Meg and Michael are weekending at a convention for the cult TV show in which Michael plays the part of a wizard. Besides dealing with the death of the owner/star/executive producer of the program they have to deal with an influx of parrots and monkeys and one tiger.

No one liked Miss Wyncliffe-Jones who played the lead in the program and the convention is rife with suspects from fellow cast members to other attendees to the cheated author of the comic books the series was based on.

Even though Meg doesn't set out to investigate the crime, she does find herself hearing things that she feels she needs to bring to the attention of the police. And, having been the one to find the body including the scrap of paper clutched in the victim's hand, Meg has a head start on the police. She has even more of a head start because she's familiar with the culture of fan conventions.

Having attended a convention or two in my life, I appreciated the picture Andrews paints of what life is like at a con. I liked the way Meg is a little corner of sanity in a crazy situation. This was a fun episode in the series. ( )

Meg Langslow is back in another crazy installment of one of my favorite cozy mystery series. In this book, she and boyfriend Michael are attending a con where he has a minor role in a TV show, and lots of fans. Unfortunately, the animals the show got for the con have escaped and taken over the hotel, including lots of parrots and even a tiger! Some interesting behind the scenes stuff about writing on a TV show, cons, and of course the usual mayhem that follows Meg. ( )

3.5 for her portrayal of conventions at their best and (mostly) worst. Most of the humor seemed to be contained at the beginning, but it was still diverting. ( )

Oh my gosh! I loved the insight into the world of Comi-Cons. ( )

How many books have you ever read where every single page held something interesting or funny; some piece of language or description, some great line of dialogue? These books do just that. Every single page has one or more gems. Hard to put down and no skimming or skipping right to the end. I love these characters. This book was of particular interest to me because I have attended fan conventions and everything about them was so familiar and brought back many memories.
Reread May 2020..as good as ever.

Meg Langslow knew the fan convention for her actor-boyfriend's hit television series was going to be the ultimate in weird. But she came along because she figured Michael could use an occasional dose of sanity-and because it was an inspired place to sell her hand-crafted weapons. And so far, she was dealing pretty well with the costumed fans camped outside, the batch of escaped parrots and monkeys frolicking throughout the hotel...and the minefield of egos lurking behind the show's success.

But soon after Meg goes head-to-head with egomaniacal series star Tamerlaine Wynncliffe-Jones, the "Queen B" turns up brutally murdered. Now, with Michael in the running as prime suspect, Meg will go up against an all-star cast of not-even-innocent parties, hidden identities, and buried motives. And she'll cross swords with a deviously obsessed murderer determined to write her out of this picture for good.

Reread October 2023...as good as ever ( )