Engaging and Entertaining
Dollycas's Thoughts
Tour guide Lana Hansen's entire life is in flux and it was just too much to handle so she grabbed the first flight going anywhere out of Venice. That is how she ended up in Iceland at the Hotel Puffin all by herself. Hoping to sort through her feelings and find direction she tucks herself away in her room but instead of direction, she finds herself even more miserable as a bunch of Americans in the room next door are partying day and night in a week-long bachelorette party.
A special person comes to visit and actually gets Lana to leave her room but she still can't get away from the bridesmaids as they show up for the same excursion.
Later when one of the bachelorettes dies just a day before the wedding without a clear cause Lana finds herself drawn into yet another murder investigation. Putting her own needs aside she is determined to find the killer. Then she will hopefully be able to sort out her own life. That is unless she is the killer's next victim.
When I finished Death by Gondola my heart was breaking for Lana. Death by Puffin takes place immediately where that previous book left off. She was not in good shape. She had such a heavy weight on her shoulders. Was her relationship with Alex over? Was Dotty going to let her keep doing the job she loved? Was she a murder magnet? The author did such an excellent job with Lana's situation. Her actions and reactions were true to real life, especially for Lana. She also had the perfect person come to her rescue. They both needed each other and the time away.
The bachelorettes were deliciously catty. Most felt entitled to everything and acted like spoiled brats. They are a pretty shallow group. One didn't really fit in with the group and that was refreshing.
There was a slow build to the murder so we did get to know all the new characters well by the time it happened. The entire bridal party was suspect. Who had the motive and opportunity to set up such a crime? There were plenty of twists and turns. I always enjoy the way Lana puts clues together and she was able to do it again even with all she was going through.
I loved that the story was set in Iceland. It feels like the appropriate place to try to get your life together while climbing a glacier or two and freezing your butt off. I was thrilled that right after finishing this book I was watching the latest episode of The Amazing Race and it took place in Iceland and one of the events was climbing a glacier. Ms. Alderson's detailed descriptions always make the places Lana visits easy to imagine but this time it was great to see actual pictures of the wonderful scenery and it also showed me how accurate her descriptions are. She really knows how to set a scene.
Death by Puffin kept me engaged and entertained. Every virtual vacay I have taken with Lana has been a Perfect Escape, but the last two books are my favorites. I loved the journey Ms. Alderson took Lana through. Things may be changing a bit for this fun protagonist but I know her new adventures are some that I will be very excited to read.
I happily recommend this entire series. Read them from the start and enjoy every tour.
P.S. Puffins are too cute to eat!
