Customer Reviews

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although this book certainly can stand on its own, you should really start this series at the beginning, with Murder With Peacocks. This book is definitely the laugh-out-loud funniest of the series thus far. (The weakest--in my opinion--is the second book, Murder with Puffins.)

Some people will find this book a tad on the "too outrageous" side. The stereotypical programmers and psychiatrists are funny because they're *meant* to be funny; if you are expecting a serious character study, you won't find it here. Meg remains the only finely-drawn individual, but that's okay because the rest of the characters are just that: characters.

To get a sense of what happens in this book and the general level of bizarre humor, here's the basic hook: Meg takes a job at her brother's software company. They have an electronic mail cart that one of the office jokers like to ride around on playing dead. Because of this ghoulish habit, it takes a while for anyone to realize that he really *is* dead when the mail cart makes its final run.

And the "affirmation bear"...that alone is worth the price of admission.

You shouldn't read this book anyplace where you will be embarrassed to burst out laughing. The Affirmation Bears are side-splittingly funny, in my opinion, and the author has such a funny way of stating things and such funny situations. Imagine what she does with a computer game company (the hero-detective's brother's) sharing office space with therapists -- she manages to poke gentle fun that is nevertheless laugh out loud funny at both groups. The description of the computer people (almost all men) painstakingly picking vegetables off their pizza or the competing ideologies of the therapists (one, for example, is a weight-acceptance therapist, whereas another specializes in eating disorder) are examples of the humor that will make people in these professions laugh at themselves.

The plot takes a lot of suspension of disbelief, but is still well-done. Basically, there's something very odd going on in this new computer game company ("Lawyers from Hell" is the game) and Meg has been asked by her brother to try to figure out what's going on. She has to take a break from blacksmithing because she injured her hand, so she's trying to manage the wacky office. Not far into the story, one of the computer folk is murdered, and her brother is suspected of the crime -- so she must find out enough to get her brother off the hook.

I highly recommend this book -- it's one of the funniest mysteries I've read, and I can hardly wait to read the next in the series. I might even buy the hardback...

A blacksmith cannot work with only one hand so when Rob Langslow asks his sister to take on the job as office manager, Meg can't think of a reason to refuse although she wishes she could. Being office manager at Mutant Wizards is a cross between being a den mother at a college dorm or perhaps an older sister to a pack of brilliant eccentric adult children. Rob thinks something is wrong at the company and he wants Meg to find out what it is.

With all the craziness going on at the company Meg doesn't have a clue what is going on until someone is murdered on the automated mail cart and everyone in the company has a reason to want to see him dead. Meg finds a list showing the victim is trying to blackmail many of the workers at the company and once she breaks the code she's sure she will find the perpetrator. Unfortunately, the killer doesn't give Meg time to decipher the data before the culprit makes another move.

One of the reasons this series is so successful is that Donna Andrews keeps moving the heroine into a different environment with each new novel. This ensures the story line remains fresh and original as Meg leaps into new arenas. CROUCHING BUZZARD, LEAPING LOON is a humorous amateur sleuth novel that will have the audience chuckling out loud at some of the events that take place in various portions of the novel especially in the office space. The support cast is so loony that they manage to make the lead champion look like a levelheaded, down-to-earth changeling sort of like Marilyn Munster.

Harriet Klausner

Meg's brother Rob has been trying to make money off the role playing game he invented for years. He's finally formed Mutant Wizards and released it as a computer game, to great success. Now he's hard at work on the sequel in a new, larger office.

But something is going on just below the surface. Rob is worried, so he asks Meg to investigate. Since she's just hurt her hand and can't work as a blacksmith, she agrees. After two weeks, she's done nothing but fill in for the receptionist and help them move into the new office space they share with a group of therapists. But then Ted, the office practical joker, turns up dead on the mail cart. He was a pain, but he was harmless, right? When Rob is hauled off for the crime, Meg leaps into action to give the police other suspects, turning up quite a few secrets in the process.

This is the fourth adventure for Meg. This one didn't feel quite as funny to me as the others, possibly because many of the supporting players from the first three weren't here for the main action. There were still many amusing things along the way, however. For example, the "affirmation bear" had me laughing every time it showed up. The mystery plot is stronger here then others in the series, with quite a few unexpected revelations and a very nice twist at the end. A couple personal sub-plots keep things interesting as well. Everything comes together for a great climax that had me laughing and turning pages as fast as I could to find out what would happen next.

While those looking for the continued hijinks of Meg's eccentric family will be slightly disappointed with this book, there is still much to recommend it. I enjoyed every page and found the book over all too fast. Here's to many more entertaining adventures with Meg and her family and friends.

This was my first book by this author and I have to say I enjoyed it enough that I went out and bought the rest of her books.

The plot, the characters and how it all played out was very enjoyable with lots of laughs along the way.

I especially enjoyed the ending, which played out like Laurel and Hardy do crime! A unique and fun twist on a mystery.

A One winged Buzzard in the reception area, A one winged Meg at the switchboard, Crazed "Spike" in a cage under the desk, a pregnant cat under the other side of the desk, throw in slew of computer nerds, along with Meg's sluething dad and goofy lovable brother and you have Mutant Wizards. Throw in six definately challenged therapists who share the office space its a laugh a minute, The joint is so chaotic that nobody even notices a dead body traveling around on the automated mail cart! Well Meg has her work really cut out for her, this place day or night is a hoot! I love this book and can't wait for the next one, they just get better!!

So squawks an "Affirmation Bear" in one of this book's most amusing on-going gags.


As a (former) fan of the "Cat Who..." series, I picked up this book (or rather book on CD) looking for a sort of generally light-hearted, fun mystery in the same general vein. I wasn't disappointed --- this story has plenty of off-beat humor, plus a reasonably interesting mystery plot as well.


This book draws the reader into the world of computer gaming --- a company with the unusual name of Mutant Wizards. The company is headed by the brother of the main character Meg Lanslow --- Rob. Meg has suffered an accident that is keeping her from her normal work of blacksmithing and so she's been hired to do some amateur-sleuthing on behalf of her brother. Under the guise of an office manager, she's supposed to search for something odd that's happening at Mutant Wizards. This company is filled with unusual characters, some of them animals, including a live buzzard named George.


Sure, some of what goes on in this story is rather silly or unbelievable, but overall, it turns out to be quite good fun. I will definitely be checking out more of the books in this series.


A note --- although this review is posted for the book-on-tape, I actually got the book-on-CD (which I couldn't find listed here.) My only disappointment was with the tracking --- some audiobooks on CD these days have tracking every three minutes to make it easier to find your place, but this one doesn't.

Meg is working for her brother to help him figure out what is wrong at his new company. As her brother wanders around doing his 'kung fu' imitation, a man is found dead. The police are not looking for other suspects and this leaves Meg to do the research.

From getting knocked out by a moose head, feeding a buzzard, a vet covered in tattoos, and more- this is a funny book.

Well worth reading. I think this is maybe on of her best books.
Enjoy.

You really want to read the first 3 books in the series before you begin this one. Each of the main characters has a complex, convoluted past that lays the groundwork for why they are the way they are in this series. You will miss out on a lot of the whys and double meanings if you try to jump right to this one.

That being said, it's almost a fish out of water situation here. Meg is on her own in this book - her boyfriend is off in California and only calls in his part of the relationship. Meg is helping her brother with his now successful software company. I'm a programmer and a game reviewer, so I had a blast with this premise. For people who think these characters in the gaming design world are outlandish - really, this is how they are :) I've played midnight role-playing games. I've had pizza and beer brought in at 11pm as yet another build ran over schedule. You have to be insane to survive this sort of lifestyle. Practical jokes and code changes are standard fare. I laughed out loud at many parts - not because I thought it was ridiculous - but because I identified with what was happening.

Meg is injured and is completely away from her normal lifestyle. She's being a secretary here. As is normal for the series, she doesn't detect as much as she falls over clues, and gets many of them wrong. You can complain that this is bothersome - but there are plenty of other books where the super-smart detective sees everything at one glance. Meg's style is quite different. You accept it as part of her bumbling charm.

I actually found myself wondering a few times during the book if I liked this book so much because it had completely removed elements that made the first 3 books unique! A key part of the books so far had been Meg's relationship with her Prince Charming. I found him a bit annoying. I was very happy with his long distance situation - but that doesn't bode well for me for future books :) The same is true for the environment. I loved the software environment, but again this is a one-off. Meg isn't going to be around software developers for all of the books! It was really challenging for me to figure out if the writing style had just matured - so that I liked the "Meg Series" better with this fourth book - or if it was the specific combination of no-boyfriend and great-atmosphere that nailed it for me.

In any case, as usual, I was disappointed by the ending. I just don't like the way any of these books wrap up. You'll have to judge for yourself if you like these style of endings or if they annoy you. Still, if I have a great time through 99% of the book, and this author's particular style of ending doesn't please me, that is still a great ride. If I can laugh out loud the entire time - and read it straight through even though it's 4am and I should be getting to sleep - then that is a book I definitely recommend to others.

Just be sure to read the other earlier books first!

Don't be put off by the weird title, this is a fun and funny book. I love books that put their characters into unusual circumstances. Meg Langslow is an injured blacksmith who is helping out her brother while her hand heals and she can't work at her craft. Her brother has a feeling that something is wrong at the software company he founded and wants Meg to snoop around while acting as a temporary office manager at the company. Meg is surrounded by eccentric computer and design professionals and sitting next to the company's buzzard mascot when she realizes that the office practical joker who has been riding around on the automated mail cart pretending to be dead actually is dead.

Meg's brother is goofy, her father delightfully morbid, her mother slightly pushy, and her boyfriend is both sexy and supportive. Meg is strong, intelligent, and nice. I like these characters, I like the situation, and I want more of these slightly offbeat books.

Did I guess it? No. Andrews gave us lots of possible suspects and a big loony finish, which made up somewhat for the weak motive of the murderer. The book is well written, fun, and addictive. More, please.