Cockatiels at Seven

Donna Andrews

St. Martin's Publishing Group, Jun 30, 2009 - Fiction - 304 pages

It's time for more outrageous and feathered fun in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud Meg Langslow series.

When her old friend Karen drops by with two-year-old son Timmy, Meg Langslow reluctantly agrees to babysit "just for a little while." But when nightfall comes, the toddler is still in residence and Karen isn't answering any phone calls. Meg decides she must find out what's happening, so the next morning, with Timmy in tow, she retraces her friend's footsteps---and begins to suspect that Karen's disappearance is tied to at least one serious crime. Has Karen been killed or kidnapped? Is she on the run from the bad guys? Or is she one of the bad guys? The police don't seem to care, so Meg once again plays sleuth---this time with a toddler as her sidekick.

As usual, Meg's extended family adds to the complications in her life. What covert animal welfare project are Dad and the curmudgeonly zoologist Dr. Montgomery Blake working on---and will Meg have to make another late-night trip to bail them out of jail? Why does Meg's brother keep disappearing---is he merely trying to avoid babysitting, or is he involved in something more mysterious? Will taking care of Timmy dampen newly married Meg and Michael's enthusiasm for starting a family of their own? And are any of Meg's relatives reliable enough to be trusted with a two-year-old---especially a two-year-old whose whereabouts might be of interest to some very dangerous people?

Donna Andrews once again proves her skill as one of the funniest, most entertaining mystery authors around.

Contents

• Chapter One: 1
• Chapter Two: 11
• Chapter Three: 21
• Chapter Four: 27
• Chapter Five: 35
• Chapter Six: 41
• Chapter Seven: 47
• Chapter Eight: 55
• Chapter Nine: 65
• Chapter Ten: 75
• Chapter Eleven: 81
• Chapter Twelve: 87
• Chapter Thirteen: 95
• Chapter Fourteen: 103
• Chapter Fifteen: 109
• Chapter Sixteen: 119
• Chapter Seventeen: 127
• Chapter Eighteen: 133
• Chapter Nineteen: 143
• Chapter Twenty: 149
• Chapter TwentyOne: 159
• Chapter TwentyTwo: 169
• Chapter TwentyThree: 177
• Chapter TwentyFour: 187
• Chapter TwentyFive: 197
• Chapter TwentySix: 203
• Chapter TwentySeven: 211
• Chapter TwentyEight: 227
• Chapter TwentyNine: 239
• Chapter Thirty: 247
• Chapter ThirtyOne: 255
• Chapter ThirtyTwo: 265
• Chapter ThirtyThree: 277
• Chapter ThirtyFour: 291

About the author

Donna Andrews is the author of the Meg Langslow mysteries, including Stork Raving Mad and Swan for the Money. She has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry awards, a Romantic Times award for best first novel, and two Lefty and two Toby Bromberg Awards for funniest mystery. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she's messing in the garden. She lives in Reston, Virginia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Cockatiels at Seven; Volume 9 of Meg Langslow Mysteries
• Author: Donna Andrews
• Edition: unabridged
• Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2009
• ISBN: 1429939184, 9781429939188
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Animals; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Crafts; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths