The Twelve Jays of Christmas (Meg Lanslow, #30) By Donna Andrews

Donna Andrews × 5 Free read

Fabulous installment! This is my favorite cozy mystery series! Hardcover It’s a few days before Christmas, and Meg Langslow is ready for the holiday and the invasion of family that it brings. What she isn’t dealing with well is Roderick Castlemayne. Roderick is a wildlife artist in town to paint birds for Meg’s grandfather’s newest book. Roderick has taken over the library in Meg’s house and is acting like a jerk in every way imaginable. Meg has finally had enough and is ready to kick him out, but someone takes care of the problem for her when they kill him. Once again, Meg finds herself involved in the investigation. Will she find the killer before Christmas?

It’s almost become tradition to drop in on Meg and company during Christmas, and I always enjoy these seasonal visits. The Christmas spirit is strong in this entry, although we did miss a few of the regular traditions around town. The plot had several fun complications, but I did figure out what was going on a little early. A few of my favorite supporting characters weren’t in town when most of the action took place (although I think they got the same amount of page time as they normally would), but the rest of the cast more than made up for it. Between these characters and the animal antics, I was smiling if not laughing as I read. Fans of the series will delight in this newest Christmas visit with old friends.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers. Hardcover Another fun and wacky Christmas mystery in the Meg Langslow series. I adore these books. Meg and her family are hosting a resident artist who is painting portraits of birds for her grandfather’s bird book project. The trouble is he’s very eccentric and demanding. And as one can guess in a murder mystery, winds up dead. This is a delightful book, with lots of rogue birds flying around the Langslow house, wombats in the basement (those were particularly fun!) and much more. I always enjoy these books for the fun cast of characters that I get to see in each book, and also for the fun way the author writes animals. 5/5 stars. Hardcover Another Christmas mystery with Meg Langslow and company. The wackiness this time includes an unwanted artist house guest who is collaborating with Meg's grandfather on a book about birds. Naturally some of the birds get loose in the house. It's Christmas, so naturally there are dozens of out-of-town relatives staying with them. And there are wombats in the basement. Why? Because they glow in the dark.

An average entry of the series, which means it's a lot of fun. Newcomers can certainly start here if they want.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Hardcover So I finished this one very late last night and I am writing the review today, Monday morning. And I am happy to report I had enjoyed this one much more than Duck the Halls. It's more akin to Owl Be Home for Christmas where they were all staying at the hotel and all the ruckus was going on. But instead of owls it is blue jays, mockingbirds and wombats! Oh and the birds are loose in Meg's house too! Imagine trying to host a huge family get together over several days with birds flying about all over and some of them like to dive bomb you too! In real life I have been dive bombed many times by the red winged blackbirds and they have actually hit me in the head while out walking so I sure can understand Meg's problem!

This one was a pleasure to read. I was totally hooked on the plot and characters. Plus I had actually guessed who the killer was too! I had a feeling or thought about halfway through. I was thinking I hope it's not X (obviously I am not going to say who it is) but it was. Truthfully I am uncertain if I have just figured out the author's formula / writing style or if it was just obvious to me? Anyway I did figure it out and then there was lots of very exciting scenes way at the end of the book with Meg trying to stay alive while fleeing from the killer! So this one is very exciting!

I enjoyed all the animals in here too. Besides the birds and the wombats (and they do make another appearance at the end there) there are also lots of cute Pom puppies! In fact it was one of the puppies that had alerted Meg to the crime going on!

And did I mention this story takes place during a power outage because a snowstorm is hitting the town? That just makes it more exciting don't you think? The boys and Michael are gone for most of the story - they are off on a ski trip - so they miss most of the excitement. Meg has to deal with it on her own.

Since the book flap mentions who it is that gets killed - the artist Castlemayne - I will say that I have noticed while reading these books it is usually the very sour, grouchy characters that get killed. I had not read the cover flap at all so I had actually guessed it would be Castlemayne who would be the murder victim because he was grumpy. I wonder is that because these people than have more enemies?

I do love the blue jays on the cover of this book! Sometimes I see blue jays here.

Anyway this was an excellent read with much stuff constantly going on, many injuries and lots of running around. The plot just kept moving constantly. Hardcover

The cast of Donna Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series is back for an unforgettable holiday story in The Twelve Jays of Christmas.

Meg and Michael’s annual holiday celebration is well underway, with a throng of out-of-town relatives staying at their house. Hosting these festivities is a little harder than usual—they have to relocate all the events normally held in their library, currently occupied by Roderick Castlemayne, the irascible wildlife artist who’s creating twelve paintings of birds to illustrate Meg’s grandfather’s latest nature book.

Still, the celebrations continue—and the entire family rejoices to learn that Meg’s brother Rob and his longtime fiancée Delaney have finally decided to tie the knot. Unfortunately, they decide to do this in the middle of Meg and Michael’s annual New Year’s bash, dashing their mothers’ hopes of planning the wedding to end all weddings.

Delaney’s mother sneaks into town so she and Meg’s mother can secretly plot a way to talk the happy couple into having a big bash. Hiding her only adds to Meg’s holiday stress—it’s almost a full-time job fending all the visitors who want to confront Castlemayne—reporters, bill collectors, process servers, and several ex-wives in search of unpaid alimony.

Then someone murders Castlemayne in the middle of a blizzard and sets loose the birds he was painting. Can Meg help the police crack the case before the killer strikes again? Can she keep Christmas merry in spite of the body in the library? Can she negotiate a compromise between Rob and Delaney and their disappointed mothers? And can she recapture the twelve escaped jays before they begin nesting in the Christmas tree?

This intrigue-filled Christmas mystery takes readers home to Caerphilly to join in Meg's family's holiday celebration—including, of course, another baffling mystery. The Twelve Jays of Christmas (Meg Lanslow, #30)

Meg Langslow has an injured ankle which means she had to miss the ski trip with husband Michael and the boys. Instead, Meg is home with visiting relatives, grandfather’s temperamental wildlife artist occupying the library, wombats in the basement, mockingbirds loose in the house, and her mother secretly plotting a big wedding for Meg’s brother Rob and fiance Delaney despite their wishes for a small intimate New Year’s wedding. This is the rush that starts off Donna Andrew’s latest Langslow Christmas adventure, The Twelve Jays of Christmas.

The artist Meg’s grandfather has hired to paint birds as illustrations for his new book, Roderick Castlemayne, is demanding and disagreeable. His beleaguered assistant, Harris, does his best to run interference but he can’t entirely contain the cantankerous artist. Worse, when word gets out that Castlemayne is working at Meg’s house, a long list of people with grudges against him start showing up at Meg’s door, including some unhappy ex-wives. When a noise in the night awakens Meg and she discovers Castlemayne’s dead body, the list of suspects is a long one.

Meg’s curiosity and the fact that she lives at the scene of the crime, have her helping round up suspects for the chief to interview. A snowstorm and subsequent power outage also have her scrambling to feed a horde of hungry relatives. As usual, Meg’s ingenious family and a bunch of helpful Caerphilly locals make the task easier. Meg still manages to find herself in the killer’s crosshairs before justice is served just in time for everyone to have a merry Christmas.

The Twelve Jays of Christmas is another fun entry in this series that will delight existing fans and newcomers alike. If I were in a Twilight Zone episode and could step off a train into any world, I would get off in Caerphilly, Virginia, and live in the wonderful world Donna Andrews has created there. I love spending time with these characters and always look forward to my next visit.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. Hardcover surprised to say I enjoyed this book even if it was more bird themed than originally expected Hardcover These books are such a comfort read for me - it takes me to a place where the people are nice and caring and kind, even to people who are looking to kill them [the end of this book shows what grace really looks like] or to people who have taken over their houses and are the nastiest of house-guests. It shows how family CAN work together and how you can enjoy all that they can bring to the occasion. Once again I am left wishing that Meg was a real person I could be friends with, that Grandfather's zoo was a real place and that all real zoos followed his way of treating animals [I am NOT a zoo person but would totally support a zoo like his, where the animals, and their well-being are the most important thing], that all police were as good as Caerphilly's police force is, that a town would work together and make a holiday awesome for EVERYONE, and that I had a family that loved and supported me and mine like Meg's family does for her and hers. Being with Meg and her family is like coming to a home you didn't know you needed and even with a murder, the comfort you get from reading the story is something everyone should experience in reading.
So well done. Hardcover It was nice to catch up with Meg and her zany crew. With Michael and the boys out of town on a skiing trip Meg has a lot to deal with. Firstly a sprained ankle the reason she couldn't go on the skiing trip. The reason for her injury is Catlemayne the artist hired by her grandfather to paint twelve pictures of birds for his new book. He's holed up in their library making matters difficult for Meg's many relatives coming for the holidays. Castlemayne let's some birds loose requiring the use of hats while indoors and is just an awful person who has debt collectors, ex wives and who knows who else looking for him and badgering poor Meg. Then Rob and Delaney announce plans to marry on new years and Delaney's mother sneaks into town to help plan the extravagant wedding of their dreams. Then Castlemayne is murder, a blizzard hits, the power goes out someone goes missing and three people end up in hospital with serious injuries. With a throbbing ankle and several crisis to handle its far from a restful holiday for Meg. I have missed the gang. It was fun catching up and seeing a softer side to Spike and seeing the pomeranians or the pom gang with their new owners still ending up at Meg's house. That and a couple of wombats bunking in the basement and fouled mouthed birds in the zoo's aviary makes this another fun Christmas mystery. Hardcover Thirtieth in the Meg Langslow cozy mystery series and revolving around Meg, a blacksmith. The focus is on that so-very-irritating wildlife artist.

My Take
Andrews uses first person point-of-view from Meg's perspective so we know everything she's thinking, feeling, and doing. And as usual it's chaos at the Langslow-Waterston house. Christmas festivities are looming and family is descending. Meanwhile those unexpected wombats . . . ! It does crack me up how the family takes advantage of Meg and Michael's good nature to insert anything into their lives. Of course, there's also the cousins and more who move in and stay.

Look at all the reasons the Pomeranian owners have for dropping their pups f(off at Meg's, lol. That Spike is behaving weirdly. He's actually allowing Meg to pick him up when he's usually too busy biting her.

Castlemayne is the biggest pain and so very selfish and demanding. Meg is too easy on the man, what with his smoking in the library and general idiocy. He's also a deadbeat!

Ya gotta love the women in Caerphilly. They're always getting up some committee or other to help people. Ya gotta love Meg's family too. They're always willing to help out, bring casseroles, and par-tay! The town itself (mostly its mayor) has been coming up with all sorts of events that help the town's economy. The red-headed lineup! Even here the ladies in town are so eager to help! To be fair, the men aren't slackers. They figure out ways to help people as well, taking their pride into account.

There's a fascinating bit in here about what exactly freedom of the press entails! Having lawyers in the family is definitely helpful.

Mother is a force of nature and an excellent decorator. I love her collaboration with Ekaterina in doing up the Inn for Christmas, and of course the cops know she's a fount of information *snicker*

It's a cozy story in a great series in which I love to surround myself. There are characters(!) — think of multiple QUIRKY family members and plenty of crazy and sometimes scary action.

There's a laugh around every corner — those Monty Python quotes spouted by the parrots were pretty good, lol.

And yep, there's internal family blackmailing going on . . .

The Story
That sprained ankle is slowing Meg down as the days before Christmas pass. There's so much to do and so many guests to put up. It doesn't help that that demanding artist is taking up the library with his work. Nor that his enemies — and ex-wives — keep trying to get in the house!

Even worse, Castlemayne insisted on letting the birds loose . . . so everyone is wearing hats in the house!

The Characters
Meg Langslow, a blacksmith, is married to Professor Michael Waterston who teaches drama and is the assistant dean at Caerphilly College in Caerphilly (a.k.a. Yorktown). They have two children, twins, Josh and Jamie, along with Spike the Small Evil One, who adores the twins.

Meg has a HUGE family that includes her dad, Dr. James Langslow, who's the local medical examiner and just adores mysteries. Rob, her brother, is a rich ne'er-do-well with a computer gaming company, Mutant Wizards. Delaney is his fiancée who's the head of game development. The loquacious and nice Holly McKenna is Delaney's mom. Tinkerbell is Rob's Irish wolfhound. Pam is an older sister about whom we never hear much. Kevin is the tech-savvy nephew living in their basement and who works for Mutant Wizards. Rose Noire is the metaphysical cousin enthralled with herbals and succeeding in her small business. Festus Hollingsworth is a very competent lawyer and cousin. Aunt Esme.

Dr J Montgomery Blake, a famous and wealthy naturalist and environmentalist who owns the local zoo, is her eccentric grandfather — the twins call him Great. Manoj is Grandfather's right-hand man at the zoo. Baptiste is Grandfather's staff photographer. Cordelia is Meg's grandmother and Dr Blake's old girlfriend.

The seven eight-month-old Pomeranians are a treat. Widget belongs to Kevin; Watson is Horace's puppy; Adam has Willie Mays; Aida's is Whatever — she's thinking of getting another one and naming it As If; Ms Ellie, the local librarian, has Teddy Who; the Reverend Robyn Smyth at Grace Episcopal has Whatsit; and, Rose Noire's is Winter Solstice.

Caroline Willner, a family friend — who seems to be the only able to control Blake, owns the Willner Wildlife Sanctuary. Millard Fillmore is the thirteenth bald eagle at the Sanctuary. James K Polk turned out to be female and now has Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren fighting over her. Other bald eagles include William Henry Harrison and John Quincy Adams.

The self-centered, narcissistic, misogynistic jerk Roderick Castlemayne is the wildlife artist doing portraits of birds for Blake's book. (Abelard Hezekiah) Harris, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, is Castlemayne's much put-upon assistant. His ex-wives include the blonde Madeleine and Iris Hazlitt Castlemayne.

Critters
Ian and Bruce are the glow-in-the-dark wombats.

Caerphilly
Ekaterina Vorobyaninova runs the Caerphilly Inn in town and is a friend of Meg's. Enrique is part of Ekaterina's staff. Curly is the entirety of Caerphilly's homeless problem, who always seems to get arrested when he need shelter from bad weather. Muriel runs the popular diner. Dr Clarence Rutledge, a biker by night, is the veterinarian at the Caerphilly Animal Hospital. Clarence is a special deputy due to his size and calming manner Seth Early is a sheep farmer and neighbor of Meg and Michael's whose sheep are always escaping the pasture. Deacon Washington is another neighbor. Angel and Ruth own the Caerphilly Beauty Salon

Chief Henry Burke, a former Baltimore City homicide detective, is the head of the police department. His wife, Minerva, is busy with the much-admired New Life Baptist Choir. Adam Burke is their grandson and friends with Josh and Jamie. His deputies include Cousin Horace Hollingsworth, Aida Butler, Sammy Wendell, and Vern Shiffley. Debbie Ann is the always-on dispatcher who's gotten used to Meg's 9-1-1 phone calls. George is the civilian who runs the desk during business hours.

Aida has a daughter, Kayla, who used to say whatever and has now adopted as if — at least until Aida gets another puppy, lol.

The Shiffleys include Randall who runs a construction company and is always available to fix things — he's also the mayor of Caerphilly. Beau and Osgood both run the county's snowplows. Uncle Vermeer's rheumatism has gotten worse.

Justin Vreeland is a reporter from the Washington Star-Tribune, who won't take no for an answer. Maudie Morton is the manager of the local funeral home. The Cheerful Gnome is a local B&B. Ms Bridget Westmoreland of Mechanicsville, Virginia, is even more persistent than Vreeland. The Frilled Pheasant does a nice tea. J Eustance Monkton is an idiot lawyer who needs a lot more experience about life. The Clarion is the local weekly.

Clay County is . . .
. . . a rival of Caerphilly. Sheriff Dingell is with the Clay County police department. The Clay County Motor Lodge is notorious for bugs. The Tidewater Tattler in Clay County was very similar.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a gradation of a brief and pretty turquoise-y blue into white for most of the cover and then ends in the same band of blue at the bottom. In the center is a graphic of four blue jays on a sled with a decorated Christmas tree behind them. Three of them are wearing scarves and the fourth has a Santa hat. And they're a'flappin' and having fun. All the text is in red and at the top is the author's name followed by an info blurb. Below the sled is the title. In a round badge set between the back of the sled and the title in white text on red is the series info.

The title is a play on the bluejays that escape in the house with The Twelve Jays of Christmas, er, days of Christmas ahead. Hardcover