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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Silly, simple, not meant to be realistic. Escapist reading, finished in half a day. I wouldn't say it's twisty but I hadn't guessed at the bad guy. No complaints, just not my thing.
My penguin-loving friend who called dibs on it is going to be a little disappointed by the penguins' lack of continued involvement, though.
My penguin-loving friend who called dibs on it is going to be a little disappointed by the penguins' lack of continued involvement, though.
This was a fun book. In the first chapter I thought it was way over the top wanting me to believe a whole zoo was being moved to the protangonist's home but pretty soon I was a believer. It was silly and engaging and kept my interest to the very end.
I love Donna Andrews! And Meg and Michael and Meg's crazy family -- I even admit to a certain perverse fondness for Spike. I really was in need of something quick and fun to read and this installment certainly fit the bill. In a lot of books, it might have seemed contrived, the way all of the animals arrived at Meg and Michael's in the midst of all of the other goings-on. But if you have read the previous six installments, it makes perfect sense for Meg's father to have co-opted a defunct zoo and let the animals run all over her yard even while she is moving in at last and the sheriff is digging up the body found in the basement of the house. So much fun! The mystery was quite good and I did not deduce who-dun-it or the answer to a couple of the other mysteries going on, but I didn't care because I was having too much fun with the crazy cousins and the wild zoo animals -- or is that the wild cousins and the crazy zoo animals?
I have recommended this series to several people and will continue to do so. I think my favorite so far is still We'll Always Have Parrots (highly recommended for anyone who has read Bimbos of the Death Sun -- which I don't think is as funny or as good a mystery as Parrots, even leaving aside the advances in computer technology -- and which could stand on its own for those who haven't read the other books in the series.) Looking forward to whatever comes next -- which appears to be Cockatiels at Seven.
I have recommended this series to several people and will continue to do so. I think my favorite so far is still We'll Always Have Parrots (highly recommended for anyone who has read Bimbos of the Death Sun -- which I don't think is as funny or as good a mystery as Parrots, even leaving aside the advances in computer technology -- and which could stand on its own for those who haven't read the other books in the series.) Looking forward to whatever comes next -- which appears to be Cockatiels at Seven.
This is the one where there's a body in Meg's basement and then she gets all the zoo animals. And the neighboring county is evil.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m kind of addicted to these quirky characters. At the beginning of the series I was kind of meh, but by the end of each book I feel the need to get the next one. Thank goodness for the library and the access to the brain candy.
The premise is a bit wacky, but it really works - I enjoyed this latest installment in the Meg Langslow series - and I'm resisting the urge to go straight out and buy the next one!
Not one of my favorites - mostly because it's heavy on the "Meg needs to say NO" For such an otherwise strong character she just folds into a heap when her family wants her to do something. Her dad's shoulders slump and she just goes along with whatever nonsense he is spouting. It's stupid and it gets old.
A zookeeper hits a cash flow problem & his solution is farm the animals out to whoever will take them for a few days (disbelief #1). After a few days, with no word from the zoo guy these people start bringing the animals to Meg's because her dad said that would be fine, with out asking Meg (disbelief #2). He discovers a body while digging a hole for a pond in Meg's basement for some penguins he failed to ask if he could keep there (disbelief #3). All sort of wild animals show up while the police do their thing, including a medical examiner who has such strong fears of small, dark & enclosed places he has to be dragged into the basement to pronounce the victim dead and then he just sort of takes up residence in a chair in Meg's backyard and stay there for the rest of the book (disbelief #4). A famous TV zoologist shows up because the zookeeper had contacted him about zoo and he has an ulterior motive for his presence (disbelief #5). Meg tries to get her dad to tell her just how many & what types of animals were at the zoo so she can prepare for what might be coming & Dad goes all vague & instead of pushing it and insisting she lets it go (disbelief #6. STRONG DISBELIEF)
The usual group is there & the usual humor but this one strayed too far into slapstick territory with the wolves & hyenas & llamas & tuk tuks etc. It was stupid.
A zookeeper hits a cash flow problem & his solution is farm the animals out to whoever will take them for a few days (disbelief #1). After a few days, with no word from the zoo guy these people start bringing the animals to Meg's because her dad said that would be fine, with out asking Meg (disbelief #2). He discovers a body while digging a hole for a pond in Meg's basement for some penguins he failed to ask if he could keep there (disbelief #3). All sort of wild animals show up while the police do their thing, including a medical examiner who has such strong fears of small, dark & enclosed places he has to be dragged into the basement to pronounce the victim dead and then he just sort of takes up residence in a chair in Meg's backyard and stay there for the rest of the book (disbelief #4). A famous TV zoologist shows up because the zookeeper had contacted him about zoo and he has an ulterior motive for his presence (disbelief #5). Meg tries to get her dad to tell her just how many & what types of animals were at the zoo so she can prepare for what might be coming & Dad goes all vague & instead of pushing it and insisting she lets it go (disbelief #6. STRONG DISBELIEF)
The usual group is there & the usual humor but this one strayed too far into slapstick territory with the wolves & hyenas & llamas & tuk tuks etc. It was stupid.
A fun book, sort of a mix between the Stephanie Plum series and a typical cozy mystery.