"The Plume Hunter" by Renée Thompson is deceptive. Yes, it's a well-researched historical novel about the devastating business of pluming – killing birds for their feathers.

A closer look reveals an economically written literary drama sparked by expert dialogue and visualized through an acute sense of place.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, armed woodsmen began decimating rookeries, selling the birds' feathers on the millinery market in New York and San Francisco. The feathers – and sometimes whole birds – were used to adorn women's hats.

Millions of birds died for the sake of vanity.

Though Florida was the main source of feathers, so were other parts of the United States, including the marshlands of Klamath and Malheur, Ore., the novel's setting and "the most prolific killing fields in the West," Thompson said.

"You don't have to be a bird lover to appreciate this story," she added. "At its heart, it's about two best friends and the conflict between them. While the two are in love with the same woman, it is not a romance."

Thompson also is the author of "The Bridge at Valentine," a retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," set in 1890s Idaho.

She now is writing a book of short stories.

Thompson's personal motto is, "You're overthinking it, lady."

I caught up with her by phone at her home in Granite Bay, where she was preparing to "go into the pasture to walk the dog and feed the goats."

Where did the idea come from?

I thought I was going to write a contemporary story about water wars between Northern California and southern Oregon but came across some wonderful photographs in my research.

A super-captivating one showed (two naturalist-photographers) camping in the lower Klamath in 1905. They inspired my two main characters, Fin and Aiden.

What kinds of birds were killed?

Swans, grebes, terns, cormorants, pelicans, owls, songbirds, shorebirds. The plumers were very much attracted to snowy and gray egrets for their bridal plumes – the long feathers that grow on their backs during breeding season.

How valuable were the feathers?

In 1903, gold sold for just under $19 an ounce and feathers were $32 an ounce. Astonishing. The (Oregon) guys were out every day.

In the summertime, they hunted birds for feathers. In the winter, they shot ducks for the restaurant trade.

While pluming was very lucrative, it was competitive and extremely dangerous. It was a rough, very territorial crowd.

How did pluming end?

It wasn't until the Audubon movement started kicking in again in the 1880s that (Boston socialite) Harriet Hemenway tried to make women understand the kind of carnage that was being created. She hosted teas for women in her home. One of the things she told them was, "As long as you keep wearing these hats, you will be perceived as silly. And if you're perceived as silly, you will never acquire the right to vote."

The women became determined (to end pluming) and laws were enacted. (Also) fashion began to change. By the 1920s or so, feathers were no longer required.

What about the Lacey Act of 1900?

Congress passed that to make it a crime to transport birds killed in violation of any state law. So if you shot a bird in Oregon, you could no longer ship it to a milliner in New York City. The problem was there was no one to enforce it.

As a writer, what did you take away from this project?

That sometimes less is more. I'm learning that.

Werewolf of the Bay Area

"The Wolf Gift" by Anne Rice (Knopf, $25.95, 416 pages): It's always big book news when Anne Rice ("The Vampire Chronicles") publishes a new title.

Here, she puts her distinctive trademark twist on the classic werewolf legend, setting it in contemporary times with a protagonist, Reuben, who is fully aware of what's up after he transforms from human. No Lon Chaney "Wolfman" blackouts here.

She writes: "I explore the haunted atmosphere of Northern California's mist-shrouded redwood forests and windswept coast. (Reuben) dines in San Francisco's North Beach, meets his lady love in Mill Valley for breakfast and drives his car on Highway 101 as he pushes deeper into a grim but at times glorious adventure."

Speaking of Simmons

In the world of food, Gail Simmons maybe hasn't done it all, but she's close. In her memoir, "Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life As a Professional Eater" (Hyperion, $26.99, 288 pages), the host of Bravo Network's "Top Chef: Just Desserts" tells readers of the journey that led her to celebrityhood – and to some of the world's best restaurants.

For a big laugh, navigate to YouTube, type in the title and enjoy the book trailer.

What if Eva Braun ...

Former trial attorney Roger Pershing Barrick of Roseville had an intriguing idea: What if Eva Braun had secretly delivered Hitler's son toward the end of World War II? What if that son were still alive? What if a resourceful private eye and his friends tried to track him to his hiding place somewhere in the world?

That's the premise of "At the Gate of the Wolf's Lair" (Prismatic, $20, 361 pages), a two-year writing-editing project. Barrick is a third of the way through the sequel, "Piercing the Wolf's Lair."

'Cash Cab' questions

One of the Discovery Channel's most popular reality shows is "Cash Cab." In it, host Ben Baily – a qualified New York City taxi driver – picks up fares in a real, registered cab and asks them trivia questions worth $50, $100 or $200, depending on their difficulty.

Now comes "Cash Cab" the book, a "collection of the best trivia" from the show (NAL, $12.95, 240 pages).

It's fun, it's challenging. Try this "Red Light Challenge" question, worth $250: Name the top-five red wine grapes in the U.S.

Answer: zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, grenache, merlot, pinot noir.

Read, or watch

The provocatively titled book "The Viagra Diaries" by Barbara Rose Brooker raised eyebrows when it was published in June (Llumina, $15, 282 pages). It told the first-person story of a 60-something woman whose husband splits, and now she's suddenly on the dating scene – a landscape she hasn't explored in 35 years.

If you missed the book, you can catch the upcoming HBO pilot movie for the half-hour show, starring Oscar winner Goldie Hawn and directed by Paul "Bridesmaids" Feig.

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