Publishers Weekly
08/17/2020
The Christmas spirit suffuses bestseller Andrews’s atmospheric 28th Meg Langslow mystery (after The Falcon Always Rings Twice). During the holiday season, Meg is the project manager for Helping Hands, “a sort of Make-A-Wish program for grownups,” in Caerphilly, Va. Her volunteers step in to assist citizens with anything that needs doing, including sourcing organic manure and rounding up experienced quilters. The main task at the moment is helping Harvey Dunlop (aka Harvey the Hoarder). Harvey’s conniving cousins and rapacious neighbors have filed complaints with the town council about the unkempt appearance of his home. It falls to Meg and her crew to declutter and repair the property. After only one day of packing up debris and possible treasure, Meg arrives to find Harvey lying in a pool of blood on his garage floor. He’s rushed to the hospital, where he’s declared dead. Never mind the slight murder investigation that ensues. Caerphilly, with its endearing residents, is the kind of place every cozy fan would like to escape to during stressful times. Andrews consistently entertains. Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Donna Andrews and the Meg Langslow Mystery Series:
"Andrews lays on the good cheer with a trowel." —Kirkus Reviews on The Gift of the Magpie
"Caerphilly, with its endearing residents, is the kind of place every cozy fan would like to escape to during stressful times. Andrews consistently entertains." —Publishers Weekly on The Gift of the Magpie
"Andrews deftly juggles franchise characters, newbies, red herrings, Renaissance tidbits, and murder most welcome." —Kirkus Reviews on The Falcon Always Wings Twice
“Exceptional....[with] plenty of twists and turns en route to the satisfying ending. As always, spending time with Meg and her wonderful family is a delight. Andrews reinforces her place at the top of the cozy subgenre." —Publishers Weekly on Owl Be Home for Christmas
“One of Andrews’ most successful balancing acts between creating a brand-new whodunit and showcasing her zany regulars.” —Kirkus Reviews on Owl Be Home for Christmas
"Andrews smoothly combines a clever plot with distinctive and endearing characters. Cozy fans will wish this long-running series never ends." —Publishers Weekly on Terns of Endearment
" Full of odd yet charming characters, this Christmas tale will charm cozy mystery fans.” —Publishers Weekly on Lark! The Herald Angels Sing
"Intrigue...amusement...Andrews reliably delivers. She also manages to slip in profundities and sentiments that warm the heart." —New York Journal of Books on Nightingale Before Christmas
NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Bernadette Dunne takes listeners to the Virginia town of Caerphilly at Christmastime as Meg Langslow organizes Helping Hands for the Holidays. First, she must talk Harvey the Hoarder into letting the group clean up his house. The excitement listeners share with Meg, however, dissipates when she finds Harvey’s body and realizes he’s been murdered. As Meg helps the police identify the killer, Dunne expertly takes listeners along. They will find themselves laughing out loud at times, becoming anxious when Meg is in trouble, and cheering when the dogs save the day. Dunne channels Meg effectively, helping listeners envision all the action of the audiobook. V.M.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-07-29
Ornamental blacksmith/general do-gooder Meg Langslow’s Christmas activities entangle her with a fellow resident of Caerphilly, Virginia, whose domestic life is even more chaotic than hers.
Unlike Meg, who’s surrounded by members of her own cheerfully argumentative family as well as the Shiffleys, Caerphilly’s somewhat more benign version of the Snopeses, Harvey Dunlop has chosen to surround himself with stuff—objects of dubious value he can’t bring himself to throw out. So Meg, her friend Caroline Willner, Meredith Flugleman of Adult Protective Services, and other concerned members of Helping Hands for the Holidays have banded together to strong-arm, er, help and encourage him to go through his house with a shovel and relocate his treasures to an empty building Randall Shiffley owns in the hope of deep-cleaning the house and then urging Harvey to move on without moving his prized junk back in. Except for the unwelcome appearance of Morris, Ernest, and Josephine Haverhill, the cousins who seem to be Harvey’s only living relatives, the preliminaries go well. But when Meg shows up at Harvey’s for the main event in the decluttering marathon, her host is unresponsive, brained with a spittoon in his garage. As Harvey hovers between life and death, Meg plunges into his family history to uncover a motive for the murderous attack. Readers patient enough to wait for any mystery, or for that matter any significant conflict, to develop will be rewarded when their own suspicions about whodunit are proved exactly right.
Andrews lays on the good cheer with a trowel. Even the rabbi’s wife gets a cameo.
