Another fun entry in the Meg Langslow mystery series, set in fictional Caerphilly County, Virginia, and populated by the usual cast of nuts, weirdos, and goofballs that surround Meg, her husband Michael, and the one or two other normals that Andrews heaves into the chaos of her plots to provide anchors for the action.

This entry in the series takes on a lot of expository responsibility. It requires the characters to navigate Meg and Michael's moving into their huge new home, the party that *must* ensue from that in Southern culture, the discovery of a long-lost relative, the actual wedding of Meg and Michael, and the ordinary nuttiness of an Andrews mystery.

It succeeds, but barely. This is a breathless hurtle from giddy-up to whoa. Andrews's trademark bellow-with-laughter lines are fewer and farther between because of the pace at which events progress (though I will be stealing shamelessly the gut-busting, "Oh good, the hyenas are here" for the next family do). The need for speed trumps the need to make a person hoot.

That said, this is still a very funny book. The reactions of all characters to the madhouse environment of Meg and Michael's world is pitch-perfect and just the right degree of puzzled acceptance of the most wacked events as normal.

Recommended for those already in the know. Anyone not acquainted with the series should really start with the first one, Murder With Peacocks, in order to acclimatize to the madness. From there, I think there are few rules...though it's wise to remember that chronology makes life easier.... ( )

This is the first of Donna Andrews's books I've read, so I didn't know what to expect going into it. I felt that the book started out promisingly fun, but quickly degenerated into ridiculousness. Overall, I got the impression that the author was simply trying too hard to be funny. ( )

funny, simple ( )

Blurb from Amazon

Meg Langslow and her fiancé, Michael, are finally moving into their newly renovated house, assisted by numerous members of Meg's extended family. Unfortunately, Meg's father finds a body in her basement while he is digging a hole for a pool for some penguins he is fostering. The body is identified as that of Patrick Lanahan, owner of Caerphilly's bankrupt zoo. More chaos follows—and the Langslow menagerie quickly grows—after Meg's father's tells all those fostering the zoo animals to drop them off at Meg's place if fostering gets to be too much for them. Soon llamas, wolves, and hyenas are frolicking in the backyard. Meg investigates the murder and tries to save the zoo (so her many house guests can return home), all while planning her secret wedding. The levelheaded, unflappable Meg takes it all in stride: the parade of wild animals, her quirky relatives, an irate police chief, and a father who loves a mystery. This eighth cozy in the series makes the most of humorous situations, zany relatives, and lovable characters.

My Review

I'm feeling lazy today and I always find it difficult to review books that are in the middle of a series. So let me just say this was another enjoyable quick read. It wasn't quite as funny as some of the others in the series but it was still quite good. Fans of the series I'm sure won't be disappointed. ( )

I really like these Donna Andrews books. For some reason they tickle my funny bone and the plots doesn't seem as predictable as most light mysteries do. Of course they are secondary mysteries, because humor seems to be the main genre. They are light, funny and not so stupid I have to disengage my brain to read them. ( )