Part of Meg Langslow, book 8
First published 2007
Meg Langslow never expected her father's latest request to involve Antarctic penguins living in her Virginia basement. When the local zoo goes bankrupt, her father volunteers to house the birds temporarily. Meg discovers a corpse among her feathered houseguests and suspects the victim is the zoo's vanished owner, but confirming his identity proves difficult. News of the murder spreads throughout Caerphilly, prompting frightened neighbors to abandon their own borrowed zoo animals at her father's house. Lions, monkeys, and exotic birds turn her renovated home into complete pandemonium. The murder investigation derails Meg and Michael's plans to elope in secret, a strategy designed to avoid their mothers' wedding interference. Meg must solve two puzzles simultaneously: identifying both the victim and his killer before her already chaotic life spirals completely beyond her control.
Genres: mystery, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, comedy, cozy-mystery
Vibes: chaotic, cozy, humorous, lighthearted, quirky
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, dual-mystery, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Virginia, Caerphilly
262 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: murder