#28 in the Meg Langslow Series

Summary

It’s Christmastime in Caerphilly, Virginia and Meg Langslow is organizing the Helping Hands Volunteer program where neighbors get together to help other neighbors do things they can’t do on their own. In addition to coordinating the program, she’s also been asked to take charge of helping Harvey the Hoarder. Harvey is in danger of losing his home if something isn’t done quickly, and because she has a prior relationship with Harvey, Meg is thought to be the one most likely to succeed in getting him to agree to letting the volunteers help him organize his home and make critical structural repairs. 

While at his home, Meg quickly becomes aware of hostile neighbors, including a woman who watches her every move with binoculars from her window. She also meets Harvey’s three cousins, who Meg refers to as “the praying mantis people” due to their physical similarities to the bugs. The cousins claim to want to help clean out Harvey’s home, but Harvey wants nothing to do with them and insists they be kept off of his property. 

When Harvey is murdered, Meg is determined to find the culprit.

My Thoughts

While not as overtly Christmas-y as some of the other Christmas mysteries from this series, the book does have a cosy Christmas atmosphere. There are Christmas concerts, trees, and cookies. Meg’s twin sons are also reflecting on Christmas giving and what it means to give the perfect gift. Moreover, there is the overarching theme of neighbors helping neighbors. The book has a very sweet ending that made me happy cry, which is also unusual for books in this series, but not a bad trait in a Christmas book.

The mystery was well-constructed, and though I identified a suspect fairly early on, I had a hard time figuring out how the murder was committed. There was a relatively small pool of suspects and motives, but an adequate number of clues and red herrings. The sub-stories were nicely tied in to the overall plot. At the end, everything was wrapped up satisfactorily.

The book’s pacing was a bit slow for one of Donna Andrew’s stories. The murder didn’t take place until half-way through the book. Although there were funny moments, the book overall also seemed to be missing a lot of Andrew’s characteristic humor. However, the missing humor was replaced with a warm, fuzzy feeling that the books usually don’t provide, so for me it was an acceptable swap. 

My Rating 4/5

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About the Author

Donna Andrews was born in Yorktown, Virginia and lives in Reston, Virginia. She has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry Awards, an RT Book Reviews Award for best first novel, and four Lefty and two Toby Bromberg Awards for funniest mystery. She is the author of the Meg Langslow and Turing Hopper series.

A member of MWA, Sisters in Crime, and the Private Investigators and Security Association, Andrews spends her free time gardening, conquering the world (but only in Civiliation IV), and watching her twin nephews play baseball, basketball, and track.

She blogs at http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/

For more information check out her website http://donnaandrews.com.

(Photo credit to Joe Henson Photography)

Here is my review of Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow! by Donna Andrews.