Round Up the Usual Peacocks: A Meg Langslow Mystery

Bestseller Andrews’s enjoyable 31st Meg Langslow mystery (after 2021’s The Twelve Jays of Christmas) finds blacksmith Meg, a bridesmaid at her brother Rob’s upcoming wedding, tasked with, among many other things, obtaining nonmolting peacocks to grace the reception. Meg’s relieved to delegate bridal chores when she gets the opportunity to revert to her amateur sleuth role and focus on why a Virginia Crime Time podcaster was almost the victim of a hit-and-run after discussing two local cold cases: a 26-year-old cheating scandal at Caerphilly College’s business school that led to a professor’s death by suicide and a talented singer’s decades-old disappearance. Unsure which case triggered the attack, Meg investigates both. It soon becomes clear that someone doesn’t want Meg snooping about in the past, but is it the B-school blackmailer or the person who silenced the singer? Meg must rely on her wits; her Caerphilly, Va., work connections; and a multitude of relatives to unravel the twisted web of lies surrounding each mystery. Quirky characters match the madcap plot. Readers seeking whopping good escapism will be satisfied. Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary. (Aug.)