The Meg Langslow Mystery Series by Donna Andrews

                  Quite awhile ago I wrote about Murder with Peacocks, the first book in The Meg Langslow Mystery Series.  While I enjoyed the book, I will admit I was not sure if I wanted to continue with the ones following.  Some of the characters drove me absolutely crazy and I did not know if I would be able to put up with them.  However, I decided to give the second one a try.  Then the third, and the fourth…I’m sure you can see where this is going.  I have read every book in the entire series up to the most recent one which I am halfway through.  The books do not take me long to read and when I finish one I eagerly await for the next to be released.  Periodically I check the author’s website to see when I can expect the next installment to be published.  Some of the characters still bother me, but I like everything else so much that for the most part I am able to overlook those aspects.  Every time I have one of these books in my hand, all I want to do is read.  In fact, I had to force myself to put the book down in order to write this very post.           

                The star of the series, as stated in the title, is Meg Langslow.  She is a blacksmith by trade, but with all that is constantly going on around her, I do not know how she ever finds time to work on her craft.  Her house is always full of people and animals and one never knows what is going to happen.  The town she lives in is not any better.  Meg can often be found involved in one event or another, usually trying to keep everything under control.  She is very good at fixing everyone’s problems and keeping things on track.  However, the one thing Meg cannot control is the dead bodies that inevitably turn up somewhere.

                While Meg does not usually intentionally get involved in the murder investigations, she somehow always does.  Just add it to her already lengthy list of things to do.  Somehow Meg is always in the right place at the right time to overhear something or to discover an important clue.  She just has that luck.  But while Meg does try to turn whatever she knows over to the police and let it be, she is unable to.  It rolls around in her head and pieces start to come together as to who the culprit is.  This sometimes puts Meg into some dangerous situations, but as is expected, everything turns out all right in the end.      

                There is quite a cast of characters in these books as Meg has a very extensive family.  They are not all in every book, but a new relative seems to show up all the time.  Each one is very unique with his or her own interesting quirk.  There is a group of relatives that are regularly in the books. 

First is Rob, Meg’s brother.  He has a law degree but does not use it except in extreme circumstances.  Instead, he owns a computer game company which he does not seem to go to either.  No, Rob appears to just float around doing this and that.  He is a tad goofy but can also be helpful at times.

                Next comes Meg’s father.  He is a doctor.  Whenever there is an incident needing medical attention, Meg’s father is called in.  The problem is he has a tendency to go on medical rants.  Dr. Langslow will begin talking about all the terrible things that can happen with a certain ailment, while the patient is sitting in front of him.

                Meg’s mother is the character that drives me truly crazy.  She takes advantage of Meg, and others, all the time.  Never does she take no for an answer despite the inconvenience it may cause someone.  Usually Meg is the one inconvenienced.  Sometimes she is able to get out of things by diverting her mother’s attention, but a lot of times she is not.  Her mother will decorate Meg’s house and let people use Meg’s house for whatever reason often without talking to Meg first.  In the community she volunteers Meg for things without any consideration as to what else Meg may have going on.  Yes, Mrs. Langslow gets to be a bit much for me.

                One of the best characters in the book is Michael, Meg’s husband.  At the start of the series they are just meeting and the books carry us through their relationship to marriage and having two young children.  He is a professor at the local college and does whatever he can to help Meg.  I am not saying Michael is perfect, as there have been some times where he has done things he should not have, but he is mostly very kind.  He puts up with Meg’s family and all their antics with little, if any, complaint.

                The books have many more regularly used characters, but the ones mentioned are those seen most often.  I do not know how long it would take me to write about everyone, and I have not even gotten to the animals yet.  Not only are there regular house pets, but there is livestock as well.  The amount of animals is getting so numerous that in the most recent book Meg and Michael have had to put their foot down about getting any more.              

                While I love reading these books, I do not like seeing people take advantage of Meg so much. I have already talked about her mother doing this, but she is not the only one. At some point or another nearly everyone has either invaded Meg’s house or pushed her into doing something. I do not like these parts, but so often these circumstances are what help Meg solve the mystery. Or get her involved in the first place. In the parts where this is not happening, I really enjoy reading about Meg’s quirky town and trying to figure out who the culprit is along with her. With so many interesting possibilities, it could be just about anyone.