Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews in exchange for an honest review. It published August 2, 2022.
Another fun entry in the Meg Langslow series. I love the continuation of the story, and just the overall relationships with everyone. This series is always a fun little escape from reality!

Meg’s brother is getting married which almost anyone in the county and beyond plus any living relative is invited to the wedding and then to Meg and Michael’s farm for the reception. Normally this would entail Meg being up to her eyeballs in preparation for the event. Two things happen to lessen this load: one, an over-abundance of relatives have arrived to assist in the setup for the wedding involving overhaul of the gardens and decorating the entire menagerie of animals of Megs and her parents. Two, both mothers of the wedding couple have waited too long for this wedding and they are determined for it to be a wedding and reception of all time. Meg is able to escape much of this detail work by running errands for her mom. One such errand involves picking up and transporting her father’s friend peacock because their own peacocks are molting and just won’t be handsome enough for the moms. This allows Meg to chase down the case of who might want her nephew’s fellow crimesolver killed. The two boys have been doing a series of podcast involving cold case files and Meg has agreed to help on some leads while out and about. As usual in this delightful series of Meg and her extended family and friends, everything is larger than life.
I chuckled at the animals antics and felt the angst of the family when the “new peacocks” take over the lawn and threaten harm to the grounds and relatives. The talk of all the food will make you swoon with all the Scandinavian delicacies whether at the farm or visiting the Castle of one of Meg’s clients. Will Meg be able to trace down the attempted murder of her nephew’s sidekick and solve a cold case before the wedding? Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC; this is my honest review.

Round up The Usual Peacocks

Peacocks, Murder, Cold cases and if that is not enough she is trying to plan a wedding. Her brother is getting married and all the extended family are at the family farm preparing for the event. She is investigating the cold cases because her nephew and his friend were doing podcasts of the cases when someone tries to kill his friend. It was a very fun read and trying to figure out which of the cases was the one which got enough interest to try to keep it quiet was definitely exciting.

Donna Andrew’s first book in her Meg Langslow series, Murder with Peacocks, was set during a series of weddings that the main character Meg, a blacksmith, was scheduled to participate in as maid of honor. Quirky family shenanigans ensued and a romance that has grown throughout the series blossomed. Murder with Peacocks received an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. This latest entry is a call back to the 1999 original, with the wedding of Meg’s brother and his charming fiancé Delaney.

Rather than multiple weddings to contend with, an additional plot line is weaved throughout the latest novel of a possible threat to Meg’s nephew, Kevin, and his fellow podcaster who may have gotten too close to solving one of the cold case mysteries they broadcast about. If you love Only Murders in the Building than this storyline will appeal.

The main delight of the Meg Langslow series is always the crazy cast of relatives and friends that Meg is surrounded by. If you ever longed for a loving extended family that go in for huge family gatherings than this will be a delight. Also in each of the mysteries since the first, some sort of bird has been part of the mystery or at least been featured in a subplot, in this case again we have the peacocks who are as ornery as they are beautiful. With Round Up the Usual Peacocks, Donna Andrew’s again proves why she is one of my favorite cozy mystery author!

Round Up the Usual Peacocks is the thirty-first book in the Meg Lansdown series! Meg’s brother, Rob, is getting married in the social event of the season. And Meg has finally, well mostly, extracted herself from the endless set of pre-wedding chores her mother has in mind for her.

Meg’s nephew Kevin and his friend Casey recently discussed three local cold cases on their new podcast. When Casey is almost run down in a hit-and-run, Meg decides to investigate the old cases to see what stirred up a hornet’s nest.

The characters are a delight as usual. With the usual zany family shenanigans, Round Up the Usual Peacocks is a fun and breezy cozy mystery read. It is highly recommended. 5 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

After transporting several unruly prisoners by herself and handing them off to her father, Meg Langslow gave him a stern warning about how much trouble they could be. But he didn’t believe her, and when he carelessly opened the cage a little too close to the house, he found out just how unruly those peacocks could be. The large birds attacked the grills where dinner was being prepared as well as several nearby relatives. The chickens knew to run for cover, and the llamas did their best to protect them. It wasn’t until the neighbor’s dog showed up with his herding expertise that they were able to get the peacocks contained in a back field by themselves.

These weren’t Meg’s usual peacocks. The family peacocks were molting, and Mother couldn’t have that for the wedding. She needed beautiful peacocks that could strut around and add grace and elegance to the celebration. However, these borrowed peacocks did not seem up to the job. Unless they could just look good from a distance.

Picking up the replacement peacocks was one of Meg’s few wedding tasks, since she and her husband Michael were already offering their home for the big family wedding of Meg’s brother Rob and his fiancée Delaney. And Meg was also trying to find out who might be trying to kill her nephew Kevin and his friend Casey. That took precedent over the wedding tasks.

Kevin and Casey had started a true crime podcast about cold cases in Virginia, and one night someone had tried to run Casey over as he was walking home. Kevin and Casey are great with internet research, but they lack skills for investigating in the real world, so Kevin asked Meg to help them out. As she had solved a murder or twenty in the past, she has the experience they lack. And she took an attack on family, or near family, seriously, so she wanted to find out what she could about the almost hit-and-run.

Kevin went through their podcast cases and came up with three episodes that might have riled some feathers. While most of their cases are old enough that there is no one still living who had been involved, there are a few that happened more recently and could have caused someone to panic. Twenty years ago, a female musician had gone missing right before she was about to sign a contract. The local college had a cheating scandal that had ended with two students getting expelled and a professor committing suicide. And a prisoner recently released, a man who had always claimed innocence from the crime, may have been wrongly imprisoned after all, possibly even set up by an unethical sheriff.

As Meg finds herself travelling around, asking questions about these three cases, she collects witnesses and information, suspect ideas, and a possible way to burgle the business school for information. She works with her local police chief to trade information, so he could work on the more dangerous ideas while Meg keeps chipping away at the facts she could access. But she still finds that there are moments that she feels a little unsettled, like she’s being watched. Will she be able to find the answers she needs and keep herself and her favorite podcasters safe long enough to see the big wedding, or will someone try to cover up old crimes by committing a new one?

Round Up the Usual Peacocks is the 31st mystery in Donna Andrews’s loveable Meg Langslow series. These bird-themed mysteries revolve around Meg and her large extended family. As a part-time blacksmith, part-time assistant to the mayor, part-time investigator, and full-time wife, mother, and keeper of the sanity for her parents and grandfather, Meg has her work cut out for her each time. But with a large support system, a lot of common sense, protective animals, and her notebook-that-tells-her-when-to-breathe, Meg is up for any task that she faces.

I have been a big fan of Meg and her family for a very long time (since the series was back in single digits), and I think Andrews just keeps getting better. Round Up the Usual Peacocks is not a typical cozy, but having Meg juggle three investigations at once in her killer style brought so much fresh energy to this novel. There was never a dull moment, and while I could see some of those reveals coming from early on, I still got completely caught up.

Readers who are getting a little tired of the traditional cozy format might find this series a breath of fresh air. For me, they’re a way to reconnect with old friends. If you’ve not read any of the Langslow mysteries yet, be prepared for a large cast of characters. But they’re all great fun, and there is always room for another at the table, so grab a plate and pull up a chair. You’re about to make a whole bunch of new friends. Although prepare yourself—some of those friends may be llamas. And you may end up sorting confetti, to pick out the ugly green ones.

Egalleys for Round Up the Usual Peacocks were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Round up the Usual Peacocks, the 31st Meg Langslow novel, is a pure delight. The fun comes with the usual, or should I say unusual, shenanigans we associate with this wonderful extended family, but the mystery is taunt and heart-touching and just as important to holding my interest. The quality and fun is what we have come to expect of author Donna Andrews and what keeps us coming back. A slower start than usual does not detract from this delightful and excellent cozy mystery.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for accepting my request for ab ARC of Round up the Usual Peacocks. I adore this series, especially the later books.

#NetGalley #RunduptheUsualPeacocks #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #DonnaAndrews

I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and decided to try this, without managing to notice the plainly written #31 right there next to the title. It was the peacocks that got me.

The author does a good job of introducing everyone, but the problem is, there are so very many people to introduce that I was at sea among characters who were mostly floating heads. I think if I knew everyone's backstory this tale would have resonated a lot more.

The peacocks have to do with an upcoming wedding of characters who were a sea of names. Once we got to the mystery, which begins with the narrator's nephew, who has started a true crime podcast, nearly getting killed, the pacing zipped along. I really liked that the narrator wasn't obnoxiously poking her way into an investigation that nobody wanted her in, and also that the local gendarmerie didn't blow her off when she had important data to offer.

The mystery resolved well, and though I never really connected with any of the characters, I think that's due to me picking up a series cold more than thirty books in, and not the fault of the author. Which makes me want to begin at the beginning.

Kevin, Meg’s nephew, and his friend have started a podcast on older unsolved crimes in the area. The only problem is that Kevin’s friend was almost rundown. Was it an accident or intentional? At any rate it gives Meg a break from the wedding tasks to investigate. There’s a trio of these crimes-one from the adjacent county which will be handled by the local police, one in the business school with a cheating scandal from about 20 years ago, and a missing singer presumed dead. As usual Meg has to work around an amazing team of volunteers working on the backyard of her home for the wedding while investigating and adding a few wedding errands. This is one of my favorite Meg Langslow mysteries.

One thing you can count on with Donna Andrews, you will find yourself laughing while reading. 31 books, and I still get as much enjoyment as with the first. This is one of my favorite series.

This time Meg is juggling her brother Rob's wedding, three cold cases, molting peacocks, her zany family,, and keeping her nephew, Kevin, and his friend alive. I think if this is your first Meg Langslow you will not have any trouble keeping up. If it's your thirty-first, I'm sure that, like me, you are already looking forward to the thirty-second. Personally, I cannot wait.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Kevin is the tech wizard for a true crime podcast with Casey. Apparently they have ruffled someone's feathers, and it is not the peacocks! Casey is almost mowed down by a car. They soon realize that a cold case that they have featured may not be so cold. It is ruled an accident, but Kevin does not believe it was an accident. This is when Kevin asks Meg for her assistance since he is a behind the scenes kind of guy! This book is full of chaos, a wedding, aggressive peacocks and quirky characters and plenty of humor along with a mystery. This is a fun mystery series. If you enjoy a good mystery with a little humor and fun mixed in, you will enjoy this book and this series.

A fun mystery with a very entertaining family. I haven't read any of the other Meg Langslow mysteries so didn't have any expectations of what this one would be like. Meg's family is full of quirky personalities that were a lot of fun. The book had several mysteries that end up being resolved. I like how they were all wrapped up. The book was a quick read, and I was thoroughly entertained. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was a bit of a different kind of mystery. To start with there isn't a murder. A true crime podcaster is almost run down while crossing a street at a quiet intersection and signs point to that close call involving someone who isn't happy that the podcast is dragging up old cases. And the aunt of one of those true crime podcasters just happens to be Meg Langslow. Since Meg's mother is planning the wedding of the century with hosts of family members in tow Meg jumps at the chance to skip out of wedding chores and do some investigating.

It was fun digging through the two cases she focuses on and I always love when Meg's dad and Chief Burke are involved and Ragnar even made an appearance to add to the fun and mayhem. The investigations were interesting and the author did a good job with throwing in a surprise twist or two.

I have never been a big fan of peacocks and this book has convinced me that I was right to feel that way about them. That said the scenes involving the peacocks were absolutely hilarious. This was a fun read with the amount of hijinks I expect from this series. I enjoyed the slightly different take on the mystery. This is a long running series with a lot of characters which can be a bit confusing if jumping in at this point though I still think you'll enjoy this read if you start here.

I have enjoyed all of the Meg Landslow mysteries I have read. Meg is surrounded by an interesting group of family and friends and there is always someone available to give her help and /or advice with her sleuthing. In this story she is helping her cousin Kevin and his friend Casey. They have been doing Cold Case podcasts and feel they are being threatened because of one of them. The question is which one?
In the midst of all this, there is also wedding planning happening as her brother Rob and Delaney are getting married at her house in a few days. Quite enjoyable read with a few suspects and some became more obvious as Meg investigated more.

I really enjoyed reading the book, very interesting and keeps you in suspense of what is going to happen you just dont know. Meg is amazingly funny and gets herself out of trouble. I really like this new installment. GREAT WORK!!!! keep them coming

What would Meg do without her notebook that tells her when to do everything in her life? With a family to keep up with, a rather eccentric extended family and a talent for solving murders, Meg is always juggling a multitude of things. In this, the 31st of the series, she and her notebook are tasked with getting things pulled together for her brother's wedding. He and his bride had said Heck, no to a big wedding but that didn't last and they turned it all over to his mother to orchestrate. Oh.My. Goodness. Meg is, of course, helping their mother but Meg is ready to make a break for it. When her nephew, Kevin, the computer geek, asks for her help concerning the possible fall out of his recent true crime podcasts, she is more than eager to help. His co-podcaster was run off the road one night and Kevin is afraid that one of three podcasts might have been the reason. Given that her current wedding task is to go pick up a party of not currently molting peacocks.... Yes, one of the collective words for a group of peacocks is "party". How fitting. Meg is certain that the three cases Kevin has handed her will be much easier to deal with. Turns out the peacocks are full of attitude and need to be herded by a dog. Much hilarity ensues.
I always look forward to finding out what is new in Meg's life, to hang out with her family and at the zoo run by her grandfather. Mow there is a wonderful character. Each mystery is full of side stories, twists and a bit of head scratching on the part of more than just the reader. To say her life is colorful is an understatement. Bottom line? After reading this series since book one landed at the bookstore (I inhaled it) at 31 books I'm eager for as many more as Donna Andrews can share. October 11, 2022 is the release date for Dashing Through the Snow Birds.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book, while well written, was not for me. In full disclosure, I have not read any of the other books in this series.

The author does a great job of making this novel stand on its own so that you don't have to have read previous books to understand the story, but reading previous books may make you feel more connected to the characters. So while I don't think it's fully necessary to have read any of the previous books in the series prior to reading this one, I think it may have been more enjoyable if I had.

Overall, because I didn't connect much with the characters, I had a hard time getting pulled into the story. The main plot fell a little flat for me, and I felt like there was too much focus on the side plots. I really wanted to like this one, but it was not the book for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy to read and give an honest review.

Another romp around Caerphilly with Meg and the extended family. Rich characters, enjoyable puzzles, and some truly whacky happenings enliven this truly excellent series.

Meg never disappoints. I so want to be friends with her in real life.

I received an ARC via NetGalley--all opinions are my own.

This was another delightful tale set in this series. I always enjoy coming back to these characters!