A new side-splitting Meg Langslow mystery from award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Terns of Endearment. When Meg’s grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, the whole family is put to work: Meg handles the blacksmithing, Michael and the boys will be performing, and no one misses the opportunity to dress up in full regalia. More exciting to Grandfather … regalia.
More exciting to Grandfather is the pair of rare falcons he discovers breeding at the fairgrounds. Concerned for their well-being amid all the activity, he appoints himself their protector.
When one of the actors performing at the fair is found dead–an actor suspected of mistreating one of the falcons, among other sins–Grandfather is a prime suspect.
Donna Andrews’s long-running Meg Langslow series continues to be beloved by its fans, who loyally read every new installment. The Falcon Always Wings Twice is a perfect new addition, full of laughter, adventure, and Andrews’s wonderful cast of wacky characters.
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Meg Langslow is spending the summer at her grandmother’s craft center helping with the Renaissance Faire Cordelia is hosting on weekends as Cordelia’s second in command as well as doing blacksmithing demonstrations. Her husband, Michael, is in charge of the actors in “The Game,” which is the code for the improvised scenes he and the rest are doing during the day about who will inherit a fictional kingdom. They are mostly having fun with it, but Terence, one of the other actors, is making life difficult for everyone. Meg isn’t super surprised when he is found dead one morning, but as she goes about her day, she keeps picking up information related to the murder. Will she solve it?
This entry is the series at the top of its game. The murder may take place a little later than some books, but the time is well spent setting up the suspects and motives. I was hooked before the body dropped and happily followed the investigation after it happened. Everything is wrapped up in a climax that has us on the edge of our seats and makes us laugh. The characters are at their most charming – funny without being annoying. I laughed many times as the pages flew by. All the characters are great, and I found myself tearing up at some of the development we got thanks to some strong sub-plots. Since Meg is a blacksmith (not that we see her doing it much in the series), I’m surprised we haven’t been to a Renaissance Fair with her before, but this entry was well worth the wait.
Ohhhhhh, this was a very good one y’all.
You would think that after 26 books, they would be getting old or tedious or start using old storylines by the time the 27th arrives [and this folks is why I am not a writer! LOL], but Donna Andrews makes each of these books fresh and fun and I really, really, love Meg and her wackadoodle family [including her mother who typically makes me crazy, but is barely in this one and so it was a nice refreshing change].
This one is set at her Grandmother’s [Cordelia] place in the Biscuit Mountains in Northern Virginia. I love Cordelia as a character and it was delightful to revisit her and her home again in this story. Cordelia had decided to set up an Ren Faire and enlists Meg and Michael and their extended family to come for the summer to help. Meg accepts [she also gets to do some blacksmithing in this one and it was fun to watch her return to that as well as watch her teach the boys how to as well] and the whole family troops up to the mountain for the summer. Including Meg’s grandfather [MUCH to Cordelia’s dismay] who adds so much of the comic relief in this story, without even really trying. I just love him so much. He is a great character and I love how everyone has accepted him, warts and all. It really adds to a well rounded story. The main cast is doing what they call “The Game” and are acting out a play of sorts to engage the guests at the Faire and all is going well until someone gets murdered and then the “game is afoot” so-to-speak, and you are left wondering just who it could be [there are a LOT of potential suspects – the victim was universally disliked] (view spoiler) and when the reveal comes it will be an interesting time. And very satisfying.
Another really great book by Donna Andrews – I enjoyed this read so much. It was perfect for the mood I was in and I am so glad I had it on my plate.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In this next book of the series Megs grandmother has brought the family together to help her out with her Renaissance Fair she’ll be holding at the craft center. Meg is happy to take part as a blacksmith and even her twin boys will be performing. All is going well with the fair until Meg’s grandfather comes across a rare pair of falcons. He’s worried about the treatment of the birds especially with all the activity that is happening around them. When a death of a performer happens Meg’s grandfather soon becomes the main suspect. You see the dead man is who her grandfather thought was abusing the falcons. Meh doesn’t want to get involved with another murder but with her grandfather in the police’s sights she knows she must figure out who the real culprit is. Follow along as Meg roams throughout the fair asking questions in search of the killer. Will she be able to put all the clues together and find a murderer or will her grandfather be arrested in the end?
Here we are with the 27th entry in this wonderful, funny cozy series. Spending time with Meg and her colorful family is the perfect escape in the pandemic times. In this mystery Meg is juggling a lot. Her grandmother, Cordelia, is hosting a large Ren Faire on the grounds of her craft center and Meg is acting as her assistant – Cordelia is acting as the Queen. Besides her duties to help keep things in order with the actors, craftspeople, and a mass of paying visitors (many of them costumed by the resident seamstresses), she is doing blacksmithing demonstrations with her long time friend, Faulk. Her husband, Michael, is on hand as one of the main actors and the twins – now twelve years old, how dod that happen? – are old enough to help with the sales side of Meg’s business. It would be fine except for a couple of hitches. One is the unexpected arrival of her grandfather which displeases the Queen so Meg throws a fancy cloak on him and lets him join the Faire. The other hitch is not so easily solved. Terence, one of the actors, is a royal pain in the tush, making enemies of just about everyone he interacts with. That means plenty of suspects when he is found dead in the woods.
Meg knows the drill and sets out, working with the police, to unmask the killer. Along the way her grandfather manages to join the list after an incident with the falcons. Another reason to work her investigating talents. I enjoy the humor in every book – her family is a hoot and they are very close, even Cordelia has her own version of family when it comes to the father of Meg’s father. Yes, it’s a bit complicated. It’s all a very big family and many of them add their own talents to help find the killer in their midst.
It takes more than a few chapters to do in the victim but it is time well spent. Each chapter is to be savored. The mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace and the clues and red herrings abound. Now that I have enjoyed this one I only have to wait until 10/13/2020 for book #28, The Gift of the Magpie.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Though this is the 27th book in the Meg Langslow series,I have skipped around in reading them. All have been enjoyable, but this one is exceptional! Meg’s grandmother holds a Renaissance Fair at her crafts center during the summer—Meg, Michael and the boys help out. Dressed in period costumes, actors (and Michael) perform skits to keep the crowds entertained; Meg does her blacksmith thing and even her granddad gets involved with his falcon demonstrations. I loved this theme. As usual, something goes awry and someone is murdered. The path to solving the murder is littered with clues–good and bad–I enjoyed this part. A great read!
I read this a couple of months ago when I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, but it looks like I forgot to do the review. It was no hardship to re-read the book. I am a big fan of this series and unlike some other long running series, this one still works for me. The author still comes up with different story lines that still manage to work with the characters’ situations and personalities.
This one is especially enjoyable with its Renaissance Faire setting and Meg doing some actual blacksmithing (one almost forgets her vocation since it’s usually not part of the stories any more). Her extended family continues to impart some light hearted moments. Grandfather is dressed in a costume that kept having me envision him dressed as Mickey Mouse’s sorcerer character from Fantasia. (I’ve never really thought about this before, but I’m surprised Meg’s in laws haven’t paid a visit, we know next to nothing about Michael aside from his acting career. Perhaps it was addressed early on and I’ve forgotten it over the years.)
I think this stands up well enough on it’s own, but if you are new to the series, I’d really recommend you read them all. If you’ve enjoyed any of these books, I’m sure Falcon will not let you down.
What does Meg get into next? I always enjoy the humor and the way her family works together, with a death just around the corner. Her twins are getting older and able to help her with the blacksmithing. Ms. Andrews is creative, with her characters and the unexpected plot twists!
Complex Mystery and The Ren-Faire
This is a wonderful cozy mystery that is set in a summer-long Renaissance Festival. As I have never been to a Ren-Faire, this was an interesting thing to learn about. The mystery itself was very complex with subtle clues and red herrings as well as very interesting characters. I was totally misled until the grand denouement. I am assuming this book to be part of a series, but it is the first that I have read. It stands alone so well that only the title gives it away as being part of a series. I will look to read more of this series and books from this author. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
It’s hard to keep a series with the same characters in the same setting fresh and viable, but Andrews keeps doing it. With no new romantic plot (married love is warm and compelling, but not terrifically suspenseful) she concentrated on the mystery and it’s a good one. The characters as always are funny (I especially enjoyed seeing Megs grandfather as an alchemist) and the introduction of a couple of new ones was a nice touch. The story was full of red herrings; no sooner did one turn up as a suspect than Meg would discover they couldn’t have committed the murder…
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Donna Andrews never fails to write fun, entertaining books. I love her characters and their assets and weaknesses. When the tough need to hang together they are all there to help Meg and Michael. This is a book you may want to have plenty of time to read the whole thing in one sitting. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
Very often when a series hits book 27 it has become stale. That is not the case with this book. The writing is clever, and punny. The characters are eccentric and endearing. This mystery is a delightful way to spend an afternoon. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I’m voluntarily providing an honest review.
This book was fantastic! It has awesome characters and so many humorous parts that I read this book very quickly! Looking forward to the next book to catch back up with the characters! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own!
Meg’s grandmother, Cordelia, is hosting a Renaissance Faire at her mountain craft center. Michael is in charge of a group of actors who wander the faire engaging in “the game”. The twins are helping demonstrate at Meg’s blacksmith booth. And her grandfather joins in to watch over everything including the falcon booth. Things seem to be going well except an over exuberant actor who insults most of the other players. Then there’s the guest who is sabotaging some of the booths. When one of the actors turns up dead, Meg works at finding the murderer. This is a long-standing series with great characters and always a good mystery.
family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, actors
Not an unbiased review–I have loved nearly every book in this series!
Meg Langlow is a craft blacksmith with a very large, impressive, and quirky family and she is the protagonist. Michael Waterston is her drama professor/former star of a cult sci fi TV series husband. Together they are in charge of a renaissance faire type of weekend fun complete with a cast of hundreds and even more spectators. It’s well set up to figure out who will be murdered and the side plots, distractions, and red herrings make for interesting sleuthing. No spoilers. Even if you’ve not experienced this family you’ll still find plenty to laugh with. I LOVED this one!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley. Thank you!