Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (Meg Langslow #8)
by
Donna Andrews (Goodreads Author)
Meg Langslow never thought that moving into a new home with her fiancé would be easy. But a Virginia basement full of arctic penguins? And a dead body? That’s just bad manners… from Meg and Michael’s perspective, at least. As for Meg’s father, he took in the penguins as a favor to the bankrupt Caerphilly Zoo, where they’re set to return just as soon as the zoo’s fundraisin...more
Paperback, 328 pages
Published
July 1st 2008
by St. Martin's Paperbacks
(first published August 7th 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,992)
I usually finish any book that I begin but this was the exception. I got 100 pages into it and just couldn't go any further. I am not a 2 page a day reader and this was all I could read before I fell asleep or became too bored. I guess the title should have tipped me off that it was a silly, uninteresting book. The premise of having penguins living in one's unfinished basement was just too impractical to buy into. All of the characters were weird with no reason to like them or be interested in t...more
Rating: 3.5* of five
Another fun entry in the Meg Langslow mystery series, set in fictional Caerphilly County, Virginia, and populated by the usual cast of nuts, weirdos, and goofballs that surround Meg, her husband Michael, and the one or two other normals that Andrews heaves into the chaos of her plots to provide anchors for the action.
This entry in the series takes on a lot of expository responsibility. It requires the characters to navigate Meg and Michael's moving into their huge new home, t...more
Another fun entry in the Meg Langslow mystery series, set in fictional Caerphilly County, Virginia, and populated by the usual cast of nuts, weirdos, and goofballs that surround Meg, her husband Michael, and the one or two other normals that Andrews heaves into the chaos of her plots to provide anchors for the action.
This entry in the series takes on a lot of expository responsibility. It requires the characters to navigate Meg and Michael's moving into their huge new home, t...more
I chose this for a "humorous mystery" genre study and I have to say I didn't think it was all that humorous. In fact, all the humor stemmed from a zoo closing and droves of animals being dropped off at Meg Langslow's house (a repetitive joke throughout). However, I do have to say that the complete lack of involvement by the police chief, of which there is zilch, was pretty funny (not sure if this was even intended, but he's in one scene eating corn on the cob and then you don't really hear about...more
1 like · like · see review
It was on the bargain rack and had penguins on the cover, so I figured, why not. It's part of a mystery series that I haven't read before, where, as far as I can tell, often have to do with animals.
In this one, the main character Meg finds penguins in the basement and a dead body. No, the penguins didn't kill anyone. The town zoo went out of business and before the keeper disappeared he got all the towns people to take the animals. Meg's dad took the penguins and as the book rolls along, they e...more
In this one, the main character Meg finds penguins in the basement and a dead body. No, the penguins didn't kill anyone. The town zoo went out of business and before the keeper disappeared he got all the towns people to take the animals. Meg's dad took the penguins and as the book rolls along, they e...more
Nov 23, 2011
Linnae
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
clean-reads,
mystery-suspense
Meg comes home one evening to penguins in the basement--well actually, not anymore, now that the body has been discovered. With a whole crowd of relatives coming any day now, not to mention various displaced zoo animals being dropped off (Meg's father volunteered to take care of them after the local zoo closed), Meg's life IS a zoo. Before long the police chief has set up headquarters in her parlor, and Meg is determined to figure out whodunnit, so she can happily elope as planned--hopefully wit...more
Aug 03, 2012
Text Addict
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
cozy-mystery,
virginia
I enjoy these Meg Langslow mysteries for their madcap characters and absurd situations. I can't think of any other series in which a closed-down zoo's animals (a lot of them, anyway) would wind up the protagonist's backyard!
The solution to the mystery, however, comes down to the murderer's decision to try to "perfect" the crime, rather than Meg's sleuthing (though one supposes her sleuthing may have led to the murderer deciding to take steps). In any event, that's not the most satisfactory way t...more
The solution to the mystery, however, comes down to the murderer's decision to try to "perfect" the crime, rather than Meg's sleuthing (though one supposes her sleuthing may have led to the murderer deciding to take steps). In any event, that's not the most satisfactory way t...more
#8 in the Meg Langslow series. The continuation the series with aviancentric titles and eccentric relatives.
Meg Langslow series - Meg's dad announces that, while digging a pool in the new house's basement for penguins fostered from a bankrupt local zoo, he has discovered a dead body. As the police investigate, more fostered animals arrive at Meg's place, and when the zoo's missing owner turns out to be the corpse, Meg has to sort out the mystery, along with her plans to elope and the problems re...more
Meg Langslow series - Meg's dad announces that, while digging a pool in the new house's basement for penguins fostered from a bankrupt local zoo, he has discovered a dead body. As the police investigate, more fostered animals arrive at Meg's place, and when the zoo's missing owner turns out to be the corpse, Meg has to sort out the mystery, along with her plans to elope and the problems re...more
If you like your mystery super-sweet and light you might like this series. Randomly picking up titles at the library the other day this seemed like a good choice for an animal lover like myself. However, it was just too damn saccharine for my taste. The main character is put-upon and mostly un-relatable with a giant, loving, well-meaning but overall highly annoying family and fiance. I finished it because it only took a few hours to read. If it had been any longer I would have put it down, even...more
Loved this book and love the series.
Meg is on the brink of marriage when the local zoo dissolves and the animals need a "sanctuary" so the grounds
of Meg's newly renovated Victorian house are taken over by pooing llamas, naked hidden mole rats, messy sloths (who prefer to live indoors on the light fixtures) and a lurking murderer.
Meg has mishaps, is misdirected, may be related to a powerful (pompous) television personality, is attacked by a bob cat and is forced to hobble down the matrimonial ais...more
Meg is on the brink of marriage when the local zoo dissolves and the animals need a "sanctuary" so the grounds
of Meg's newly renovated Victorian house are taken over by pooing llamas, naked hidden mole rats, messy sloths (who prefer to live indoors on the light fixtures) and a lurking murderer.
Meg has mishaps, is misdirected, may be related to a powerful (pompous) television personality, is attacked by a bob cat and is forced to hobble down the matrimonial ais...more
Oct 15, 2011
Jennifer
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
52-books-in-52-weeks-2011
Truth be told, I read this book because of the title and the cover. :) I mean, come on, it's a mystery with penguins!! Sadly, the cover made the book. I was able to read it fast because it was a short really fast read. It's a mystery story in the middle of a series that I have never read before, so there were characters and story lines I did not follow going on along side of the main plot and the book just sort of ended - the mystery was solved, but there wasn't a definite "the end" it was a "to...more
Mar 29, 2008
Lori Whitwam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-cozy-non-dog
This series consists of short, fast reads, with quirky, endearing characters. The mysteries are always close to home, with several perfectly credible suspects, and while they're probably not hard to figure out if you like to try to beat the detective to the punch, it's more fun to just go along for the ride and let it unfold as you enjoy the antics of Meg's wacky extended family. This book starts with Meg's dad emerging from the basement of the run-down Victorian farmhouse that she and her fianc...more
First line: "Meg! Guess what I found in your basement?"
Summary: Yet another Meg Langslow book by Donna Andrews, this time with a zoo theme.
Don't get me wrong, I like the series, but it felt like she was phoning it in this time. They're all a bit formulaic—they are my light, fluffy, popcorn books—but usually there's some wacky framing going on that amuses me. Science fiction conventions, or extreme croquet, or reenactment festivals. This time the theme was zoo, and it just was just kind of there....more
Summary: Yet another Meg Langslow book by Donna Andrews, this time with a zoo theme.
Don't get me wrong, I like the series, but it felt like she was phoning it in this time. They're all a bit formulaic—they are my light, fluffy, popcorn books—but usually there's some wacky framing going on that amuses me. Science fiction conventions, or extreme croquet, or reenactment festivals. This time the theme was zoo, and it just was just kind of there....more
I was attracted by the title, but kind of meh. I spent a lot of the time not caring about the characters, though, so maybe I would have liked it more if I'd started with the beginning of the series. Overall, I think I like my mysteries more mystery-plot-driven, and this one definitely meandered, taking in the lives and relationships of the main character and her family as much as the mystery itself.
Donna Andrews delivers another zany mystery with her usual style! A fun read involving a murder and zoo animals that move in with Meg as she is moving into her house. These mysteries are a joy to read as there are always several suspects and I never know who is the murderer until the end. I also love this series because of the consistency of the same characters; I feel like I know each of the characters and can't wait to see what they will do next.
The animals at the local zoo are abandoned, so the penguins, llamas, hyena, and other animals are brought to Meg's farm. The whole thing was rather ludicrous.
I guess you have to be in the mood for the preposterous to really enjoy this kind of thing. I've read a few others in this series, but never really cared for them much. However, they were readable. This one was just a big joke.
I guess you have to be in the mood for the preposterous to really enjoy this kind of thing. I've read a few others in this series, but never really cared for them much. However, they were readable. This one was just a big joke.
This is quite a fun, silly little book. A couple complaints- the writer seems to like to use two paragraphs in plenty of cases where one sentence would do. A good editor should've whacked at this for a while. And one thing that really bugs me- this book has a cliffhanger ending! There are a couple of major questions left up in the air at the end of the book. I know it's one in a series, but I may never come across book #9 and never find out the answers. Grumble.
Another light funny mystery about Meg Langslow, the ornamental blacksmith who seldom does any actual blacksmithing. The usual elements of this series are all repeated here: the wacky extended family, the eccentric small college town, etc. It doesn't hold up as well as previous books in the series for me - the lack of any sort of realistic reaction to finding a body in the basement, for example - but is a nice way to while away a snowy evening.
This is another hilarious book in the very entertaining Meg Langslow series. The story involves a body found in the basement of Meg and Michael's renovated house, plus an onslaught of penguins, hyenas, llamas, and other refugees from a local zoo that has closed. Recommended for readers who enjoy a lighthearted, laugh-out-loud mystery featuring a large cast of zany humans and wild animals.
Finally finished my comfort rereads. Fairly standard, though I found it disturbing that in this book Meg claims Rob never took his bar exam, when in a previous book he did and they were waiting to hear if he passed. (That kind of thing really bothers me.) Love the end of this one and am looking forward to the next. The opening is also excellent.
I read a couple of these mysteries a few years ago and liked those a lot better. My first complaint about this book would be the title--which doesn't really work for the book (all the titles in this series are bird-centered although the books aren't about birds necessarily). There are penguins. They don't know much, though. That's not being fair--they don't know anything that's important to the mystery, but know all kinds of things about fish. Even so, they probably know just enough about fish,...more
Meg Lanslow's family makes mine seem completely normal. In this book, a "simple" move into a new house is complicated by said family, plus a corpse and numerous zoo animals. The scene where the wolves, llama, sheep, lemurs, etc., escape their cages during a big family party was hilarious. A funny story and a decent mystery.
Although the eighth in the series, it was my first to read and I instantly fell in love with it. The crazy characters instantly reminded me of Janet Evanovich and the protagonist was someone I immediately wanted to be friends with. The pace was great and there was lots going on. Wonderful, wonderful cozy read!
This is the second Meg Langslow novel I have read. While slightly less entertaining than Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, it was still a fun read. Donna Andrews gives her narrator a breezy style with a sense of humor, and it makes books in this series hard to put down. Anybody who likes light mysteries will enjoy this book.
Totally fun and fluffy and unbelievable - brain candy at its finest. I sooo much prefer this series to the computer one by the same author that I recently read. I really like all the characters, and once I slip into the premise of the story, it's just a lot of fun to go along for the ride.
This is the 8th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series. Join the fun when the Caerphilly zookeeper is found murdered and the zoo animals are relocated to Meg & Michael's home and her parents' neighboring farm. Mystery and mayhem accompanied by many laughs (and the Henry Doorly Zoo mentioned in the Acknowledgment section)!
What a fun romp, full of amusing relatives, wacky neighbors, and unusual animals taking temporary refuge in the backyard after a local zoo is closed. The plot was a bit convoluted at times, but I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Definitely good tonic for a sour mood.
These are all worth reading. A bit improbably, murders keep occurring in this little community and Meg Lanslow keeps getting involved in them. The characters are kooky, the humor infectious, the resolutions pat, but the entertainment value is high. Perfect for relaxing over.
This is a mystery series I keep up with. They're quick reads and they're light, fluffy fun. This one has a typical plot: random body on the property, the place over-run with zoo animals and all the quirky family present. Not deep, but entertaining.
Jul 14, 2012
Laura
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-lovers-must-read
After reading this book, I had to go back and read them all in order! Wonderfully funny and entertaining! I was quickly sucked in to getting to know meg and her family better! And into seeing what adventure meg would be pulled into next!
I have to make it very clear that I read this series much more for the comedy than for the mystery, and Donna Andrews never fails to make me laugh. Another fun entry in the Meg Langslow series and the great thing is they can be read in any order without much trouble.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Donna Andrews was born in Yorktown, Virginia, the setting of Murder with Peacocks and Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, and now lives and works in Reston, Virginia. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she's messing in the garden
http://us.macmillan.com/author/donnaa...
More about Donna Andrews...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/donnaa...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Feb 24, 2012 08:23pm