None
3 stars
Murder With Peacocks is the very first of the Meg Langslows, one of those "amateur sleuth" sorts of series. Meg is a blacksmith, of all things--which I think is possibly the coolest profession I've encountered thus far in any of the mysteries of this type. To go along with this profession, we are given a clear impression that Meg is not exactly of a dainty sort of build, of which I also approve. She's a Virginian by birth, who fled out of her hometown. This got her even more sympathy points from me, a Kentuckian by birth who did pretty much the same thing. So yeah, liking me some Meg.
Her love interest Michael was also enjoyably swoonable. Typically mind-bogglingly gorgeous and charismatic as well as intelligent and amusingly snarky, about what you'd expect out of a hero in a cozy mystery, but his lack of any real uniqueness of …
Murder With Peacocks is the very first of the Meg Langslows, one of those "amateur sleuth" sorts of series. Meg is a blacksmith, of all things--which I think is possibly the coolest profession I've encountered thus far in any of the mysteries of this type. To go along with this profession, we are given a clear impression that Meg is not exactly of a dainty sort of build, of which I also approve. She's a Virginian by birth, who fled out of her hometown. This got her even more sympathy points from me, a Kentuckian by birth who did pretty much the same thing. So yeah, liking me some Meg.
Her love interest Michael was also enjoyably swoonable. Typically mind-bogglingly gorgeous and charismatic as well as intelligent and amusingly snarky, about what you'd expect out of a hero in a cozy mystery, but his lack of any real uniqueness of character wasn't a flaw in the slightest. It was easy to see why he and Meg clicked, and watching him throw himself without blinking into the wackiness of Meg's family was quite delightful. The recurring gag of most of the town being convinced he was gay while he kept trying to get a moment alone with Meg to prove otherwise got to be a bit much at times, especially given that Michael is an actor. On the other hand, given what I've experienced out of people in the South, it wasn't at all unrealistic, either. So! And I was absolutely feeling for the poor guy when towards the end he had to belt back some wine to work up his courage to get Meg alone and talk to her--only to discover yet another dead body. Muahahaha.
Which leads me into the real strength of this book--the actual plot and setting. Since I've also been reading Deborah Donnelly's Carnegie Kincaids, having Meg trying to plan out weddings for not one, not two, but three of her relations hit a bit of deja vu for me, especially when Michael observes to Meg that there are people who get paid good money for what she's doing for her family. Like Donnelly, though, Andrews has a great knack for taking what ought to be a pretty normal everyday situation and turning it on its ear with mischief, mayhem, and murder. The supporting cast here is fabulous; I especially like Meg's father, who for a switch winds up being the person driving most of the investigating, while Meg wants to do what any normal person would do and get the madness of the three back-to-back weddings out of her hair. Mrs. Fenniman is hysterical, and so are Mrs. Tranh and the cadre of little Vietnamese ladies who help out Michael at his mother's shop.
I also liked that the local law enforcement, once the string of Suspicious Incidents got underway, actually started launching investigations of their own--and bringing in FBI types as well. Who then were snuck into the weddings undercover as random assorted "cousins". This, too, was hysterical. Especially watching their various deadpan responses to being introduced to the actual guests. ^_^
All in all quite entertaining, and definitely enough to get me to come back for more.
