We'll Always Have Parrots (Meg Langslow Mysteries)

Although this is a part of a series, each book in this series can stand alone. Meg is a superb character. She is funny and sensible and has a hilarious family. Michael her boyfriend is just as funny with a very dry wit. In this book Meg has decided to try to sell some of her swords while Michael caters to his fans of a show he's on. When the Queen Bee is found dead and Michael is suspect; Meg has to solve the mystery. This is a funny book that made me laugh. It is a quick moving read. Well worth the money. Enjoy.

Hoping to sell some of her swords and daggers to an sf/f crowd, Meg has accompanied her actor/drama teacher boyfriend, Michael, to a fan convention for the cheesy sf TV series he stars on, "Porphyria: Queen of the Jungle". Michael, who plays Mephisto, the mercenary wizard on the series, has a slightly more difficult agenda then playing the genial star for adoring fans--he is hoping to get the tyrannical star of the series, Tammerlaine Wyncliffe-Jones, to modify his contract so he won't lose his teaching job. However, when the "Queen Bee" is found murdered, Michael (and Meg) have a different problem: keeping Michael out of jail. Another triumph for Donna Andrews featuring her best-drawn villain to date. Although this isn't the first murder mystery set at an sf/f convention, this is the first one I've read where the author genuinely likes the phenomena and views both the fans and the conventions with humor and sympathy. SF/F fans like me will certainly see themselves and recognize the situations Meg encounters and the people she meets. Although Meg's eccentric family are not much in evidence, the colorful character quota is more than filled by the fans and Michael's co-stars on the TV show. Readers who have been following the series will enjoy this new addition. Readers who are new to the series should buy this book and immediately acquire the rest of Andrews' Meg Langslow series at once.

Meg isn't thrilled to be spending the weekend at the convention for Porfiria, the TV show that boyfriend Michael stars in. This year's festivities have been enhanced by the addition of monkeys and parrots, which have escaped from their cages and are wandering the hotel at random. Meg is hoping to make some money off her swords in the dealer room to keep the weekend from being a complete loss.All that's before the star of the show is murdered. Nicknamed the QB (which doesn't stand for Queen Bee), there isn't a person who works on the show who didn't have some beef with her. Despite protests that she's not going to get involved, Meg begins collecting clues. But can she follow them back to the real killer before the convention ends?If you are at all familiar with the books in the Meg Langslow series, you know to expect plenty of antics along with your mystery. This book is no exception. Donna Andrews pokes gentle fun at fandom with some of the over the top antics. I grinned and laughed my way through the entire book. At the same time, there's a great mystery. While it takes a while to get going, it is a cleverly plotted story with several nice twists before the ending.Donna Andrews continues to set the bar high for herself. How she manages to juggle everything she puts in these stories is beyond me. But they are a fun ride none-the-less. If you love humorous mysteries, be sure to check this series out.

It's an ordinary convention, celebrating the stars of a 'B' grade television show, Porfira, Queen of the Jungle. Meg Langslow accompanies her actor-boyfriend Michael and hopes to sell some of her swords (Meg is a blacksmith). But ordinary SF conventions are anything but ordinary. Parrots and monkeys escape and run wild in the hotel, space-suit clad fans mingle with angry writers and actors, and everyone is angry with leading lady Wynncliffe-Jones. But when the actress ends up killed, her dying words echoed by an African Gray parrot, Meg knows she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery. Because if she doesn't, her boyfriend is likely to be a chief suspect. With occasional assistance from her nerotic doctor-father, Meg explores the world of comic books (graphic novels) on which Porfira was based, the 1960s culture that spawned some pretty good art and bad story-telling, and the web of contracts and bad will that Wynncliffe-Jones used to maintain control over the Porfira franchise. This was a very funny book. Author Donna Andrews has an eye for the zany world of fantasy fans, prima-donna actors, and ambivalent family relations. Protagonist Meg Langslow makes a good and sympathetic character with real personality and skills. I picked up my first Meg Langslow mystery, Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, because of the title and WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARROTS is another great title. What's great, though, is finding a book that can live up to a title like this. And Andrews delivers exactly that book. Anyone who enjoys a slightly zany approach to mystery, kick-ass female protagonists, and a tongue-in-cheek look at American culture will want to get their hands on this one. Highly recommended.

Blacksmith Meg Langslow accompanies her fiancé, drama professor and actor, Michael to the Friends of Amblyiopia convention though neither wants to attend. Michael has a minor part in the cult hit TV series Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle that requires him to grace several of these events as insisted upon by the executive producer Tamerlaine Wynncliffe-Jones, who also stars in the title role. Michael hopes he can persuade the unpredictable star to give him a break, but expects nothing but grief from QB as everyone calls Tamerlaine behind her back.Following the release of screeching parrots, someone kills the unpopular star. The police quickly learn that many people associated with the show and some just attending the convention detested the victim. Unable to perch on the sidelines and not trusting the police to follow the real clues amidst a pageant of costumed characters, Meg investigates the murder, unaware that if she learns the truth a buzzard will kill her. The fifth murder so fowl Langslow amateur sleuth tale is an amusing mystery that pokes fun at hero worship that places stars on pedestals. The only seriousness in this very humorous story line is Meg's inquiries into the homicide. Fans will delight in the zaniness of the support cast whether they are a monkey, parrots protesting their candy cotton candy roles in the TV show, actors who cannot use any pronoun but I, and Meg's wacky family. Still Meg as in the previous terrific bird brained who-done-its is the glue that keeps the plot together. Donna Andrews furbishes a fabulously loony entry in her delightful offbeat series.Harriet Klausner