23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Review of "Cocatiels at Seven" by Donna Andrews, July 11, 2008
This is the ninth book in the Meg Langslow series. It is well written but lacks the rollicking fun of the previous novels. Don't get me wrong there are a few giggles but unlike the previous books in the series I didn't laugh out loud. Meg trying to solve a murder while trying to keep her various family members out of trouble is funny. Meg trying to solve a murder with an abandoned toddler in tow is not.
The charm and humor of this series has always been watching Meg and Michael deal with the over the top personalities around them. This book has very little of that. Although the author hints at other things that Meg would normally be worried about, we don't see it.
I enjoyed this book but was also disappointed in it. Even the title "Cockatiels at Seven" doesn't fit the story as all the previous titles have. If you are already a fan you may also find this book lacking. If you haven't already been hooked on the series this book is good but not typical.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where are all the crazy characters?, July 14, 2008
The title/cover art is cute but totally misleading in that it implies a frivolous, lighthearted story containing cocktails and parties, which in fact have nothing whatever to do with the plot.
It isn't too serious, certainly, but this one has more depth of tone than previous books, focusing more on real feelings and even a little character growth. Michael features more than of late which is good (and with hardly any chuckling,thank goodness) and Jack Ransom makes a welcome (although disappointingly mundane) guest appearance but Timmy the toddler is the real star here.
However, there are no crazy relations around this time. Meg's father and long-lost grandfather are there - but they're not really amusing at all, just popping up occasionally in the background to park various reptiles and birds around Meg's vast house as usual - and their 'mystery' sub-plots are simply perfunctory, barely mentioned in passing (and although Rob's highlight scene is a classic, it's just abandoned without any further explanation as soon as it's over).
The actual mystery is quite good, although the villain was obvious as soon as the red herrings swam into view (although not to Meg, to whom it was a complete surprise despite all her sleuthing). Still, overall it's a good read, but I do hanker after a return to the classic madcap style of 'Buzzards' and 'Parrots'.
Maybe next time...?
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More serious issues, less humor, August 2, 2008
This installment of the Meg Lanslow series isn't quite as funny as most of the previous volumes have been. Even when the birds get loose, it isn't the rollicking physical farce that some of the previous ones have been (parrots in the chandeliers, penguins on the croquet field...) Even Meg's relatives have calmed down some; the introduction of Dr. Blake, Meg's father's long-lost father, in the previous volume, has changed the family dynamics considerably.
I'm not saying you won't like the book - if you've been following the series, you'll certainly want to read this installment, and the mysteries involved are good ones, but it won't leave you snorting coffee out your nose suddenly, the way some of the previous books have. Or to put it another way, there were no bits that I absolutely HAD to read out loud to my spouse. One really good line about a baby wombat, but it was just a passing comment.
On the plus side, there is more than one crime committed in this volume, and the various plot threads tangle together in unexpected ways, which I did enjoy. There's the possible embezzlement at the college, the dead body (not found till halfway through the book) and the endangered species flavor of the month. There's also the mystery, though not criminal, of where Rob keeps disappearing to.
And then there's the other big question: are Meg and Michael ready to have kids? Would they be good parents? Is taking care of a friend's two-year-old unexpectedly a fair trial of how they'd cope?
Very little blacksmithing gets done, Michael is in faculty meetings for most of the book, and there are very few cockatiels involved at all. There's an emerald boa in the hot tub, and there are lots of finches. Seth Early's sheep are still around, and a few llamas; for dogs, we have Spike and later the dog of the murder victim. Oh, and there are the tropical fish over at Mutant Wizards.
If the above description leaves you a bit bewildered as to what's going on, that's a fair indication that you probably should go read a few of the previous books in the series. A great deal of the action involves the personal interactions between family members, close or distant, and if you don't have any background on the family, jumping into it in the middle like this might be a bit more puzzling than you'd expect. While you don't have to read every one of them, you'd probably be best off reading at least the first two in the series and then the one immediately previous to this one, before tackling this one.
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