The 33rd book in the Meg Langslow Mysteries by NYT Bestselling author Donna Andrews is a red herring-filled puzzle!
Meg's grandmother is the subject of a magazine reporter's story, which seems odd as she doesn't seem like the type this magazine usually covers, her dad has installed a bee aviary in her backyard, and while helping locate a long-lost African-American cemetery, she and her companions stumble upon a fresh corpse. Throw in blackmail, a missing person, drug trafficking, and a request from the Mayor, and Meg has her hands full!
Andrews consistently crafts a solid whodunnit with engaging storytelling, and the popularity and longevity of this series are a testament to that. Well-written, humorous, and delightful, this series is still going strong thirty-three books in. Meg is a decorative blacksmith and amateur sleuth with a charmingly offbeat and often zany family, and it is fun to step into this world and see what they're up to. In addition to the murder mystery, I always enjoy the animal and rural living info woven into these books, and this time featured fascinating stuff about honeybees and hummingbirds.
Andrews skillfully weaves several plotlines together in this while having Meg really flex her investigative skills to sort out the various crimes. While this is lighthearted and fast-paced, it also broaches more serious topics, such as drug trafficking and the difficulties in locating tragically lost African-American cemeteries. Cozy mystery lovers and fans of this series will want to add this to their tbr!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, for the opportunity to review this ARC. I really enjoyed it!
My steep was Bees Knees from Harney & Sons. This white tea has juniper berries, lemon peel, gin flavor, honey flavor, and lemon flavor. A 1920s cocktail inspired it, it's unique, and I love it iced!
www.harney.com
PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: Meg is relaxing in the hammock, taste-testing Michael's latest batch of Arnold Palmers and watching the hummingbirds at their feeders when her hopes for a relaxing early summer morning are dashed.
First her father recruits her to help him install a new batch of bees in the hive in her backyard. Then Mayor Shiffley recruits her to placate the NIMBYs (Not in my backyard), as she calls them – a group of newcomers to Caerphilly who have built McMansions next door to working farms and then do their best to make life miserable for the farmers. And finally Meg's grandmother, shows up, trailed by a nosy reporter who is writing a feature on her for a genteel Southern ladies' magazine.
Cordelia drafts Meg to accompany her and Deacon Washington of the New Life Baptist Church – and the reporter, alas – in their search for a long-lost African-American cemetery. Unfortunately what they discover is not an ancient cemetery but a fresh corpse. Can Meg protect her grandmother – and Caerphilly – from the reporter who seems to see the worst in everything . . . and help crack the case before the killer finds another victim?
#cozymystery #donnaandrews #birdershewrote #meglangslowmysteries #minotaurbooks #bookreviewswithteapairings #readthisandsteep
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