It's hot, very hot. So I escaped with favorite authors again.
Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews (No. 31) There's another wedding in the Langslow household, and Meg again is roped in to help. This time, her mother wants strolling peacocks to add charm and color. The problem: the peacocks that are part of the extended family menagerie are molting ahead of their usual molting time, and they couldn't be more unpicturesque if they tried. So Meg gets sent off a mission to rent some peacocks. In the meantime, her nephew Kevin asks for her help. He and his friend started a podcast that examines cold crimes in Virginia. And it looks like one of their latests episodes has stumbled onto something because someone has tried to run over Casey. But Kevin and Casey aren't sure which of their latest podcasts may have upset someone, and they need Meg's help to figure out which one. Ms. Andrews again combines pop culture (the popularity of true crime podcasts) with zany Langlsow craziness (the first Meg Langslow mystery was set during a crazy wedding, too) and the warm and funny extended Langlsow/Hollingsworth clan.
For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews (No. 37) Meg's brother Rob, his wife Delaney, and their new baby have moved into their new house, conveniently located right next door to Meg and Michael and their family. Perfect for when they need Meg to do them a favor (which she's happy to do). This time, they need Meg to supervise the excavation of the duck pond. Meg is happy to escape the chaos at her house, where the first ever Caerphilly Mutt March is down to its final hours of organization. Meg has managed to avoid being involved in organizing the march, and it's easier to stay out next door at Rob's. But then the excavators uncover a skeleton with a bullet in its cranium. Then the elderly, original homeowner of Rob's house disappears, and Meg and Chief Burke and the Langslow/Waterstone/Hollingsworth clan jump in to solve the mystery and find Iris before it's too late.
Trouble in the Brasses by Charlotte MacLeod RCMP Madoc Rhys is visiting his father and mother and is drawn into murder in this re-release originally published in 1989. Madoc is the only member of his family with no musical talent whatsoever, much to the dismay of his conductor father, but that doesn't keep Madoc from attending a performance, even if he can't appreciate it. One of the brasses becomes terribly ill, stumbles off stage, and collapses. Made and his parents and the main orchestra members must fly to their next appearance despite the tragedy. A terrible storm blows them far off course and necessitates an emergency landing. Stuck the wilderness at a closed summer resort with little food, no electricity, and no way to communicate with the world is dire enough. And then, one of them is murdered. A modern country house-type murder mystery with the dry-witted and patient Madoc, my favorite Mountie.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei Brilliant graphic nonfiction autobiography of George Takei and his family's years in Japanese interment camps during WWII. Trenchant and extremely topical in today's political climate, when we are doing the same thing to innocent people. Highly, highly recommended.
A Delicious Deception by Lucy Burdette Food critic Haley Snow is 9-months-pregnant. But when Detective Darcy Rogers asks her to do a favor and supervise the exchange of a child from one parent to another right outside the sheriff's station, Haley agrees, even though her policeman husband protests. But what could go wrong, Haley argues. But it does all go wrong--something spooks the child's mother, who disappears a the drop-off location, and the soon-to-be-ex-husband just leaves the child with Haley. Haley brings the girl to her friends' house while she and Detective Darcy try to find the mother. But things go from bad to very much bad when the little girl is kidnapped. I found the whole premise of this story unbelievable: from why Darcy asked Haley to supervise the exchange to the actual investigation and unfolding of the story. The only thing I liked is that the author pulled no punches at the end of the story, with both heartbreak and joy. This is the second or third in the series I've read, but I suspect I will not go further with it.
A Fatal Yarn by Peggy Ehrhart To cleanse the palate from the previous book, I jumped back into another comfort series, the Knit and Nibble series. I enjoy this series because it's set inter part of New Jersey where I grew up, so the setting feels like home. And since I had fallen behind in the series (but have the lates on my TBR pile), I thought I should catch up. Pamela and the Knit and Nibblers are surprised to walk out of their homes one day to find that someone has knitted 'sweaters' around trees all over Arborville. They soon realize that not all of the trees are swaddled--only those that had been marked for removal in order to keep them from affecting power lines. Everyone is curious, and Pamela, after looking at the yarn used in several pieces and tracing it to the yarn store it was likely purchased at, thinks she has identified the phantom knitter. Arborville's mayor is murdered, and Roland, one of the Knit and Nibblers, is arrested. Pamela and Bettina are determined to prove Roland's innocence.
