria offered them a room on the fifth floor, due to the cancellation from two guests. later met the "Elusive Eight" who were all actors at some time and formed an inner circle. That also included Kent "Spud" Forbisher who was Maria's high school sweetheart. During the first day of their stay, they discovered the dead body of Robin "Bob-o" O'Rourke, the popcorn vendor, dead in the elevator shaft. Later his parakeet was found dead too. Between the fog and the RCMP going on strike, it was up to Judith to dig deeper into everyone's lives and Robin's, too, in order to get home for the holidays. And before she knew it, she cracked the case and learned who was teh true culprit was and why.
November 17, 2018
Fowl Prey by Mary Daheim, the 2nd in her Bed & Breakfast cozy mystery series, is a quick, mildly entertaining read. I was hoping for more of Judith's backstory and was sorely disappointed. The saving grace of this (and the first installment, too) is Judith's cousin and sidekick, Serena (Renie)!
December 17, 2019
Just starting 2nd. read.
August 10, 2018
Very hard to follow
The characters and plot in this story are as scrambled as the protagonist’s thinking. Even after she reveals all to the others, I am still confused. Neither do the characters endear themselves, especially the protagonist’s family - dysfunction!
The characters and plot in this story are as scrambled as the protagonist’s thinking. Even after she reveals all to the others, I am still confused. Neither do the characters endear themselves, especially the protagonist’s family - dysfunction!
Read
May 17, 2021The main character is unlikeable. There were too many characters to keep track of, and they were all a little unrealistic. Not sure why I added the second in this series to my want-to-read after finishing the first, but I’m certainly not adding the third.
December 31, 2012
honestly....these books are dead boring for me. It took a full month(!!) to read two of them. I think I'll delete the rest off my Kindle.
June 7, 2017
Not very imaginative writing; I lost interest. Insultingly full of thinly disguised names of places in Seattle and Vancouver BC.
January 1, 2019
This one seemed to drag. Too many characters, too complicated and an ending out of the blue.
December 31, 2024
2.5 Leaving the Hillside manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver's Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered -- along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet -- a local copper's suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the "Sacred Eight" -- an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order! [amazon synopsis]
Confusing and disfunctional - DONE with the series.
Confusing and disfunctional - DONE with the series.
April 10, 2022
The cousins are amazingly thick…. They go to the murdered man’s apartment right before & after he’s been murdered. The detective is “ grateful for their help”… cute but unbelievable. It’s true she’s a good writer. Settings & characters are great. But the consequences of their actions is kind of one dimensional. There’s so much history attached to 8 characters If I really want to guess whodunnit I take pertinent notes…. The murderer came out of left field on this one. Easy reading. Confusing but entertaining but not very realistic, almost like a comic book for young people. Though again, the writing is good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2020
Judith and her cousin cross the border into Canada and run into old school mates. When a mix up at the hotel happens they are invited to use one of the rooms that was open due to one of their party not being able to make it. Of course things are not what they seem, there being a murder of a person that everyone except Judith and her cousin had connections with. Judith and her cousin find the body and try to unravel the mess, all before they need to be home to fix Thanksgiving dinner in two days.
July 31, 2017
It's a fairly by the numbers Cozy Mystery, but I found the dialog to be good, and the characters were interesting. I finished it in about 3 hours, and it kept me turning the pages through the end to see how things were going to turn out for our heroes Renie and Judith.
January 27, 2019
Interesting mystery
I've always loved mysteries and this book was no exception. It is set in an area of the country I have not visited; the writer's descriptions allowed me to feel the atmosphere. Looking forward to reading the next!
I've always loved mysteries and this book was no exception. It is set in an area of the country I have not visited; the writer's descriptions allowed me to feel the atmosphere. Looking forward to reading the next!
April 4, 2025
This book finds the two cousins going on a rest and recuperate weekend. It wasn't restful at all. Of course there was a murder and Julia and Reni are busy trying to solve the murder. Read this crazy whodonit, you'll enjoy it.
January 25, 2018
I always like it when characters go on vacation and the author changes up the scenes. This one was pretty dry though.
September 12, 2018
2nd title in the series
May 20, 2020
I loved this book. I loving this series. The characters are great and the plot kept me guessing.
August 14, 2020
I appreciate a deliberate effort to switch things up. Daheim must be a pro - from the beginning of the series we see the introduction of variety.
June 1, 2021
I got a little lost in all the names of who was who and their connections. If you like a more complicated cozy it was good.
July 30, 2021
The mystery was OK but the love interest of the main character is bizarre and unsettling.
January 16, 2023
A solid read as the cousins travel to Canada.
January 28, 2023
Fun and great as t to read
Love the humor in Daheim's mysteries. Enjoyable to read and the characters are colorful, Eager to read the whole series
Love the humor in Daheim's mysteries. Enjoyable to read and the characters are colorful, Eager to read the whole series
December 1, 2023
The ending was out of left field and seemed to very hard to find clues to piece the solution together beforehand.
July 24, 2016
I have an affinity for cozy mysteries. They generally aren't written in pursuit of a spot on the bestseller list; rather, cozies are written to give the reader a sense of comfort and calm (ironically, by way of murder).
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)
April 23, 2013
This is the 2nd installment of the long running Bed and Breakfast Mysteries and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped. The protagonists, two middle aged women who are cousins, are great foils for each other with their banter and sharp wit. Having grown up like sisters, they know each others habits, temperaments and strengths. They also naturally share a long family history and deep understanding of one another. Together they make a formidable amateur sleuth team.
In this story, while on a trip to Canada they encounter some old high school friends and a colorful local popcorn seller who becomes the victim of murder. But the mystery deepens when his pet parakeet is also found dead after he is murdered.
Watching the cousins dealing with international police instead of the typical American police is a nice touch which adds a great flavor to the story. Having actually been to Canada myself, I could really enjoy this particular tale. The clues are laid out for the reader and the writer plays fair with us in this enthralling mystery.
Looking forward to reading number three in the series and getting caught up to date.
In this story, while on a trip to Canada they encounter some old high school friends and a colorful local popcorn seller who becomes the victim of murder. But the mystery deepens when his pet parakeet is also found dead after he is murdered.
Watching the cousins dealing with international police instead of the typical American police is a nice touch which adds a great flavor to the story. Having actually been to Canada myself, I could really enjoy this particular tale. The clues are laid out for the reader and the writer plays fair with us in this enthralling mystery.
Looking forward to reading number three in the series and getting caught up to date.
July 14, 2013
While I'm still not sure about the characters, I will say one thing, Daheim certainly knows how to write a mystery. There are enough twists and turns, red herrings and skeleton's in closets to keep the mystery going strong throughout the book. I don't particularly mind the twists and convoluted relationships, I do however wish that the characters were more three-dimensional. Perhaps they get better in future books, but I just don't click with them. Yes I have moments where I like them, don't like them and even feel for them - but they aren't characters I particularly care about. For example, will Joe and Judith get together again - don't know and don't particularly care at the moment. I like books with solid mysteries, but I also like books with solid characters - characters that make me care about what happens to them. So far this is not one of those series. It was a welcome and entertaining diversion for an afternoon. 2.5/3 Stars
August 15, 2008
FOWL PREY - Ok
Daheim, Mary - 2nd in Bed-and-Breakfast series
Leaving the Hillside manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver's Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered-along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet-a local copper's suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the "Sacred Eight" -- an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order!
These are just way too light for my taste. Not my cup of tea. :-)
Daheim, Mary - 2nd in Bed-and-Breakfast series
Leaving the Hillside manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver's Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered-along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet-a local copper's suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the "Sacred Eight" -- an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order!
These are just way too light for my taste. Not my cup of tea. :-)
July 11, 2015
Not my style, but I picked up most of the series at a thrift store so I'll try to give it another chance.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews