Competition Can Be Murder

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing change in setting
Review: Connie Shelton's Charlie Parker Mysteries are usually set in the New Mexico desert, but this entry is set in Scotland, which is a pleasing contrast. Charlie and her husband Drake have agreed to run Drake's friend Brian's helicopter service to the oil rigs while Brian is with his dying mother. They look on it as a lark and an adventure in a new part of the world, but they don't bank on some of the hardships that they will encounter. They are staying in a cottage on the grounds of a castle and they become acquainted with Robert and Sarah Dunbar, the castle's inhabitants. When the Dunbars discover that Charlie is a professional investigator, they ask her to try to recover two of their lambs which are missing. Later, they come to her with a more serious problem when their grandson is kidnapped. The third problem they face is serious opposition to the helicopter business from union workers who fear that the helicopter service will put the union's boat service out of business. There are lots of suspenseful passages in the book and Charlie and Drake are an attractive, loving couple. The main flaw is that the three mysteries are given a big buildup and the solutions to them are somewhat anticlimatic. Other than that, this is a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing change in setting
Review: Connie Shelton's Charlie Parker Mysteries are usually set in the New Mexico desert, but this entry is set in Scotland, which is a pleasing contrast. Charlie and her husband Drake have agreed to run Drake's friend Brian's helicopter service to the oil rigs while Brian is with his dying mother. They look on it as a lark and an adventure in a new part of the world, but they don't bank on some of the hardships that they will encounter. They are staying in a cottage on the grounds of a castle and they become acquainted with Robert and Sarah Dunbar, the castle's inhabitants. When the Dunbars discover that Charlie is a professional investigator, they ask her to try to recover two of their lambs which are missing. Later, they come to her with a more serious problem when their grandson is kidnapped. The third problem they face is serious opposition to the helicopter business from union workers who fear that the helicopter service will put the union's boat service out of business. There are lots of suspenseful passages in the book and Charlie and Drake are an attractive, loving couple. The main flaw is that the three mysteries are given a big buildup and the solutions to them are somewhat anticlimatic. Other than that, this is a good read.