An Owl Too Many

McLeod's myriad fans, and other readers with funny bones, will welcome the return of Professor Peter Shandy and his quirky colleagues at Balaclava Agricultural College, seen before in The Corpse in Oozak's Pond . On a midnight owl-counting expedition, a net nastily set becomes a murder weapon. Adding the melodramatic abductions of two women, a tugboat journey on swollen floodwaters and hypnotized police officers, McLeod develops a high-flying farce with humor that ranges from broad slapstick to quiet witticisms. Highly memorable characters include the buxom and oft-abducted Viola Buddley, eager local newsman Cronkhite Swope and the endearingly eccentric heiress, Professor Winifred Binks. The latter's decisions to fund a TV station for the Massachusetts college and to back a struggling natural-foods company have several people more than casually interested in her assets. When Binks goes missing, real adventure follows. From the first flutter of owl feathers to the solution offered in the final pages, this murder most fowl is a hoot. Author tour. (Mar.)