No
Nest for the Wicket
A
Meg Langslow Mystery
Donna
Andrews
St.
Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-32940-7 (0312329407)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-32940-2 (9780312329402)
Publication Date: August 2006
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): eXtreme croquet is the current rage in Caerphilly,
where Meg and her fiancé, Michael, have bought a house.
While this
society game can get quite warm, it hasn’t reached the stage
of actual
homicide -- at least not until Meg knocks her ball down a small cliff
and encounters the body of a dead woman. Her head has been bashed in,
illustrating, perhaps, one of the many uses of a croquet mallet. It
turns out that Michael knew the woman from years before. Meg finds
herself further drawn in when it’s discovered that the woman
was
seeking to expose the bad dealings of a certain local society
lady’s
ancestors.
In the meantime, the old house needs many basic improvements and swarms
with an entire family of working men, including countless second
cousins, sawing and pounding away. Meg’s father is the
overseer but is
easily distracted since he has a tendency to become wrapped up in his
current animal charges -- this time it’s ducks.
Review:
The mystery and mayhem continue in Caerphilly with Donna Andrews's 7th
entry in the Meg Langslow series, No
Nest for the Wicket. Credit
must be given for the clever
title, but this latest book from Andrews simply isn't up to par (to mix
sports metaphors).
Reading No
Nest for the
Wicket is like watching a
one-act play. Meg sits onstage
in front of a backdrop that represents her farm. Scene changes are
unnecessary as the entire story is essentially played out from this
venue. Various family members, neighbors, friends, and visitors drop
in, have a conversation with Meg, and then wander off to do whatever
they do. Meg ponders the current situation between chats, coming up
with a plan to move forward in the investigative process. All this is
well and good, but about two thirds of the way through the play (er ...
book), the audience asks, What’s all the fuss about? A
murder? Oh,
that’s right, someone was found with their head bashed in by
a croquet
mallet. What was her name? Are you sure? And that’s the
underlying
problem with this book: the reason for its very being ceases to be
important, or even interesting.
No
Nest for the
Wicket is definitely not one
of the better Meg Langslow
mysteries, but will undoubtedly appeal to readers who have enjoyed
previous books in the series. Despite the large cast of eccentric
though admittedly interesting characters, the ever-present menagerie of
animals, and the novel idea of incorporating eXtreme croquet into the
story, in the end this one-act play is all rather monotonous.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of No Nest for the Wicket for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read No Nest for the Wicket? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Murder
with
Peacocks (3)
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), January 1999
ISBN-10: 0-312-19929-5 (0312199295)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-19929-6 (9780312199296)
Murder
with
Puffins
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), May 2000
ISBN-10: 0-312-26221-3 (0312262213)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-26221-1 (9780312262211)
Revenge
of the
Wrought Iron Flamingos
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2001
ISBN-10: 0-312-27729-6 (0312277296)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-27729-1 (9780312277291)
Crouching
Buzzard, Leaping Loon
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), February 2003
ISBN-10: 0-312-27731-8 (0312277318)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-27731-4 (9780312277314)
We'll
Always
Have Parrots
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), February 2004
ISBN-10: 0-312-27732-6 (0312277326)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-27732-1 (9780312277321)
Owl's
Well That
Ends Well
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), April 2005
ISBN-10: 0-312-32938-5 (0312329385)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-32938-9 (9780312329389)
No
Nest for the Wicket
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), August 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-32940-7 (0312329407)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-32940-2 (9780312329402)
The
Penguin Who
Knew Too Much
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), August 2007
ISBN-10: 0-312-32942-3 (0312329423)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-32942-6 (9780312329426)
Cockatiels
at
Seven
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), July 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-37715-0 (0312377150)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37715-1 (9780312377151)
Six
Geese
A-Slaying
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-53610-0 (0312536100)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-53610-7 (9780312536107)
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