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** While ''Murder with Peacocks'' is probably the funniest book in the series, hands down, it is weaker than average in the mystery department, including the number of unresolved loose ends.
*** Rob's DisposableFiancee Samantha [[spoiler:running out on him right after the wedding (which is quickly annulled) and being involved in an embezzlement scheme is treated almost as an afterthought, with it never being revealed exactly when and why she planned to ditch Rob, or whether she was the embezzlement scheme's mastermind (with her previous fianceé and his business partner being either her accomplices or innocent {{Fall Guy}}s), or if she was in the dark about the embezzlement and her lover Ian was involved in that without her (either on his own or with her previous fianceé, his business partner, or both of them).]]
*** Meg admits to not knowing exactly why her parents got (temporarily) divorced and never gets an answer to that question.
*** Mrs. Grover makes sly comments to Samantha and Michael that suggest she has some secret and dangerous knowledge about them, but what, if anything, she did know isn't important to the plot.
*** It's never revealed whether [[spoiler:Scotty Ballister is killed because he witnessed Jake stealing foxglove or if that was a coincidence and his fate was a MurderByMistake during one of the many attempts on Mr. Langslow's life.]]

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* {{Blackmail}}: The plot of ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'' focuses on figuring out who killed Ted, an office practical joker who had secretly compiled a blackmail list and was managing to dig up dirt of some sort on just about everyone at the office of Mutant Wizards, the computer game company founded by Meg's brother Rob.

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* {{Blackmail}}: {{Blackmail}}:
**
The plot of ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'' focuses on figuring out who killed Ted, an office practical joker who had secretly compiled a blackmail list and was managing to dig up dirt of some sort on just about everyone at the office of Mutant Wizards, the computer game company founded by Meg's brother Rob.



* ButtMonkey: Clay County seems to exist solely to contrast with our heroes' hometown of Caerphilly. Clay is smaller, poorer, and saddled with corrupt politicians and police. Caerphilly has a state of the art zoo with a rich patron, Clay had a glorified petting zoo. Caerphilly has a Chief of Police with big city homicide experience and access to a trained crime scene processor, Clay has good ol' boys who don't know the first thing about preserving evidence. Clay is run-down and hopeless, and seems to get little sympathy from their better-off neighbors most of the time, although they do make an effort occasionally, such as letting the local fair's midway, its major profit center, be located across the border in Clay County so that the poorer county can benefit from the tax revenue.

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* ButtMonkey: ButtMonkey:
**
Clay County seems to exist solely to contrast with our heroes' hometown of Caerphilly. Clay is smaller, poorer, and saddled with corrupt politicians and police. Caerphilly has a state of the art zoo with a rich patron, Clay had a glorified petting zoo. Caerphilly has a Chief of Police with big city homicide experience and access to a trained crime scene processor, Clay has good ol' boys who don't know the first thing about preserving evidence. Clay is run-down and hopeless, and seems to get little sympathy from their better-off neighbors most of the time, although they do make an effort occasionally, such as letting the local fair's midway, its major profit center, be located across the border in Clay County so that the poorer county can benefit from the tax revenue.



* CharacterisationMarchesOn: Most of Meg's relatives who are portrayed as bumbling wannabes who try too hard in the earlier books become actually good at their chosen jobs/hobbies in the later ones, ([[BunnyEarsLawyer even when they have their own methods]].) Most notably her mother's attempts at interior decoration actually become classy, practical, and more or less within the budget, her cousin Horace gradually becomes less dependent on his gorilla costume as he grows in competence and confidence as a forensics expert, and her dad becomes an actual medical examiner for the police.

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* CharacterisationMarchesOn: CharacterisationMarchesOn:
**
Most of Meg's relatives who are portrayed as bumbling wannabes who try too hard in the earlier books become actually good at their chosen jobs/hobbies in the later ones, ([[BunnyEarsLawyer even when they have their own methods]].) Most notably her mother's attempts at interior decoration actually become classy, practical, and more or less within the budget, her cousin Horace gradually becomes less dependent on his gorilla costume as he grows in competence and confidence as a forensics expert, and her dad becomes an actual medical examiner for the police.



* GranolaGirl: Rose Noire. And she turns out to be one of the more level-headed of Meg's relatives...
** Possibly best-expressed in ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' with her free-range wool. The sheep (belonging to neighbour Seth Early) are so free-range Meg has occasionally found them napping in her basement and drinking from her downstairs toilets; while Meg isn't sure about the sheep's opinion on the soothing music and aromatherapy incense Rose Noire insists on using during the shearing, they appreciate the full-body massages enough that after being sheared they'll head to the end of the line in hopes of another shearing.

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* GranolaGirl: Rose Noire. And she turns out to be one of the more level-headed of Meg's relatives...
**
relatives. Possibly best-expressed in ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' with her free-range wool. The sheep (belonging to neighbour Seth Early) are so free-range Meg has occasionally found them napping in her basement and drinking from her downstairs toilets; while Meg isn't sure about the sheep's opinion on the soothing music and aromatherapy incense Rose Noire insists on using during the shearing, they appreciate the full-body massages enough that after being sheared they'll head to the end of the line in hopes of another shearing.



** PunBasedTitle

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* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character -- not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Meg speculates that the murderer and her victim probably joked about this trope pre-murder. Once she killed him she didn't want the relationship discovered, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered, and credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]

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* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: NotInFrontOfTheParrot:
**
In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character -- not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Meg speculates that the murderer and her victim probably joked about this trope pre-murder. Once she killed him she didn't want the relationship discovered, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered, and credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]



* PutOnABus: Meg's best friend and business partner, Eileen, is a huge part of her life, and then within a couple of books she's barely mentioned again.
** Justified; in the first book, Meg mentions she lives three hours drive away from Yorktown, where the first and third books take place -- and that Eileen has just moved to her about-to-be-husband's farm, which is three hours away in another direction. In the fourth book, Meg moves to Caerphilly (where she will remain for the rest of the series), which is described as an hour's drive north of Yorktown. So yeah, given that Eileen already has a baby by the third book, is later mentioned as having several more, and lives between two and four hours drive away from Meg, you sort of understand why they don't get together much. Plus they usually shared a booth at craft fairs, and once the twins come along she has much less time and inclination for long weekends away from her family.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The police chief, Burke, may not like Meg (or anyone) meddling with his investigations, but he definitely appreciates any info and leads, no matter the source. Once he realizes that people tend to come to Meg with information, and that she encourages them to speak to him or tells him their info herself, he comes to rely on her as a valuable resource.

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* PutOnABus: Meg's best friend and business partner, Eileen, is a huge part of her life, and then within a couple of books she's barely mentioned again.
**
again. Justified; in the first book, Meg mentions she lives three hours drive away from Yorktown, where the first and third books take place -- and that Eileen has just moved to her about-to-be-husband's farm, which is three hours away in another direction. In the fourth book, Meg moves to Caerphilly (where she will remain for the rest of the series), which is described as an hour's drive north of Yorktown. So yeah, given that Eileen already has a baby by the third book, is later mentioned as having several more, and lives between two and four hours drive away from Meg, you sort of understand why they don't get together much. Plus they usually shared a booth at craft fairs, and once the twins come along she has much less time and inclination for long weekends away from her family.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
**
The police chief, Burke, may not like Meg (or anyone) meddling with his investigations, but he definitely appreciates any info and leads, no matter the source. Once he realizes that people tend to come to Meg with information, and that she encourages them to speak to him or tells him their info herself, he comes to rely on her as a valuable resource.
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* AuthorTract: Several books have a journalist character who is obnoxious, self-centered, and only interested in telling negative stories, scorning anything positive or uplifting as not real journalism. It's so consistent that it makes the reader wonder just what a journalist did to the author to earn such hatred.
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* SuspiciousSpending: In ''Cockatiels at Seven'', Meg's prime suspect in an embezzlement scandal at the office is an administrator who just bought a $2,000,000 house. It turns out she just has a rich family.
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* TheDogWasTheMastermind: There are some truly improbable and nearly impossible-to-guess culprits in the series.
** The killer in ''[[spoiler:Murder with Puffins]]'' is [[spoiler:Jimmy Dickerman, a childhood friend of Meg who spends all of his time contentedly working at a power plant and who doesn't seem to have a motive until late in the book when Meg realizes that Jimmy's isolation kept him from learning that the victim's plan to shut down Jimmy's beloved power plant had been stopped in its tracks.]]
** In ''[[spoiler:We'll Always Have Parrots]]'', [[spoiler:Alaric Steele, the blacksmith who shares a convention booth with Meg, seems like one of the only people with no history or interest in the fantasy TV series that the murder revolves around, but ultimately turns out to be the original creator of the series (who the readers and characters had been told was long dead) under an alias, and holding a murderous grudge.]]
** In ''[[spoiler:Lord of the Wings]]'', [[spoiler:the murderous Josiah Brimfield doesn't even appear in person until page 190 out of 307 and is quickly established as having a seemingly airtight alibi in a different city that was faked through contrived and ambiguous means.]]
** The killer in ''[[spoiler:Gone Gull]]'' is [[spoiler:Marty the cook, who is one of the least appearing or fleshed characters in the entire cast and whose motive is that he was in love with a woman the victim was harassing, and who Marty was rarely if ever seen interacting with earlier in the book.]]

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* TheUnReveal: ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' features a murdered blackmailer but never explains how he got his hands on his blackmail material, with his victim ignoring Meg when she asks that.

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* TheUnReveal: TheUnReveal:
** In ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', the identities and blackmail-worthy offenses (if any) of two people on a blackmailer's coded list of potential victims, the Space Cadet and the Emperor, are never identified. Meg thinks that one of them might be her brother Rob, but she also makes a wrong guess about who one of the other code names refers to.
** ''Lord of the Wings'' never does explain how and why [[spoiler:William Henry Harrison Brimfield, a wealthy heir and idealistic early WWI volunteer, became Billy Pratherton, the most ruthless bootlegger in Caerphilly County, or how or why he and/or his family faked his death in the war and kept the rest of the small town from recognizing him after his return as Pratherton.]]
**
''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' features a murdered blackmailer but never explains how he got his hands on his blackmail material, with his victim ignoring Meg when she asks that.
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* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Since almost every single climax has Meg (and sometimes other characters) AloneWithThePsycho, there are often discussions about who else might know what she does. Most notably, in ''Lord of the Wings'', she pretends to remember already hearing about an important clue in a local historical society paper that hundreds of people have read. Unfortunately, her captor can tell that she’s bluffing.
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** A "mousy" therapist in ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'' turns out to be the author of some surprisingly suspenseful romance novels with WriteWhoYouKnow characters.
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The last two people actually had shown up by then.


* RecycledScript: At least three books, [[spoiler: ''Stork Raving Mad'', ''Owl be Home for Christmas'' and ''The Twelve Jays of Christmas'']] feature a murderer who is [[spoiler:the seemingly pitiable, deferential, and bullied assistant or colleague of a {{Jerkass}} academic or artist]]. In each book, the murderer is being blackmailed by [[spoiler:their boss]] and ultimately kills them.



* WritersCannotDoMath: In the climax of ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', the killer takes Meg and her father prisoner in an office building after hours... and then has to keep taking more and more people prisoner as they wander in for various business, until it reaches the point of being farcical. At one point, Meg asks how the killer can expect to explain away eleven bodies, but there are actually only nine people being held at gunpoint.
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* LongLostRelative: Done twice, with Meg's paternal grandfather in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much'' and her paternal grandmother and her cousin in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Emus''. Meg's father was a foundling, left in the fiction section of a library (and, her dad claims, teething on a copy of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'') and adopted by an older couple, deceased long before the series begins. His father turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Montgomery Blake, a noted zoologist and TV star [[{{Expy}} crossing Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough]]. Several books later, Blake has hired a private investigator to track down Meg's grandmother, and at first [[spoiler: learns that she was murdered only a few months before]], then it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was actually her grandmother's cousin who was killed, and Cordelia has been pretending to be her cousin to try to avoid another murder attempt.]]

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* LongLostRelative: Done twice, with Meg's paternal grandfather in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much'' and her paternal grandmother and her cousin in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Emus''. Meg's father was a foundling, left in the fiction section of a library (and, her dad claims, teething on a copy of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'') and adopted by an older couple, deceased long before the series begins. His father turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Montgomery Blake, a noted zoologist and TV star [[{{Expy}} crossing Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough]]. ]] Several books later, Blake [[spoiler: Dr. Blake]] has hired a private investigator to track down Meg's grandmother, and at first [[spoiler: learns that she was murdered only a few months before]], then it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was actually her grandmother's cousin who was killed, and Cordelia has been pretending to be her cousin to try to avoid another murder attempt.]]
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* LongLostRelative: Done twice, with Meg's paternal grandfather in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much'' and her paternal grandmother and her cousin in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Emus''. Meg's father was a foundling, left in the fiction section of a library (and, her dad claims, teething on a copy of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles) and adopted by an older couple, deceased long before the series begins. His father turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Montgomery Blake, a noted zoologist and TV star [[{{Expy}} crossing Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough]]. Several books later, Blake has hired a private investigator to track down Meg's grandmother, and at first [[spoiler: learns that she was murdered only a few months before]], then it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was actually her grandmother's cousin who was killed, and Cordelia has been pretending to be her cousin to try to avoid another murder attempt.]]

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* LongLostRelative: Done twice, with Meg's paternal grandfather in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much'' and her paternal grandmother and her cousin in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Emus''. Meg's father was a foundling, left in the fiction section of a library (and, her dad claims, teething on a copy of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles) Baskervilles'') and adopted by an older couple, deceased long before the series begins. His father turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Montgomery Blake, a noted zoologist and TV star [[{{Expy}} crossing Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough]]. Several books later, Blake has hired a private investigator to track down Meg's grandmother, and at first [[spoiler: learns that she was murdered only a few months before]], then it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was actually her grandmother's cousin who was killed, and Cordelia has been pretending to be her cousin to try to avoid another murder attempt.]]
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* LongLostRelative: Done twice, with Meg's paternal grandfather in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much'' and her paternal grandmother and her cousin in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Emus''. Meg's father was a foundling, left in the fiction section of a library (and, her dad claims, teething on a copy of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles) and adopted by an older couple, deceased long before the series begins. His father turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Montgomery Blake, a noted zoologist and TV star [[{{Expy}} crossing Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough]]. Several books later, Blake has hired a private investigator to track down Meg's grandmother, and at first [[spoiler: learns that she was murdered only a few months before]], then it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was actually her grandmother's cousin who was killed, and Cordelia has been pretending to be her cousin to try to avoid another murder attempt.]]
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* #34: ''Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!'' (announced for October 2023)

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* #34: ''Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!'' (announced for October (October 2023)



* [[HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday Mystery Doesn't Settle For Simple Tuesday]]: played with; seven of the twenty-nine books take place around Christmas. A further eight revolve around some kind of holiday or festival, which will turn out to be integral to the mystery itself or a background plot [[note]]Murder with ''Peacocks'' (three weddings), ''Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos'' (week-long Civil War re-enactment), ''We'll Always Have Parrots'' (sci-fi convention), ''Swan for the Money'' (Rose-growers flower show), ''Some Like It Hawk'' (Caerphilly Days, AND the book takes place over the Fourth of July long weekend), ''The Hen of the Baskervilles'' (the Un-Fair, a kind of alternate State fair after the official one looked like it was going to be cancelled), ''Lord of the Wings'' (Halloween), ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' (a medieval fair).[[/note]]

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* [[HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday Mystery Doesn't Settle For Simple Tuesday]]: played with; seven ten of the twenty-nine thirty-five books take place around Christmas. A further eight revolve around some kind of holiday or festival, which will turn out to be integral to the mystery itself or a background plot [[note]]Murder with ''Peacocks'' (three weddings), ''Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos'' (week-long Civil War re-enactment), ''We'll Always Have Parrots'' (sci-fi convention), ''Swan for the Money'' (Rose-growers flower show), ''Some Like It Hawk'' (Caerphilly Days, AND the book takes place over the Fourth of July long weekend), ''The Hen of the Baskervilles'' (the Un-Fair, a kind of alternate State fair after the official one looked like it was going to be cancelled), ''Lord of the Wings'' (Halloween), ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' (a medieval fair).[[/note]]
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** Early in the series, Michael splits his time between teaching and acting in a [[ShowWithinAShow short-lived cult fantasy TV series]]. ''We'll Always Have Parrots'' takes place at a fan convention for the show; Michael kept one of his costumes and is using it as a Halloween costume in ''Lord of the Wings'' (and is worried about fitting into it), and it's mentioned several times that Michael's received invitations to quite a few conventions as a featured guest, but has turned them all down because he doesn't want to leave Meg home alone with the twins.

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** Early in the series, Michael splits his time between teaching and acting in a [[ShowWithinAShow short-lived cult fantasy TV series]]. ''We'll Always Have Parrots'' takes place at a fan convention for the show; Michael kept one of his costumes and is using it as a Halloween costume in ''Lord of the Wings'' (and is worried about fitting into it), and it's mentioned several times that Michael's received invitations to quite a few conventions as a featured guest, but has turned them all down because he doesn't want to leave Meg home alone with the twins. As late as ''Terns of Endearment'' he's still getting recognized as Mephisto.
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* InjuredLimbEpisode:
** In ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'' Meg, a blacksmith, has suffered a serious injury to her hand, leading to her taking a temporary desk job in her brother Rob's computer game company (where someone is promptly murdered).
** In ''We'll Always Have Parrots'' Michael is playing a role in a [[ShowWithinAShow cheesy fantasy series]] where the actress who plays the title character has just been murdered. Meg asks the head writer how they handled it when Michael's friend Walker broke his leg. They had him be captured and held in a dungeon for a few episodes, "lolling around in a loincloth" with the leg injury part of the plot but with his anachronistic cast either out of the shot or hidden by straw.
** In ''Duck the Halls'' Meg's shoulder is injured early on by a violent collision with a very unlikable character. She has to do a lot of things one-handed during the ensuing mystery.

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* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character -- not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Interestingly, the murderer and her victim actually joked about this trope pre-murder, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered and ,credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]
** Also, in ''Toucan Keep a Secret'': the toucan is incapable of this trope, but Meg mentions that more than a few people (including, as it turns out, the killer) believe otherwise.
* PregnantBadass: Meg Langslow is in danger while approaching her due date in ''Stork Raving Mad''
* PunchClockVillain: A year before ''Some Like it Hawk'', a departing CorruptPolitician mortgaged all of the county buildings and then embezzled the mortgage money, causing a sleazy company to foreclose on the jail and other county buildings. The county clerk barricaded himself in the courthouse basement to delay the foreclosure and the company couldn't force him out without damaging their own infrastructure and causing a legal hassle, but by the time the book starts they are they keeping the (known) exits to the basement under tight guard and trying to make him leave through unscrupulous means while hiding the fact that their own legal claim to the property is based on sketchy documentation. However, several company employees aren’t malicious people and are only opposing the protagonists due to their jobs, get along with the townspeople (one guard is even dating a local girl with no ulterior motive), and, in some cases, quit by the end of the book. They include a falconer hired to kill the clerk’s carrier pigeons (he wasn’t told they were pets until later on), some but not all of the security guards who are watching the barricade (a few were even fired on suspicion of helping the clerk because they were playing cards with him through his barricade), the HonestCorporateExecutive VictimOfTheWeek, and a PrivateInvestigator the company hired to find out how the clerk is still sneaking food in.

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* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character -- not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Interestingly, Meg speculates that the murderer and her victim actually probably joked about this trope pre-murder, pre-murder. Once she killed him she didn't want the relationship discovered, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered discovered, and ,credit credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]
** Also, in ''Toucan Keep a Secret'': Secret'', the toucan is incapable of this trope, but Meg mentions that more than a few people (including, as it turns out, the killer) believe otherwise.
* PregnantBadass: Meg Langslow is in danger while approaching her due date in ''Stork Raving Mad''
Mad'' and manages to save herself (as usual).
* PunchClockVillain: A year before ''Some Like it Hawk'', a departing CorruptPolitician mortgaged all of the county buildings and then embezzled the mortgage money, causing a sleazy company to foreclose on the jail and other county buildings. The county clerk barricaded himself in the courthouse basement to delay the foreclosure and the company couldn't force him out without damaging their own infrastructure and causing a legal hassle, but by the time the book starts they are they keeping the (known) exits to the basement under tight guard and trying to make him leave through unscrupulous means while hiding the fact that their own legal claim to the property is based on sketchy documentation. However, several company employees aren’t malicious people and are only opposing the protagonists due to their jobs, get along with the townspeople (one guard is even dating a local girl with no ulterior motive), and, in some cases, quit by the end of the book. They include a falconer hired to kill the clerk’s carrier pet pigeons (he wasn’t told they were pets until later on), some but not all of the security guards who are watching the barricade (a few were even fired on suspicion of helping the clerk because they were playing cards with him through his barricade), the HonestCorporateExecutive VictimOfTheWeek, and a PrivateInvestigator the company hired to find out how the clerk is still sneaking food in.



* SavingTheOrphanage: Let's see... Meg's neighbour's farm, her own farm, a zoo, an animal shelter, and all the town government buildings all needed rescuing at some point.

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* SavingTheOrphanage: Let's see... Meg's neighbour's farm, her own farm, a zoo, an animal shelter, and all the town government buildings all needed need rescuing at some point.



** In the first book, Meg's unwanted suitor lives hours away, but moves his woodworking business into a relative's garage to stay close, which Meg notes the relative seems to regret allowing when he overstays his welcome.



** Played straight, however, with the visiting Spanish playwright in ''Stork Raving Mad''. The couple are already hosting hordes of drama students and computer programmers thanks to a college heating failure, and they add a number of Spanish students to make him feel at home. He turns out to be a [[LifeOfTheParty party animal]] who is boisterous and controversial, cooks seafood Meg is allergic to, and rehearses loudly at all hours of the day and night. Which is not really a restful atmosphere for a woman eight and a half months pregnant with twins. That's not even counting her house subsequently becoming a murder scene. Notably, Meg never mentions having a houseguest who isn't related to her again until ''Murder Most Fowl'', which is at least eleven years later in-universe.

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** Played straight, however, with the visiting Spanish playwright in ''Stork Raving Mad''. The couple are already hosting hordes of drama students and computer programmers thanks to a college heating failure, and they add a number of Spanish students to make him feel at home. He turns out to be a [[LifeOfTheParty party animal]] who is boisterous and controversial, cooks seafood Meg is allergic to, and rehearses loudly at all hours of the day and night. Which is not really a restful atmosphere for a woman eight and a half months pregnant with twins. That's not even counting her house subsequently becoming a murder scene. The next book reveals that he'd stuck around for ''months'' after the student production of his play he came to see was over. Notably, Meg never mentions having a houseguest who isn't related to her again until ''Murder Most Fowl'', which is at least eleven years later in-universe.

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* FirstEpisodeTwist: The first book, Meg thinks Michael is gay, and is surprised when he finally kisses her. The entire rest of the series involves them dating, struggling with commitment, buying a house together, getting married, and raising twin boys.



* LikeRealityUnlessNoted: The books seem to take place more-or-less in the real world, with reference to real world television series such as ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', but are set in the fictional town of Caerphilly, Virginia. Although most of the wildlife descriptions and factoids throughout the books are reasonably accurate, the gull species Dr. Blake is trying to find in ''Gone Gull'' appear to be entirely fictional, and would have been a major discovery in RealLife.

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* LikeRealityUnlessNoted: The books seem to take place more-or-less in the real world, with reference to real world television series such as ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', but are set in the fictional town of Caerphilly, Virginia. Although most of the wildlife descriptions and factoids throughout the books are reasonably accurate, the gull species Dr. Blake is trying to find in ''Gone Gull'' appear to be entirely fictional, and would have been a major discovery in RealLife. [[WordOfGod Donna Andrews has stated]] that even though Spike is ridiculously old by now, she has ''no'' intention of ever acknowledging this in the series.



* MistakenForGay: Michael by Meg in the very first book. It's easily deduced by savvy readers (or anyone who's [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness read other books]] in the series!) but in the narrative, it's clear how Meg came to that conclusion, including Michael actually going along with the ruse in public in order to fend off a group of predatory, bitchy bridesmaids. Michael trying to get Meg alone to tell her he's straight and ask her out, only to be interrupted by the discovery of yet another dead body or attempted murder, is a RunningGag in the book.

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* MistakenForGay: Michael by Meg in the very first book. It's easily deduced by savvy readers (or anyone who's [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness read other books]] in the series!) but in the narrative, it's clear how Meg came to that conclusion, including Michael actually going along with the ruse in public in order to fend off a group of predatory, bitchy bridesmaids. Michael trying to get Meg alone to [[FirstEpisodeTwist tell her he's straight and ask her out, out]], only to be interrupted by the discovery of yet another dead body or attempted murder, is a RunningGag in the book.
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** Parker Blair, the victim from ''The Real Macaw'', has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).
** In ''Some Like it Hawk'', the falconer who is brought in to keep the county clerk from using carrier pigeons is viewed as a brooding and sinister figure but turns out to be a pleasant, geeky guy who wants to train vultures to replace cadaver dogs and wants Dr. Blake's help with that project.

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** Parker Blair, the victim from ''The Real Macaw'', has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).
relationship]]) and he had uncovered a scheme among the town government to bankrupt the city and then seize privately held land to pay the debt, making him a posthumous hero.
** In ''Some Like it Hawk'', the falconer who is brought in to keep kill the county clerk from using carrier clerk's pet pigeons is viewed as a brooding and sinister figure but turns out to be a pleasant, geeky guy who had no idea the pigeons were beloved pets, and wants to train vultures to replace cadaver dogs and wants asks for Dr. Blake's help with that project.
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* DeadMansChest: In ''Owl's Well That Ends Well'' the body of Gordon-You-Thief is found locked in an old trunk at a giant yard sale.

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* DeadMansChest: In ''Owl's Well That Ends Well'' the body of Gordon-You-Thief [[InSeriesNickname Gordon-You-Thief]] is found locked in an old trunk at a giant yard sale.



* FamilialFoe: The Pruitt and Dingley families ({{Small Town Tyrant}}s who run Caerphilly and Clay counties, at least initially) both contain multiple unpleasant, if not outright criminal, members who Meg argues with or investigates. Downplayed, though, as few of them seem to take notice of their relatives' past antagonism with Meg even as the new family members become antagonists.

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* FamilialFoe: The Pruitt and Dingley Dingle families ({{Small Town Tyrant}}s who run Caerphilly and Clay counties, at least initially) both contain multiple unpleasant, if not outright criminal, members who Meg argues with or investigates. Downplayed, though, as few of them seem to take notice of their relatives' past antagonism with Meg even as the new family members become antagonists.



** Parker Blaine, the victim from ''The Real Macaw'', has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).

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** Parker Blaine, Blair, the victim from ''The Real Macaw'', has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).
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* LastResortTakeout: In ''Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos'' Meg has promised Michael's mother she'll give her the recipe for a meal she'd served; only problem is, the meal she'd cooked had been ruined and she'd gotten carry-out from a nearby fancy restaurant. She tried getting a similar recipe online but it wasn't nearly as good. Meg's mother solves the problem by [[spoiler: negotiating a trade with the restaurant's famous chef to get the actual recipe in exchange for Meg making him a custom wine rack.]]
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* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Whenever retired rocks star Ragnar catches someone selling drugs at one of his parties, he makes a citizen's arrest, locks the dealer in the basement, and plays polka music on the basement speakers at full volume until the police arrive.


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** In ''Birder She Wrote'':
*** Shane Griswold (the son of an obnoxious couple who moved to town a few years ago) is first mentioned as an apparent SpoiledBrat who was arrested for drinking and driving and possession of cocaine, but he is also a FriendToAllLivingThings who causes Meg to say a sincere prayer asking for him to not be the murderer (he isn't) after they spend some time together.
*** Society matron Mavis Anstruther is a pretentious credit stealer with some politically incorrect moments, but her StealingTheCredit moments (which she is embarassed about) come from a sense of inadequacy and she also shows a bit of wit and backbone, not unlike Meg's grandmother after she and Meg get to know each other,
** In ''Let it Crow'', Jasmyn, the reality show production assistant, seems like just a prissy, bird-hating ControlFreak who got her job due to {{Nepotism}}, but a lot of that is due to her unhappiness with a job she isn't really suited for, and she loves kittens, Christmas decorations, and yoga.
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* #35: ''Between a Flock and a Hard Place'' (announced for August 2024)
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* TheUnReveal: ''The Falcon Always Wings Twice'' features a murdered blackmailer but never explains how he got his hands on his blackmail material, with his victim ignoring Meg when she asks that.

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** In ''Terns of Endearment'', three drunken, lecherous cruise ship passengers who Meg unaffectionately dubs "the Three Stooges" help old ladies get around the ship and assist in moving around bags, taking care of sick crewpersons, and spreading announcements after the ship breaks down.* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Uttered almost word for word in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much,'' when an annoying trespasser falls into a hole that he himself dug earlier.

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** In ''Terns of Endearment'', three drunken, lecherous cruise ship passengers who Meg unaffectionately dubs "the Three Stooges" help old ladies get around the ship and assist in moving around bags, taking care of sick crewpersons, and spreading announcements after the ship breaks down.down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Uttered almost word for word in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much,'' when an annoying trespasser falls into a hole that he himself dug earlier.

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* #33: ''Birder, She Wrote'' (2023)
* #34: ''Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!'' (announced for October 2023)



* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: In "No Nest for the Wicket," Meg looks up some photos of MayorPain George Pruitt’s ancestors and observes a picture of one woman glaring at her husband shortly after the birth of their fourteenth child (she went on to have three more). She notes that the woman would have been too young to babysit by modern standards when she had her first child [[spoiler:Possibly subverted with the later reveal that the picture and accompanying news stories are fakes made to prank the Pruitts, and it isn't even clear if that couple existed.]]
* AllForNothing: By the beginning of the book, two characters in ''[[spoiler:We'll Always Have Parrots]]'' have spent decades in hiding without needing to.

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* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: In "No ''No Nest for the Wicket," Wicket'', Meg looks up some photos of MayorPain George Pruitt’s Pruitt's ancestors and observes a picture of one woman glaring at her husband shortly after the birth of their fourteenth child (she went on to have three more). She notes that the woman would have been too young to babysit by modern standards when she had her first child [[spoiler:Possibly subverted with the later reveal that the picture and accompanying news stories are fakes made to prank the Pruitts, and it isn't even clear if that couple existed.]]
* AllForNothing: By the beginning of the book, two characters in ''[[spoiler:We'll Always Have Parrots]]'' have spent decades in hiding without needing to.



* BewareOfViciousDog: Spike, aka [[InSeriesNickname 'The Small Evil One']] - Meg and Michael's dog that her mother-in-law forces on them because she is (supposedly) allergic to him. He turns out to be surprisingly gentle toward and protective of Meg's children once they're born, though. But ''only'' to them! Totally subverted with Rob's Irish wolfhound, Tinkerbell, who once tried so desperately to make friends with a burglar that he dropped his gear and ran away!

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* BewareOfViciousDog: Spike, aka [[InSeriesNickname 'The Small Evil One']] - -- Meg and Michael's dog that her mother-in-law forces on them because she is (supposedly) allergic to him. He turns out to be surprisingly gentle toward and protective of Meg's children once they're born, though. But ''only'' to them! Totally subverted with Rob's Irish wolfhound, Tinkerbell, who once tried so desperately to make friends with a burglar that he dropped his gear and ran away!



* {{Cliffhanger}}: played mostly for laughs. The final scene of ''Stork Raving Mad'' has Meg go into labor. As they hurry to the car, Chief Burke asks what gender the twins are. Meg and Michael's simultaneous reply is the final line of the book - "It's a surprise!"

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* {{Cliffhanger}}: played Played mostly for laughs. The final scene of ''Stork Raving Mad'' has Meg go into labor. As they hurry to the car, Chief Burke asks what gender the twins are. Meg and Michael's simultaneous reply is the final line of the book - -- "It's a surprise!"



* DeadpanSnarker: Meg, with emphasis on the 'deadpan' as a way of being the OnlySaneMan in her crazy family. Michael, too - it's one of the reasons they get along so well. And Josh and Jamie are showing signs of following in their parents' footsteps.

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* DeadpanSnarker: Meg, with emphasis on the 'deadpan' as a way of being the OnlySaneMan in her crazy family. Michael, too - -- it's one of the reasons they get along so well. And Josh and Jamie are showing signs of following in their parents' footsteps.



** In ''Murder with Peacocks'' - wait, Meg's parents are divorced? Michael's not Meg's boyfriend/husband - he's ''gay''??? (Both situations are resolved by the end of the book).

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** In ''Murder with Peacocks'' - -- wait, Meg's parents are divorced? Michael's not Meg's boyfriend/husband - -- he's ''gay''??? (Both situations are resolved by the end of the book).



** Parker Blaine, the victim from "The Real Macaw", has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).

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** Parker Blaine, the victim from "The ''The Real Macaw", Macaw'', has a reputation as an extremely selfish HandsomeLech. However, his house is a model of charming, unostentatious homeyness, and Meg finds evidence that he was a very talented AmateurSleuth ([[DownplayedTrope although some of that sleuthing took the form of using and seducing women who thought he wanted a real relationship]]).



* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each book features a bird of some sort in the title; all titles after ''Murder with Puffins'' also reference a popular saying, song title or the title of a film. Within the books themselves, in ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', Meg's brother has created a role playing game-turned-computer game called "Lawyers from Hell" and is now trying to spin off various clones such as "Cops from Hell," "Doctors from Hell" and "Veterinarians from Hell."

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* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each book features a bird of some sort in the title; all titles after ''Murder with Puffins'' also reference a popular saying, song title or the title of a film. Within the books themselves, in ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', Meg's brother has created a role playing game-turned-computer game called "Lawyers from Hell" and is now trying to spin off various clones such as "Cops from Hell," Hell", "Doctors from Hell" and "Veterinarians from Hell."Hell".



* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character - not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Interestingly, the murderer and her victim actually joked about this trope pre-murder, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered and ,credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]

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* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In ''The Real Macaw'' the titular parrot fingers a previously-unsuspected character - -- not by repeating any incriminating dialogue, but by [[spoiler: repeating his owner's name in tones of passion, and in [[ReallyGetsAround one of his lover's]] distinctive Boston accent [[note]]the series takes place in Virginia[[/note]]. Interestingly, the murderer and her victim actually joked about this trope pre-murder, so she bought a similar bird and swapped them. Unfortunately the macaw was a rare species that couldn't be found at the pet store, so the swap was discovered and ,credit card records of the substitute bird's purchase a few hours away became part of the evidence against her.]]



* PunchClockVillain: A year before "Some Like it Hawk", a departing CorruptPolitician mortgaged all of the county buildings and then embezzled the mortgage money, causing a sleazy company to foreclose on the jail and other county buildings. The county clerk barricaded himself in the courthouse basement to delay the foreclosure and the company couldn't force him out without damaging their own infrastructure and causing a legal hassle, but by the time the book starts they are they keeping the (known) exits to the basement under tight guard and trying to make him leave through unscrupulous means while hiding the fact that their own legal claim to the property is based on sketchy documentation. However, several company employees aren’t malicious people and are only opposing the protagonists due to their jobs, get along with the townspeople (one guard is even dating a local girl with no ulterior motive), and, in some cases, quit by the end of the book. They include a falconer hired to kill the clerk’s carrier pigeons (he wasn’t told they were pets until later on), some but not all of the security guards who are watching the barricade (a few were even fired on suspicion of helping the clerk because they were playing cards with him through his barricade), the HonestCorporateExecutive VictimOfTheWeek, and a PrivateInvestigator the company hired to find out how the clerk is still sneaking food in.

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* PunchClockVillain: A year before "Some ''Some Like it Hawk", Hawk'', a departing CorruptPolitician mortgaged all of the county buildings and then embezzled the mortgage money, causing a sleazy company to foreclose on the jail and other county buildings. The county clerk barricaded himself in the courthouse basement to delay the foreclosure and the company couldn't force him out without damaging their own infrastructure and causing a legal hassle, but by the time the book starts they are they keeping the (known) exits to the basement under tight guard and trying to make him leave through unscrupulous means while hiding the fact that their own legal claim to the property is based on sketchy documentation. However, several company employees aren’t malicious people and are only opposing the protagonists due to their jobs, get along with the townspeople (one guard is even dating a local girl with no ulterior motive), and, in some cases, quit by the end of the book. They include a falconer hired to kill the clerk’s carrier pigeons (he wasn’t told they were pets until later on), some but not all of the security guards who are watching the barricade (a few were even fired on suspicion of helping the clerk because they were playing cards with him through his barricade), the HonestCorporateExecutive VictimOfTheWeek, and a PrivateInvestigator the company hired to find out how the clerk is still sneaking food in.



** Justified; in the first book, Meg mentions she lives three hours drive away from Yorktown, where the first and third books take place - and that Eileen has just moved to her about-to-be-husband's farm, which is three hours away in another direction. In the fourth book, Meg moves to Caerphilly (where she will remain for the rest of the series), which is described as an hour's drive north of Yorktown. So yeah, given that Eileen already has a baby by the third book, is later mentioned as having several more, and lives between two and four hours drive away from Meg, you sort of understand why they don't get together much. Plus they usually shared a booth at craft fairs, and once the twins come along she has much less time and inclination for long weekends away from her family.

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** Justified; in the first book, Meg mentions she lives three hours drive away from Yorktown, where the first and third books take place - -- and that Eileen has just moved to her about-to-be-husband's farm, which is three hours away in another direction. In the fourth book, Meg moves to Caerphilly (where she will remain for the rest of the series), which is described as an hour's drive north of Yorktown. So yeah, given that Eileen already has a baby by the third book, is later mentioned as having several more, and lives between two and four hours drive away from Meg, you sort of understand why they don't get together much. Plus they usually shared a booth at craft fairs, and once the twins come along she has much less time and inclination for long weekends away from her family.



* RecycledScript: At least three books, [[spoiler: "Stork Raving Mad", "Owl be Home for Christmas" and "The Twelve Jays of Christmas"]] feature a murderer who is [[spoiler:the seemingly pitiable, deferential, and bullied assistant or colleague of a {{Jerkass}} academic or artist]]. In each book, the murderer is being blackmailed by [[spoiler:their boss]] and ultimately kills them.

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* RecycledScript: At least three books, [[spoiler: "Stork ''Stork Raving Mad", "Owl Mad'', ''Owl be Home for Christmas" Christmas'' and "The ''The Twelve Jays of Christmas"]] Christmas'']] feature a murderer who is [[spoiler:the seemingly pitiable, deferential, and bullied assistant or colleague of a {{Jerkass}} academic or artist]]. In each book, the murderer is being blackmailed by [[spoiler:their boss]] and ultimately kills them.



* WritersCannotDoMath: In the climax of ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', the killer takes Meg and her father prisoner in an office building after hours...and then has to keep taking more and more people prisoner as they wander in for various business, until it reaches the point of being farcical. At one point, Meg asks how the killer can expect to explain away eleven bodies, but there are actually only nine people being held at gunpoint.

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* WritersCannotDoMath: In the climax of ''Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon'', the killer takes Meg and her father prisoner in an office building after hours... and then has to keep taking more and more people prisoner as they wander in for various business, until it reaches the point of being farcical. At one point, Meg asks how the killer can expect to explain away eleven bodies, but there are actually only nine people being held at gunpoint.

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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: in ''Murder with Peacocks'' - wait, Meg's parents are divorced? Michael's not Meg's boyfriend/husband - he's ''gay''??? (Both situations are resolved by the end of the book).

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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: in EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** In
''Murder with Peacocks'' - wait, Meg's parents are divorced? Michael's not Meg's boyfriend/husband - he's ''gay''??? (Both situations are resolved by the end of the book).book).
** ''No Nest for the Wicket'' mentions that the Pruitts have been in Caepherilly since well before UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar and had Confederate ancestors, while later books suggest they only showed up in town as Northern carpetbaggers after the war.
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* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In ''Stork Raving Mad'', the discovery that a professor who hates drama majors and makes them as miserable as possible is a failed actress who was mercilessly mocked by {{caustic critic}}s makes Meg and Michael feel sorry for her for an extremely brief moment, before reflecting that her years of gleefully destroying the lives of aspiring actors is both extreme MisplacedRetribution and DisproportionateRetribution.
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* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Uttered almost word for word in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much,'' when an annoying trespasser falls into a hole that he himself dug earlier.

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** In ''Terns of Endearment'', three drunken, lecherous cruise ship passengers who Meg unaffectionately dubs "the Three Stooges" help old ladies get around the ship and assist in moving around bags, taking care of sick crewpersons, and spreading announcements after the ship breaks down.* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Uttered almost word for word in ''The Penguin Who Knew Too Much,'' when an annoying trespasser falls into a hole that he himself dug earlier.

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** Clay, the interior decorator victim from ''The Nightingale before Christmas'', is a mean-spirited, arrogant ex-convict who is [[spoiler:correctly]] suspected of sabotaging his competitors and killed his former agent (Clay was once a painter) in a fight after the man cheated him. When Meg finds his sketchbook, which indicates he was thinking about returning to painting, while there are several cruel caricatures of his fellow interior decorators, there are also a few drawings which are merely curious and respectful. A picture Clay drew of himself is also accurate in some unflattering ways, suggesting he struggled with self-loathing.


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** Barliman Vess, the victim in ''Duck the Halls'', is widely disliked for his extreme miserliness (both in his personal affairs and in the management of the church he volunteers at) and WindmillCrusader suspicions about the church being plagued by theft and financial mismanagement. However, Meg notes that despite Vess's cheapness, he buys expensive food for his cat even though the cat does a poor job of keeping mice out of his house. Furthermore, [[spoiler:there are a few NoMereWindmills threats to the church and its treasury that Vess is ProperlyParanoid about, although his habit of CryingWolf keeps anyone from taking him seriously until well after his murder.]]
** Clay, the interior decorator victim from ''The Nightingale before Christmas'', is a mean-spirited, arrogant ex-convict who is [[spoiler:correctly]] suspected of sabotaging his competitors and killed his former agent (Clay was once a painter) in a fight after the man cheated him. When Meg finds his sketchbook, which indicates he was thinking about returning to painting, while there are several cruel caricatures of his fellow interior decorators, there are also a few drawings which are merely curious and respectful. A picture Clay drew of himself is also accurate in some unflattering ways, suggesting he struggled with self-loathing.

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