Meg Langslow is preparing for her brother Rob’s upcoming wedding and the garden reception, in the thirty-first book in this chaotically funny cosy crime series. ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS is an activity required when the resident peafowl are noticeably moulting, and half-feathered birds won’t suit Mother, who instructs Meg to find some fancier-looking versions for the day.
As the guest list and food requirements keep expanding, so does the number of willing helpers. So Meg is available to aid her computer-loving nephew, Kevin, who lives in the basement. He has started a true-crime podcast, with Casey, a college friend studying history. They focus on Virginia cold cases, but someone tried to hit Casey with a stolen car. Maybe the lads have stirred up some uneasy bones. Chief Burke is investigating, but Meg would be better at talking to people than Kevin, so she agrees to help.
We learn that Virginia has no statute of limitations on murder or felonies, which could be why someone is agitated. Cases include a musician who disappeared two decades ago after she was stalked at college. A young man in Clay County who changed his plea to guilty during a shooting trial, and is now paroled, working with animals. A business school professor appears to have died by suicide, but rumours say otherwise.
The wedding and peafowl do occupy a lot of scenes, but Meg's mother has arrangements in hand, and her father the doctor and grandfather the zoo biologist are on hand as usual, along with her charming husband Michael and the twins, who take any chance to flee the crowd. This is one big happy family, taking every chance to mingle, and Meg doesn’t want to cast a downer on the situation, so she sneaks out at night to burgle the college department records, assists musicians and avoids nearby Clay County as the sheriff is looking at that case. I didn’t already know a Scandinavian music artist Ragnor, but I was happy to meet the evil-tempered terrier Spike again, along with the collie, llamas and other beasts.
ROUND UP THE USUAL PEACOCKS by Donna Andrews has many hilarious moments, but the mix of three cold cases can get confusing at times. I think the author must have plotted out all the movements beforehand to fit in so much activity and crime-solving over a week. The podcast reappears in a later book in the series, Rockin' Around the Chickadee, which has a more serious aspect. This one is fun.
New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews first introduced us to Meg Langslow as a crime-solving bridesmaid. In her 31st mystery, Round Up the Usual Peacocks, Meg returns to her roots, juggling cold cases and wedding guests.
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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