ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS is the thirty-first book in the βMeg Langslowβ cozy mystery series by Donna Andrews. This book has some of my favorite things. I adore this series and some of the situations and supporting characters make me chuckle. I also love true crime stories, and in ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS, solving a cold case becomes crucial to figuring out a more recent crime. Megβs nephew Kevin is involved in putting together a true crime podcast with his buddy. When that friend seems to be targeted by some shadowy villains, he asks Meg to investigate. Of course she canβt refuse.
For a mystery fan, this story is amazeballs. Not only are there several cold cases for readers to chew on, but Meg must determine if what Kevinβs friend thinks is happening, is really happening. Are there bad guys out to get him, or is it just bad luck? Do the strange occurrences have to do with any of the podcast episodes or is something else provoking somebody to action. Itβs a mystery-palooza. With each case Meg looks into, I became engrossed, like the true crime junkie I am. Some of the cases are tragic and some are just compelling. As the story progresses, you canβt help but wonder if any of the cases are connected in some way. Things start out with the illusion of relative safety as Meg listens to background on each case and looks up some information online. As she digs deeper into the lives of the assorted victims and suspects, the danger inevitably ratchets up a few notches. I liked Meg taking her grumpy dog Spike on a late-night sleuthing mission. The support, big or small, Meg gets from her family acts as a nice contrast to the thrills and chills in ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS.
ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS has a multitude of puzzles for mystery fans to pore over. As a fan of this series since the first peacock-themed book, itβs nice to revisit those birds and their shenanigans. Once again, Donna Andrews somehow balances the humor with the seriousness and sense of danger to make a deeply satisfying story. I wouldnβt mind seeing some of these new supporting characters turn up in future mysteries. I canβt wait to read about Megβs next adventure!
Kevin, Meg's cyber-savvy nephew who lives in the basement, comes to her with a problem. He's become involved as the techie for a true-crime podcast, one that focuses on Virginia cold cases and unsolved crimes. And he thinks their podcast has hit a nerve with someone . . . one of the podcast team has had a brush with death that Kevin thinks was an attempted murder, not an accident.
Kevin rather sheepishly asks for Meg's help in checking out the people involved in a couple of the cases. "Given your ability to find out stuff online, why do you need MY help?" she asks. "Um . . . because I've already done everything I can online. This'll take going around and TALKING to people," he exclaims, with visible horror. "In person!" Not his thing. And no, it can't wait until after the wedding, because he's afraid whoever's after them might take advantage of the chaos of the wedding at Trinity or the reception at Meg and Michael's house to strike again.
So on top of everything she's doing to round up vendors and supplies and take care of demanding out-of-town guests, Meg must hunt down the surviving suspects from three relatively local cold cases so she can figure out if they have it in for the podcasters. Could there be a connection to a woman who disappeared on her own wedding day and hasn't been seen since?
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