Book Review: Delilah Doolittle and the Missing Macaw

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Delilah Doolittle and the Missing Macaw     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Patricia Guiver
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Dogs   Cats
Series: Delilah Doolittle # 4
Berkley, Feb 2000, $5.99, 192 pp.

British widow Delilah Doolittle resides in a small Southern California town. She has easily adapted to the mellow lifestyle and has ingeniously come up with a profession to pay her bills. Delilah is an ace of a pet detective who retrieves lost or stolen animals for a fee. She sometimes finds a human corpse or two during her investigations. This leads to her helping the police in homicide cases.

Beryl Handley hires Delilah to locate her missing macaw, Scarlett O’Hara. While walking on the nearby beach, Delilah finds a body that must have washed ashore. She realizes that the deceased is the culprit who stole Scarlett. Seemingly at an end in her search for the macaw, Delilah turns to friend Tony Tipton for assistance. A former crook, Tony has connections on both sides of the Mexican-American border. He introduces her to individuals who do not allow legal matters to interfere with the selling of exotic birds. Following up their tips, Delilah begins to closes in on the individual holding Scarlett, but is unaware of the danger she has placed herself in from the culprit.

DELILAH DOOLITTLE AND THE MISSING MACAW is a charming entry in the delightful pet detective series. Patricia Gulliver showcases her writing skills by weaving eccentric endearing characters into a cozy that has an Old World ambiance about it instead of Southern California surf. Readers who enjoy cozies or tales involving animals will relish the latest novel in this fine collection of mystery books.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner