Murder with Peacocks (Meg Langslow Mysteries) - Softcover

Andrews, Donna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312970633 ISBN 13: 9780312970635

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2000

Synopsis

Three Weddings...And a Murder

So far Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she's maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones--each of whom has dumped the planning in her capable hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony, while another wants live peacocks on the lawn. Only help from the town's drop-dead gorgeous hunk, disappointingly rumored to be gay, keeps Meg afloat in a sea of dotty relatives and outrageous neighbors.

And, in whirl of summer parties and picnics, Southern hospitality is strained to the limit by an offensive newcomer who hints at skeletons in the guests' closets. But it seems this lady has offended one too many when she's found dead in suspicious circumstances, followed by a string of accidents--some fatal. Soon, level-headed Meg's to-do list extends from flower arrangements and bridal registries to catching a killer--before the next catered event is her own funeral...

About this title

About the Author:

Donna Andrews is the author of the Meg Langslow mysteries, including Stork Raving Mad and Swan for the Money. She has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry awards, a Romantic Times award for best first novel, and two Lefty and two Toby Bromberg Awards for funniest mystery. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she's messing in the garden. She lives in Reston, Virginia.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

I had become so used to hysterical dawn phone calls that I only muttered one halfhearted oath before answering.

"Peacocks," a voice said.

"I beg your pardon, you must have the wrong number," I mumbled. I opened one eye to peer at the clock: it was 6:00 A.M.

"Oh, don't be silly, Meg," the voice continued. Ah, I recognized it now. Samantha, my brother Rob's fiance. "I just called to tell you we need some peacocks."

"What for?"

"For the wedding, of course." Of course. As far as Samantha was concerned, the entire universe revolved around her upcoming wedding, and as maid of honor, I was expected to share her obsession.

"I see," I said, although actually I didn't. I suppressed a shudder at the thought of peacocks, roasted with the feathers still on, gracing the buffet table. Surely that wasn't what she had in mind, was it? "What are we going to do with them at the wedding?"

"We're not going to do anything with them," Samantha said impatiently. "They'll just be there, adding grace and elegance to the occasion. Don't you remember the weekend before last when we all had dinner with your father? And he was saying what a pity that nothing was blooming in the yard in August, so there wouldn't be much color? Well, I just saw a photo in a magazine that had peacocks in it, and they were just about the most darling things you ever saw...."

I let her rattle on while I fumbled over the contents of my bedside table, found my notebook-that-tells-me-when-to-breath, flipped to the appropriate page, and wrote "Peacocks" in the clear, firm printing I use when I am not in a very good mood.

"We're you thinking of buying or renting them?" I asked, interrupting Samantha's oration on the charms of peacocks.

"Well--rent if we can. I'm sure father would be perfectly happy to buy them if necessary, but I'm not sure what we would do with them in the long run." I noted "Rent/buy if necessary" after "Peacocks."

Excerpted from Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews.

About this edition

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312970633
• ISBN 13: 9780312970635
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320