 | In Agatha and Anthony-winner Andrews's fourth wacky bird-themed mystery, Meg Langslow, a temporary switchboard operator at her brother Rob's computer-game company, Mutant Wizards, must find the real killer when Rob, who made his fortune from a game called Lawyers from Hell, is accused of strangling the office pest to death with a computer mouse cable. Keeping exposition to a minimum, the author lets crackling dialogue propel the plot. The office boasts a menagerie of remarkable pets, notably George, a buzzard with only one wing who has a perch by Meg's desk. There's a smile on nearly every page and at least one chuckle per chapter. The denouement may stretch credibility, but getting there is such fun it scarcely matters. |
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REVENGE of the WROUGHT IRON FLAMINGOS
The third bird adventure finds that Meg has been commissioned to make a dozen life-size day-glow flamingos (such as seen on the dust jacket)so that her devoted sidekick Michael as well as their close, extended families can take part in a lovingly depicted re-creation of the October 1781 siege of Yorktown, complete with cannons, costumes and a crafts fair. Enter the villain, Roger Benson, a businessman who has promised to market a game designed by Meg's brother. Everyone, including Meg, has some quarrel with Benson, who eventually comes to bloody blows with one of the other blacksmiths. Later that night, Meg discovers Benson's body in the storage area of her shop, an ornate dagger, her masterpiece, prominently displayed in his back. The sheriff, his deputy and any number of Meg's friends and relatives are suspects, but her dad is determined to present himself as the killer. With witty dialogue and a fine sense of the ridiculous, Andrews keeps all her balls in the air with skill and verve.
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MURDER WITH PUFFINS Meg Langslow and her boyfriend Michael want to be alone, but it seems almost impossible. Meg gets an invitation to spend an Indian summer weekend at a supposedly empty cottage on the coast of Maine. Braving a hurricane and a horde of determined birdwatchers, they make the last ferry to Monhegan Island, only to find their plans to be alone dashed by the sudden appearance of Meg's family. To make matters worse, a famous and slightly megalomaniacal sculptor, a former lover of Meg's mom, has taken up residence on the island. When he's killed in an accident that turns out to be murder, Meg's sweet, slightly dotty father is the suspect. The elusive puffin, revered by bird lovers and captured in kitsch by an island artist named Rhapsody, is featured also. |
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MURDER WITH PEACOCKS
Lucky Meg Langslow is invited to be maid of honor to three brides in three weeks. As Meg knocks herself out to satisfy the whims of her business partner Eileen Donleavy (who wants all 600 guests in Renaissance atire), her brother Rob's fianc Samantha Brewster (who thinks some peacocks might be one of those little touches that would make her wedding special), and her mother Margaret Langslow (who, long divorced from Meg's cheerfully uncomplaining father, a retired physician whose hobby is poisonous plants, now plans to marry a deeply boring widower), newcomer Andrews shows why everybody depends on Meg: she's the only family member who's not out of her mind. The three Weddings and three Funerals, with all due respect to the overshadowed killer, will leave you helpless with laughter, especially when only one of the nuptials goes even remotely as planned |  |
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