Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not THAT good
Review: I came to Murder With Peacocks with high expectations. After all, it had won the Agatha for best first novel and had been nominated in the same category for an Anthony, a Barry, a Dilys, a McCavity and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice. It's a fun, reasonably entertaining read. Still, the competition must have been pretty weak to get so many nominations.The book is fundamentally equal parts humor, romance, and mystery. As is often the case when trying to do so much, nothing is done exceptionally well. I certainly had a few laughs - as would any former maid of honor. (Quite frankly, if I'd been maid of honor for any of the three brides, some justifiable homicide might have occured.) The book is about weddings and certainly has some romantic moments. The mystery takes a back seat for much of the book - sort of an amusing sideline for Meg's eccentric father. The ultimate resolution is no big surprise but at least the three wedding days are completed. Still, I enjoyed this book. It may not be perfectly crafted but it flowed well for a light, before bedtime sort of read.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining, not very challenging
Review: I'll just start out by saying that I really liked this book. If you've ever had friends that got really hyper about their weddings, and/or if you've ever promised to do something and then regretted it, but stuck with it anyway, you'll probably identify with the main character of the book. If you like stories with basically happy endings, go for it. I found a lot of the characters likeable, and even the ones that weren't, at least reminded me (albeit in an exaggerated fashion) of people I have known. On the other hand, there is not really a lot of psychological tension. Also, if you like books that have a lot of people swearing and grisly descriptions of corpses, this is not the book for you. The plot is not particularly intricate, but the writing is good and the characters are engaging. Also, unlike some books I've read recently, the method of solving the crime depended on people actually figuring out what happened, rather than having the solution accidentally fall in their laps.
Rating: 
Summary: Nutcase collection
Review: of characters, witty dialogue, nice plot. If you are a purist - i.e. a fan of deep mysteries - this one may not be for you! Half of the characters are certifiable, but, in my opinion, this makes the book so easy to read. I certainly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Murder, from Boredom
Review: If you like the heroines of novels you read to be prissy and dull as ditchwater, then I guess MURDER WITH PEACOCKS is the book for you. Meg Langslow is a gofer to all her selfish, boring family and friends and doesn't have a clue that she can say "no." Why busybody Meg has men vying for her affections like she is the most irresistable woman since Cleopatra is the main mystery in this so-called mystery novel. She has an old maiden aunt quality that is dreadfully unappealing. On top of the main character's ability to communicate with the reader, the book's obsession with the three weddings that Meg is single-handedly staging totally detracts from the story. Meg's hunting down members of the wedding for the fittings (yawn) seems to take up about 200 pages of the book, making me daydream about the many things I could be doing with my life rather than reading this claptrap. The murders become a sub-plot to this tepid mystery, and instead take a back-seat to the whinings of the self-martyred Meg in her bewildering desire to satisfy every whim of the betrotheds. When a murder occurs, all the characters are so self-centered, the victims (except one) are barely mentioned for the rest of the novel. Each death seems to be merely an inconvenience in going forth with the wedding preparations. The whole essence of the novel reminded me of some of the creaky old movies of the '40s. Meg's mother had the same mannerisms as the maiden aunts in Arsenic and Old Lace-flighty and way too eccentric. Even the dialogue was dated, such as "I'd so like ..." or I so wish ...." If the book had been intended to take place in the '30s or '40s, then the author should have thus specified. And then there was Michael, always timely popping up to aid Meg in her hour of need, and being cut off in mid-sentence just when he was attempting to tell Meg something that the reader knows from the get-go but he is unable to express until the end of the book. Very trite! The book brought out a few smiles-and one or two laughs-from me. But most of the humor was banal. One can only find humor so many times in someone missing their costume fitting. P.S.: Consider it a character fault-I have to finish every book I start reading!
Rating: 
Summary: tries too hard to be funny
Review: This book dragged on sooooo long, then at the very end, all of the sudden eveything was zipped up tight. I got the feeling that the author had a page limit and didn't know how to fill it, then realized she only had 5 more pages and figured she'd better actually do some murder solving. Utterly ridiculous and totally unbelievable.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It would be an excellent book to read aloud, so that you could hear as well as read the wonderful dialogue. Meg's eccentric extended family will remind everyone of at least one of their own relatives. After watching her problems with 3 weddings, elopement really looks good. Highly recommend this book for good, easy reading and fun.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Agatha Quality
Review: Meet Meg Langslow, blacksmith and bridesmaid extraordinaire. She is spending the summer in her tiny Virginia hometown in order to coordinate three - count 'em, three - weddings. And two of them - her brother's and her mother's - are to feature peacocks, of all things. No peacocks for her best friend, but Meg does have to talk her out of costuming everybody - guests included - in medieval garb. At least there's the hunk minding his mother's dress shop while she recuperates in Florida. No, wait, all the other bridesmaids have tried and quickly determined that Michael is gay. Michael, a drama professor, does prove to be charming company, however, as he assists Meg in averting triple nuptial fiascoes. Some things are simply beyond their control, though. Like her mother's fiancé's former sister-in-law making a nuisance of herself and getting killed. And her brother's fiancée's insistence on gigantic hoop skirts. And her father narrowly escaping electrocution. And amorous oafs like Barry (her best friend's fiancé's brother) and Scotty. Not to mention half of one bridal party eating poisoned salsa. And two - count 'em, two - bomb scares. Of course it helps that Meg's kinfolk are not your run-of-the-mill family. From her nephew who has a pet duck, to her doctor father who still takes care of his ex-wife's house and garden (and, now, peacocks), there is just no telling what might happen next. So Meg is not surprised when her father embroils her and Michael in the investigation, and the body count starts rising. I don't want to ruin the fun for you, so I'll just promise that this book is highly eventful and extremely well paced. Some of the romantic plotting may be a bit predictable, but its farcical nature implies that it's meant to be somewhat transparent to counter the twists in the murder plot line. Andrews is to be commended for marrying (if you'll pardon the pun) a murder mystery and a screwball comedy to form a delightful union. In the end, I cast my Agatha vote for Kris Neri's Revenge of the Gypsy Queen, but it was a tough decision, and this is truly a winner of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, hilarious mystery with Southern charm!
Review: What a hilarious mystery! I loved the charm of Meg and her family. The ending was delightful--I laughed out loud! I can't wait to start Miss Andrew's next book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery with a great twist!
Rating:
Summary: A bit of a disappointment
Review: I found myself to be disappointed by this book. It had been warmly recommended to me from my reading group and since it had gotten an award, I expected more... At times, I really had difficulties going on with the reading ( I finished it because it was a group read). However, most of the book was totally unbelievable and the characters often behaved out of theír line of character. I smiled a few times but I never laughed out loud!
Rating:
Summary: Laughed out loud!
Review: The sometimes stressed to the max daughter of an outrageously eccentric family tries to organize three weddings, solve murders, and keep her eye on a very interesting man. Even the neighbor dog is a character!So funny! I am anxious to get her next book which will have same heroine! I think I recognise some of these folks.
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