The Cozy Mystery List Blog

I’ve been trying to go back and revisit some of the most popular Cozy (and sometimes semi-Cozy) mystery series. Some of the previous posts on these sort of topics were my post on Spencer Quinn’s Chet & Bernie Mystery Series and Laura Childs’s Tea Shop Mystery Series. The most recent classic Cozy Series I’ve revisited is Donna Andrews‘ hit series, the Meg Langslow Mystery Series, specifically the first book in the series, Murder with Peacocks.

In Murder with Peacocks, we are introduced to Meg Langslow, a blacksmith by trade, who earns her living by creating metal sculptures. Meg is definitely a bit of an odd one out in her family >>> everyone else in her family runs the gamut from absentminded to eccentric, while Meg herself definitely seems the “sensible and reliable” sort. She’s also a very different body type from the rest of her family, not only large for a woman but also in decent shape due to the physical demands of her work.

Perhaps this is why Meg ends up planning not one but three weddings for her close family and friends. It should give you what sort of demands they present when I mention that one of these weddings intends to include the title peacocks. This does give us an idea of how demanding Meg’s family can be >>> Meg (unfortunately!) seems very pliable to end up managing three weddings in quick succession, all at the same time. But let’s face it, almost every family has one member who is always there to pick up the slack when the others don’t want to do something. And in this case, Meg doesn’t even seem to get much help from the actual brides!

As in most Cozies, someone dies. In this case a talkative newcomer to the small Virginia town who seems to already know all the secrets of the town and seems equally intent on sharing them around a bit. 

I have to admit that normally I’m a bit hesitant when I hear that the characters in a book are zany, wacky, or kooky. When overplayed, eccentric characters can often become annoying. Fortunately Donna Andrews is a deft hand when doling out the oddball characters, and none of them really pass the barrier between interesting and annoying. Some of you may be a little irritated that the mystery itself often takes a back seat to the wedding subplots. However, Meg Langslow’s Murder with Peacocks is an interesting start to one of the very popular modern classic Cozy Mystery series.

P.S. If want to read some of the other entries about highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can see them on the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.