GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF EAST AFRICA

Ornithology cloaks this cozy tale of a lovelorn man. Mr. Malik of Nairobi pines for the leader of his bird-watching club, Rose Mbikwa. The widowed Rose also attracts plights of troth from the insincere Harry Kahn. When the two suitors discover each wants to ask Rose to the annual Hunt Club Ball, the rivals refer their conundrum to members of Mr. Malik’s private club, who propose a contest: he who spots the most bird species in one week claims the right to ask Rose out. Their bird-watching methods reflect their personalities as the shy Mr. Malik walks or drives solitarily around Nairobi, while the bombastic Harry Kahn flies all around Kenya. En route, author Drayson (Confessing a Murder, 2002) often directly addresses his reader on the finer points of the birds tallied by the competitors. Complicating things with misadventure (bandits for Mr. Malik; a trespassing arrest for Harry Kahn), Drayson winds up his plot with an ending satisfactory to all parties.