"Murder and dismemberment in Southern California"

Quinn McKay, former cop, retired private investigator and recent amputee, has taken a temporary job as a handyman and sheepherder while his girlfriend has taken a hiatus from their relationship. He is working for a tough, loud luthier named Tracy Huddleston-Gardner. In case you are wondering what a luthier is, as I did when I first read it, it is a person who makes stringed instruments. In this case, she makes guitars. She is also experiencing some problems, both work-related and personal, that have Quinn's conspiracy-centered mind jumping to all sorts of conclusions. And when a severed arm turns up in Tracy's house, with a bird perched on it of all things (hence the title of the book), it turns out that Quinn was right to be suspicious, yet even his most inventive conspiracies were too tame for the truth.

Lori Wolf has created a tough yet vulnerable, clever yet confused hero whose knack for solving crimes and talent for the supernatural gives readers the mystery they've been waiting for. His human frailties, including the relentless memory of shooting a child and determination to protect his sister and mother from his sex offender father, add dimension and garner empathy for Wolf's leading man. Her writing is solid, the imagery she paints of the desert-like Ojai, California landscape is colorful, and her cast of characters is both interesting and ordinary. There is Quinn's missing, flighty girlfriend, his charming best friend on a third marriage, a town filled with yoga instructors and people addicted to yoga classes, and a parrot that loves peanuts but hates her cage.

Judging from the title, the assumption can be made that this is the first in a series starring the intrepid, scarred man. I look forward to seeing the character of Quinn McKay develop, as well as reading more of Ms. Wolf's original storylines with hilarious titles.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartshorn
Posted August 19, 2003