Murder With Peacocks

Murder With Peacocks, by Donna Andrews, is the first in the Meg Langslow mystery series. I enjoyed it except that I wanted to take the main character aside and teach her how to say, "No". I've never met anyone who would allow herself to be so taken advantage of while those depending on her did nothing. Also, I can't help but wonder why every man in the time zone hovers around her. Like many of the situations in this book, it's an unexplained plot contrivance. It was an entertaining-enough "cozy". It is #19 on the Honor Roll of most-awarded mystery/suspence novels.

From the back of the book:

Three Weddings...And a Murder

So far Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she's maid of honor at the nuptuals of three loved ones--each of whom has dumped the planning in her capable hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony, while another wants live peacocks on the law. Only help from the town's drop-dead gorgeous hunk, disappointingly rumored to be gay, keeps Meg afloat in a sea of dotty relatives and outrageous neighbors.

And, in whirl of summer parties and picnics, Souther hospitality is strained to the limit by an offenseive newcomer who hints at skeletons in the guests' closets. But it seems this lady has offended one too many when she's found dead in suspicious circumstances, followed by a string of accidents--some fatal. Soon, level-headed Meg's to-do list extends from flower arragements and bridal registries to catching a killer--before the next catered event is her own funeral...