In We'll Always Have Parrots, Meg travels with her fiance Michael to a fan convention for Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle--a cheesy cult TV show on which Michael has a minor role. Michael hopes the weekend will give him a chance to talk Miss Wynncliffe-Jones, the show's temperamental leading lady and executive producer out of enforcing a certain provision in Michael's contract.

Of course, Michael's not the only person whose career the dictatorial star has manipulated. So when the star is found murdered, the police have plenty of suspects. Trouble is, Meg doesn't believe they're going to arrest the right one. Soon she finds herself following the murderer's trail through a hotel filled with egotistical actors, costumed fans, and a motley flock of monkeys and parrots who, rebelling against their role as live scenery, have escaped from their cages to take an active (and noisy) role in the festivities.

Meg finds herself at a fan convention for the TV show her boyfriend Michael appears on. Things get a bit chaotic when the monkeys and parrots the organizers arranged for to provide atmosphere are released from their cages and overrun the hotel.  The show’s star, Tamarlaine Wynncliffe-Jones, refuses to come out of her room for the most part and is drunk when they finally coax her to her panel and autograph session but she retreats to her room again screaming inexplicably about an imposter.  But when she turns up dead everyone is a suspect including Michael.

As someone with a long involvement with fan-run conventions this book was just so much extra fun in a series that is already one of my favorites for realistic humorous people.  I suspected who the murderer was a bit before Meg but truthfully I am not sure if it was the clues in the book itself or the fact I read it originally the year it came out but either way it was not a real obvious choice until close to the big reveal. Once again Meg’s father is a delightful presence and I was pleased to see Kevin make an appearance as he will play such a big part in the more recent entries in the series. I am quite enjoying working my way through this series from the beginning and am off to dig up my copy of the next book. Highly recommended ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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