A Cozy Mystery Series Favorite: Donna Andrew’s Round Up the Usual Peacocks

3 Aug

Donna Andrew’s first book in her Meg Langslow series, Murder with Peacocks, was set during a series of weddings that the main character Meg, a blacksmith, was scheduled to participate in as maid of honor.  Quirky family shenanigans ensued and a romance that has grown throughout the series blossomed.  Murder with Peacocks received an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. This latest entry is a call back to the 1999 original, with the wedding of Meg’s brother and his charming fiancé Delaney. 

Rather than multiple weddings to contend with, an additional plot line is weaved throughout the latest novel of a possible threat to Meg’s nephew, Kevin, and his fellow podcaster who may have gotten too close to solving one of the cold case mysteries they broadcast about.  If you love Only Murders in the Building than this storyline will appeal.   

The main delight of the Meg Langslow series is always the crazy cast of relatives and friends that Meg is surrounded by.  If you ever longed for a loving extended family that go in for huge family gatherings than this will be a delight.  Also in each of the mysteries since the first, some sort of bird has been part of the mystery or at least been featured in a subplot, in this case again we have the peacocks who are as ornery as they are beautiful. 

With Round Up the Usual Peacocks, Donna Andrew’s again proves why she is my favorite cozy mystery author! You can read several of my past blogs about Andrew’s works including Murder Most Fowl and The Twelve Jays of Christmas. I’m looking forward to what comes next in her Christmas release Dashing Through the Snowbirds, which is scheduled to be available in October.

If you are a mystery fan, make sure to check out our library’s Mystery Book Club; you can email for more information: rosary.vaningen @ hoboken.bccls.org.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Anime Classics available to Stream from Hoopla!

27 Jul

One Piece
Some Anime’s are only a few episodes and then they are gone, leaving you wanting more. Then there is One Piece, which has over 100 volumes of the Manga that inspired it and there are over 1000 episodes to watch; the series started back in 1999. It is the favorite of one of my friends and now that I know there finally might be a recently announced end in sight, I’m thinking of checking the series out. One Piece chronicles the quirky adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew, the Straw Hat Pirates. The One Piece in the title refers to a great treasure that Luffy is searching for in order to become Pirate King. Adding to the fun, Luffy’s body becomes like rubber after accidentally eating Gomu Gomu no Mi, a type of Devil Fruit. The first five dubbed seasons are available for Hoboken Library Patrons to check out from Hoopla.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures
The most recently released of my recommendations, JoJo’s started in 2012. Based on author Hirohiko Araki’s groundbreaking Shonen Jump manga series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows the multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil using their powers called stands. The art style is distinctive with exaggeratedly muscular heroes in evenly more over the top outfits. Over the top also covers the dialog and storyline, but if you are looking for a fun, crazy adventure then JoJo’s is sure to delight. This is currently my husband’s favorite Anime and he has cosplayed some of the characters along with my son. You can borrow the first four seasons subbed or dubbed from Hoopla.

Death Note
For those a bit daunted by the volume of One Piece, this 2007 series is only 37 episodes long. The Death Note Manga has been a popular one with our library’s teen department for years. Death Note follows Light Yagami a top student who finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any person, whose name Light writes in the notebook, will die. I’ve watched the series as well as the Japanese and American live action movies and enjoyed the animated version the most. You can borrow the subbed or dubbed episodes from Hoopla.

Ranma ½
Like many Gen X Americans, Ranma ½ is one of the first Anime’s I can remember watching; it debuted in 1989 and I can remember renting Ranma ½ videos or DVDs at my local Blockbuster Video. Ranma Saotome might at first seem to be a typical teenage martial-artist, but only a splash of cold water turns him into a red-haired, female version of himself (hot water turns him back). His father is also cursed, but in his case, he turns into a Panda. The series follows Ranma’s quest to break the curse. Seasons 1-7 are available subbed or dubbed from Hoopla.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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