The Puffin of Death

A Gunn Zoo Mystery, Book 4

By: Betty Webb

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

An exotic trip to Iceland puts Teddy the zookeeper in the middle of the murder case of a wealthy bird watcher.

California zookeeper Theodora Bentley travels to Iceland to pick up an orphaned polar bear cub destined for the Gunn Zoo's newly installed Northern Climes exhibit. The trip is intended to be a combination of work and play. But on day two, while horseback riding near a picturesque seaside village, Teddy discovers a man lying atop a puffin burrow, shot through the head. The victim is identified as American bird watcher Simon Parr, winner of the largest Powerball payout in history. Is Teddy a witness - or a suspect? Others include not only Parr's wife, a famed suspense novelist, but fellow members of the birding club Parr had generously treated to their lavish Icelandic expedition. Hardly your average birders, several of them have had serious brushes with the law back in the states.

Guessing that an American would best understand other Americans, police detective Thorvaald Haraldsson grudgingly concedes her innocence and allows Teddy to tag along with the group to volcanoes, glaciers, and deep continental rifts in quest of rare bird species. But once another member of the club is murdered and a rockfall barely misses Teddy's head, Haraldsson forbids her to continue. She ignores him and, in a stunning, solitary face-off with the killer in Iceland's wild interior, concludes an investigation at once exotic, thrilling, and rich in animal lore.

©2016 Betty Webb (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

I waited a long time for this book

This is a very enjoyable series. The characters are always well developed and the plot is always engaging.

Cozy, but too long

A cozy mystery set in Iceland during a warm summer. Who knew it wasn’t always frigid cold there?
Mixture of Icelandic culture, double murders within a Bird Watching group, and law and order, The Puffin of Death is a stand alone book in a series.
Teddy was fun; her roomie was more likable, though. A bit too much fluff, with the climax happening in the final twenty minutes, without much fanfare, albeit the eruption added more action than the confrontation and confession.
Worth a scenic tour of Iceland with lovely narrator Hilary Huber, but not so much for the story.

Silly Fun

Another over-the-top zoo mystery, this time in Iceland. Webb’s writing is often clunky as she fills in information from previous installments, and as she tries to give a tourist’s intro to Iceland. Not my favorite of the series, and not for sticklers for elegant prose, but in the same fun vein as Joan Hess’s mysteries.

Very Entertaining!

I so enjoy the Gunn Zoo mysteries! While this one did not take place at the Gunn Zoo, I found it a very interesting side trip for Teddy. I loved reading about Iceland and its various creatures. It was an engaging mystery, with interesting characters. As always, Hillary Huber did a very nice job of narrating. Well worth the wait for the audio version!