Parrot Blues - Neil Hamel, Bk 6 Author:Judith Van Gieson A FULL-TIME ATTORNEY AND A PART-TIME SLEUTH, SHE'S ALL BUSINESS WHEN A RARE BIRD FLIES THE COOP — She may be a divorce lawyer, but Neil Hamel uses her PI's instincts when a millionaire's rare indigo macaw and newly endangered wife are kidnapped together. The unusual search puts her right in the heart of New Mexico's breathtaking Plains of San Agu... more »stin, for a dangerous game of bird smuggling and one-upmanship.
Armed with high-tech surveillance equipment and a backpack full of her client's money, Neil treks to a remote exchange point. Alas, she returns with the indigo, but no wife, and she's beginning to get ideas. When she learns that one of her chief suspects has suspiciously expired in her absence, Neil makes it her mission to find out who killed him and where the kidnapped woman is. So far, the only eyewitnesses are the parrotsand they're not talking.
From the back cover:
"New Mexico is home to many mystery writers, following in the footsteps of Tony Hillerman. One of the best is Judith Van Gieson, whose toughminded female lawyer/detective, Neil Hamel, is funny, sexy, and very bright....The detective work is excellent and well told, the ethnic mix of love and hate that is Albuquerque is equally well revealed, the writing is crisp and wry." --Boston Globe« less