Murder Most Fowl - Cozy Mystery Review

 

Goodreads:  Murder Most Fowl (Meg Langslow #29) by Donna Andrews

Rating:  Really Liked It
Source:  Publisher

Description: Meg Langslow's in for a busy summer. Her husband is directing a production of Macbeth, and most of the cast and crew are occupying spare bedrooms in their house. She also has to keep an eye on Camp Birnam, where a group of medieval reenactors are commemorating the real-life Macbeth by setting up what they fondly believe is an authentic medieval Scottish military camp.

And then there's Damien Goodwin, a filmmaker who has been hanging around, trying to document the production. When Goodwin hosts a showing of some of the footage he's taken, he manages to embarrass or offend just about everyone. The next morning Meg isn't exactly surprised to find that someone has murdered him.

But who? Some people's motives were obvious from the footage: the couple whose affair was revealed . . . the bombastic leader of the reenactors, who could be facing years in prison if the evidence from the video helps convict him of sheep stealing . . . the actress who's desperately trying to downplay a health issue that could cost her the role of her life. Other motives are only hinted at--did the filmmaker have other footage that would reveal why one of the actors is behaving so furtively?

Unfortunately, whoever murdered Goodwin also destroyed all the electronic devices on which his video was stored. So Caerphilly's chief of police--and Meg--must rediscover the same secrets the filmmaker did if they want to catch a killer.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  This is one of my absolute favorite cozy series so of course I had to pick up this newest book!

My Impression: I forgot how much I loved this series until I picked this one up and I wasn't even halfway through before I decided that even though this series is  MASSIVE it has to be rolled into my series project because I absolutely love it.  Meg Langslow regularly lives in a loosely controlled chaos as it is with her rather eccentric family and her ability to overcommit herself.  But when her husband ends up directing a play that results in a whole cast of actors and crew moving into their house AND the history department at the local college throws in a group of Medieval Scottish reenactors camping out on nearby land life pretty much descends into madness.  

There are bunch of mysteries rolled into one here.  Why is the actress playing Lady MacBeth constantly ill? What is going on in the clearing at night that seems malevolent and who is behind it?  Who is responsible for the vandalism around the house?  Just what was the filmmaker that no one liked up to?  And most importantly, who killed him?  Getting all the answers was lots of fun and made for a delightful cozy read.  I really enjoy Meg as a main character as she is incredibly capable and smart and she regularly makes me laugh.  I really like the side characters and I liked that we saw a bit more of Rose Noire in this one though I would have loved to see more of her grandfather and mother.  

This is a series that is easy to jump into essentially where ever you want but I do think the series improves the more books you read as you do get to know the characters a bit more.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Definitely!  I'm planning on starting from the beginning of this series soon and will definitely be on the lookout for the next book!

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you love cozy mysteries then you really must try this series!  I think each one is better then the last.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *