New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written “firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie’s Christmas books” (Toronto Globe and Mail). The 28th book and the seventh Christmas mystery in the Meg Langslow series, The Gift of the Magpie is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews. … Times bestselling author Donna Andrews.
Meg’s running Caerphilly’s Helping Hands for the Holidays project, in which neighbors help each other with things they can’t do and can’t afford to have done. Her hopes for a relatively peaceful (if busy) Christmas vanish when someone murders Harvey the Hoarder, whose house the Helping Hands were decluttering. Was there any truth to the rumor that he had something valuable hidden beneath all his junk? Was one of his friends, neighbors, or relatives greedy enough to murder him for the rumored treasure? And what about the magpie that has been bringing her family bits of tinsel and costume jewelry–does the bird’s latest gift hold a clue to solving the crime?
Full of intrigue, this Christmas mystery will take readers home to Caerphilly, where the suspense falls as thick as the snow.
more
Ms Andrews seems to find endless plots for her charming cozy Christmas mysteries. This one, about an attack on a local hoarder is no exception. I think the key is that this particular mystery could have been written at any time; the Christmas stuff just makes the tale more interesting.
I have heard many great things about this series and am glad that I decided to finally pick it up. This book takes place during the Christmas season and many people are visiting Meg and her family. Meg is also involved in helping with the Caerphilly’s Helping Hands for the Holidays project. She has agreed to help convince Harvey the Hoarder to do a little decluttering to get the neighbors and his family off of his back. Just as things seem to being going well, Harvey is killed and Meg wants to know who would do this just as Harvey was making positive changes in his life. I loved the characters in this book and I can’t wait to start this series from the beginning and get to know them better.
The Gift of the Magpie (Meg Lanslow, #28) by Donna Andrews.
The audiobook was a pleasure to listen to, the narrator brought the characters to life and set the scenes so well. The subject of hoarding is often in the news and articles these days, so seeing it as the subject of this book made it even more interesting to me. The mystery was great, the pace was steady and I enjoyed the plotting!
Read 10.9.2020
Okay, this may be my shortest review of a Meg Langslow book ever.
Why is that, you ask? I will tell you…
IF I write a typical review, I will give it all away and if I write a edited review, I will give enough away, that you would not be able to enjoy all the joys that come from reading this book with absolutely NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of the plot and if you are tempted to read reviews or blurbs, please let me suggest you don’t. This one is best enjoyed going in blind. It is a beautiful story, full of fun and sorrow, topics that are difficult, but are handled with grace and caring [and we ALL should learn from how this imaginary community handles itself when presented with a difficulty that is extremely hard to deal with]. I loved the whole book and just thought it was really well done.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This year at Christmas, the churches in Caerphilly, Virginia have started a Helping Hands for the Holidays charity event, and Meg is right in the thick of it, organizing and helping. One of their projects is helping Harvey the Hoarder declutter and fix up his house before the county is called to intervene. Day one goes pretty well, but when Meg shows up for the second day, she finds him lying in a pool of blood in the garage. Are the rumors of a treasure hidden in the house true? Did that get Harvey killed?
I always enjoy visiting Meg, and this book was no exception. The sub-plots involving her large family slow down the main mystery early on, but as a fan of the series and the characters, that’s a minor complaint. Once the mystery gets going, it is strong with several good suspects and twists before we reach the great climax. The sub-plots still weave in and out of the main mystery, and I really enjoyed them and the Christmas spirit they give us. I didn’t find this book quite as funny as some of the others, maybe because it left me contemplating which side of the hoarder or collector line I’m on. If you are looking for an entertaining mystery set at Christmas, there’s still time this year to cozy up to the fire and enjoy this mystery.
I’m a Donna Andrews enthusiast, but have a special fondness for her Christmas stories. This is a great edition.
This is the 28th book of the series and we start off with Meg in charge of Helping Hands, A holiday project where neighbors help each other with projects that they either can’t do or can’t afford to do. It has gone from a simple project to a huge undertaking turning the holiday season from peaceful to busy with no free time insight. She has been asked to help out a local hoarder in hopes of appeasing his neighbors who have started to openly complain. Harvey isn’t a bad !am he just has a hard time letting go of things. Meg is determined to help the man and make his Christmas a joyous one. When Meg finds Harvey in his garage she immediately calls the cops. Harvey is pronounced dead and Meg upset over his death decides to look into things. Some of his family are definitely on the list to be looked at along with several neighbors. Meanwhile her father is trying to catch some Magpie’s who have gotten out of his zoo. THe missing birds seem to be congregating in Megs yard but he is having a hard time capturing them. One of the birds keeps leaving gifts, could any of these be clues to who hurt Harvey, jump in and find out?
What a great seasonal addition to the series! I love all the books and pre-order the next so I never miss one.
The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews is a Meg Langslow mystery. I confess, this is the first of this series I have read. Some of my comments may have been different if I had read the rest of the series. The book was difficult to get into and I struggled to finish it. There were too many characters and too many subplots, many of which seemed unnecessary. I also do not find it a satisfying conclusion when the protagonist stumbles into a situation, nearly gets herself and others killed, and gets credit for solving the crime. This seems to be happening much too often, of late. Sometime in the future I may go back to earlier books and see if my opinion changes.
Meg is deeply involved organizing and working with the Helping Hands organization that the community is fully behind. They help anyone who needs it, doing a variety of tasks. The big task on the horizon is clearing the home of hoarder, Harvey Dunlop, who needs help clearing out his house, but the more immediate need is that the house is falling down. It needs a new roof and all manner of other repairs, none of which can be accomplished until it is cleared out. Meg has organized a crew and an empty store in which to keep his belongings as volunteers help him sort. He has some relatives who are not very nice and seem to think that what is his is theirs. This is a hoarder of a story. I was not impressed.
I was invited to read The Gift of the Magpie by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thegiftofthemagpie
w
Wow! This book is full of twists and turns, deceit and truths, love and hate and murder! This is my first book by this author and it was okay but there is so much to remember with who did what with whom and why that you get so tangled up you don’t know if you’re up or down. I’m sure there are others out there that will love it. Enjoy!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
good-works, family-dynamics, friendship, situational-humor, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, hoarding, animal-welfare
Warning! I liked it so much that I pre-ordered an audio copy!
Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things! Meg Langlow is a craft blacksmith/organizational wizard 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. Dr. Langslow is her father/mystery geek/local Medical Examiner. And a cast of most of the town of Caerphilly, Virginia. It’s the Christmas season and in the Good Works department is a community effort to help anyone with a need that can be filled with the help of volunteers, whether hauling manure, making a wheelchair ramp, or helping a man who is overcome by clutter. That last one is the man who needs Meg’s persuasion to accept help and find creative answers to the fears he has. Add in some truly awful neighbors and some even worse cousins, and you can guess why Meg finds him nearly dead of blunt force trauma in his garage. Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
I believe this is the seventh book set around Christmas time by Andrews, my memory of those books is Michael’s show, one man or otherwise, of A Christmas Carol being center stage. I immediately thought, “Oh no, not another.” Well, the crazy Christmas antics of the Langslow extended family and Michael’s current one man show of A Christmas Carol is back burner to a more somber story of hoarding and community members needing assistance. Another charitable service, animal rescue, is also brought in.
So, while not so dark and gloomy that you’ll feel depressed while and after reading, definitely a more somber and thought provoking read from Andrews.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.