Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

The fourth Meg Langslow mystery has Meg trying to organize her brother Rob's new computer gaming business. They have just moved into new quarters which they are sharing with a group of psychotherapists who are constantly arguing among themselves because of their differing therapies.

Meanwhile, the programmers are busy working on Lawyers from Hell II which is nearing its release date. The programmers have a wide variety of quirky personalities from the nonverbal stalker to the office practical joker who has taken to pretending he's dead and sending himself around the office on the new automated mail cart. It takes quite a few rounds before Meg realizes that this time Ted isn't joking, and someone has made his prank real.

When the police show more chief seems to be focusing on Rob, Meg knows she has to so her own investigating if she is going to find a better suspect for the police's attention. As she looks into Ted's affairs, she discovers that he has been caretaking in the basement of a large home that is filled with the deceased owner's belongings and collections. She also finds a stash of things Ted has hidden including what looks like the records of a blackmail scheme. Unfortunately, he has noted his victims only by code names which are mostly obscure. Meg is sure the list would provide lots more suspects for the police chief if only she can decode the nicknames and figure out who Ted's victims were.

This story is packed with humor. I loved the way Meg's plans to search the new company offices kept getting interrupted by discovering other people on the premises all doing various suspicious things. I loved that one of the office pets was a one-winged buzzard who lived in the lobby and had to be fed defrosted mice. Spike also has a role in this one as he's kept in his kennel under Meg's desk because of his anti-social behavior. And every day was "bring your dog to work" day which meant that the offices were constantly hosting the programmers' pets.

Then there are the affirmation bears which one of the therapists introduced to the office which the programmers thought would be fun to reprogram with less life affirming messages. And Michael and Meg's mothers who are also involved from afar. Michael's mother is still trying to foist Spike on the couple. And Meg's mother has plans to redecorate Michael and Meg's apartment which they not so affectionately refer to as "The Cave." Meg and Michael have been house hunting for a place that has enough space for them and aren't having any luck until Meg discovers the house where Ted is living which is huge, cluttered and seemingly way above their price range.

I laughed out loud as I was reading this one. It was a great addition to the series. show less

Although this book certainly can stand on its own, you should really start this series at the beginning, with Murder With Peacocks. This book is definitely the laugh-out-loud funniest of the series thus far. (The weakest--in my opinion--is the second book, Murder with Puffins.)

Some people will find this book a tad on the "too outrageous" side. The stereotypical programmers and psychiatrists are funny because they're *meant* to be funny; if you are expecting a serious character study, you won't find it here. Meg remains the only finely-drawn individual, but that's okay because the rest of the characters are just that: characters.

To get a sense of what happens in this book and the general level of bizarre humor, here's the basic hook: show more Meg takes a job at her brother's software company. They have an electronic mail cart that one of the office jokers like to ride around on playing dead. Because of this ghoulish habit, it takes a while for anyone to realize that he really *is* dead when the mail cart makes its final run.

And the "affirmation bear"...that alone is worth the price of admission. show less

Meg Langslow is back, this time working for her brother Rob’s startup company, the Mutant Wizards. The intrepid computer gamers are programming day and night trying to get their role-playing lawyer game ready for launch. There’s also a one-winged rescue buzzard in the reception area (because, of course.) They are sharing the space with a group of psychotherapists, who are none too pleased with their antics. One thing I love about this series is how with each book, the author takes Meg and puts her in a completely new, crazy setting. I never know what she’ll be doing, but it’s always hilarious. Someone in the company is murdered and the police have their eye on poor Rob, so it’s up to Meg to clear him by searching up other show more possible suspects. Hilarity ensues along the way. This is one of my favorite cozies. I love the characters and how birds (and the devilish little dog Spike) are incorporated into each one. show less

Poor Meg Langslow. She's blessed in so many ways. Michael, her boyfriend, is a handsome, delightful heartthrob who adores her. She's a successful blacksmith, known for her artistic wrought-iron creations. But somehow Meg's road to contentment is more rutted and filled with potholes than seems fair.

There are Michael's and Meg's doting but demanding mothers, for a start. And then there's the fruitless hunt for a place big enough for the couple to live together. And a succession of crises brought on by the well-meaning but utterly wacky demands of her friends and family. Demands that Meg has a hard time refusing---which is why she's tending the switchboard of Mutant Wizards, where her brother's computer games are created, and handling all show more the office management problems that no one else bothers with. For companionship, besides a crew of eccentric techies, she has a buzzard with one wing---who she must feed frozen mice thawed in the office microwave---and Michael's mother's nightmare dog. Not to mention the psychotherapists who refuse to give up their lease on half of the office space, and whose conflicting therapies cause continuing dissension. This is not what Meg had in mind when she agreed to help her brother move his staff to new offices.

In fact, the atmosphere is so consistently loony that the office mail cart makes several passes through the reception room, with the office practical joker lying on top of it pretending to be dead, before Meg realizes that he's become the victim of someone who wasn't joking at all. He's been murdered for real.

Donna Andrews's debut book, Murder with Peacocks, won the St. Martin's Malice Domestic best first novel contest and reaped a harvest of other honors as well. This is the fourth book in the Meg Langslow series, which features the intrepid Meg and her cast of oddball relatives. Their capers are a lighthearted joy to read. show less

Although this book certainly can stand on its own, you should really start this series at the beginning, with Murder With Peacocks. This book is definitely the laugh-out-loud funniest of the series thus far. (The weakest--in my opinion--is the second book, Murder with Puffins.) [return][return]Some people will find this book a tad on the "too outrageous" side. The stereotypical programmers and psychiatrists are funny because they're *meant* to be funny; if you are expecting a serious character study, you won't find it here. Meg remains the only finely-drawn individual, but that's okay because the rest of the characters are just that: characters. [return][return]To get a sense of what happens in this book and the general level of bizarre show more humor, here's the basic hook: Meg takes a job at her brother's software company. They have an electronic mail cart that one of the office jokers like to ride around on playing dead. Because of this ghoulish habit, it takes a while for anyone to realize that he really *is* dead when the mail cart makes its final run. [return][return]And the "affirmation bear"...that alone is worth the price of admission. show less

Meg helps out at her brother's software company, and winds up (of course!) in the middle of a murder mystery. There are suspects a-plenty too keep things interesting, as well as a menagerie of critters (furry and winged) who get into the act.

The humor often borders on slapstick. At times, this book had me laughing out loud. Some of the humor, however, left me offended. There was one character whose personality traits seemed very much those of someone with Asperger's Syndrome (quite common among those in the computer industry), and those traits (in terms of body language, social awkwardness, etc.) were ridiculed and treated with absolutely no understanding -- and, as the plot developed, some misunderstandings that are not helpful for show more those on the autism spectrum were perpetuated. This disappointed me greatly. I've enjoyed this series up until now -- and I enjoyed this book except for this fact.

I realize that this is a book to not be taken too seriously -- the humor is generally of the madcap variety, and the climactic scene is totally over-the-top. I think Ms. Andrews is basically a good writer, but I can't enjoy someone making fun of symptoms of a developmental disability. I'm actually re-evaluating whether to read the rest of this series. show less

Better. I'd hate to say it's because Michael was largely absent... possibly because she gets the computer programming nerds just right. The chaos (which Andrew's does best) was largely at the beginning, but it was enough to carry the book through and get me to laugh. I also think that she does best when Meg doesn't really invest in the problem, and is highly interested in a different issue that really isn't as important as whatever death has just happened.