Guest review by Kate Belt from Portland, Oregon, whose passions include everything bookish, libraries, celtic Christianity, Presbyterian Church (USA), technology, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Ocean, outdoors, nature, and authors Brian Doyle and Madeleine L’Engle, both deceased.

Six Ostriches: A Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery by Philipp Schott (No. 2 in the Series)

3 ½ to 4 stars for a fast paced read sure to please those who enjoy formulaic mysteries and also people like me who don’t, but sometimes find one that intrigues. The setting is in rural Manitoba, Canada. Main characters are Peter – a veterinarian who is neurodivergent with astonishing problem solving skills and his wife, Laura – a paleontologist by education & training and career knitter, their cat, and their dog, Pippin, who wins scent work contests. The plot is driven by the historical conflict between a radical Norse faction who believe that they, not the Indigenous persons who crossed the Bering Strait, were there first and deserve reparation for the land they had occupied. I knew little about the settlements in this part of Canada, so the best part for me was discovering Icelandic/Norse history and anthropology. The story takes a violent turn with animals and people turning up dead. This is your warning if these are your triggers.  I enjoy getting inside Peter’s fascinating brain when he is puzzling out the whodunit.

I can easily imagine the forested and lake setting Schott describes because my husband and I drove the Selkirk Loop, following the route we found in Sunset Magazine. We stayed at the bed & breakfast at Wedgwood Manor in Crawford Bay, in the area of the story’s fictional town. This was also the trip on which coming home, Jim zipped across 2 lanes of traffic on the old highway through Spokane, Washington. I thought he was avoiding a crash, but soon realized he had discovered a Starbucks!  Tells you how desperate we were for decent coffee by that time. Kudos to him for great scent work!

First in the series is Fifty-four Pigs, and No. 3, Eleven Huskies, came out May 14, 2024.  You don’t have to start with No. 1 unless you are a fanatic about reading books in order. I’m not. I discovered this series on a “Shelf Awareness” post and hoped I might finally discover a Louise Penny readalike. New Selfoss is not Three Pines, and Peter Bannerman is not Armand Gamache, but I will keep reading for awhile. I look forward to learning the stories of other recurring characters.