Source: Publisher
Description: The Christmas season is underway in Caerphilly. The members of the Hollingsworth clan, Meg’s mother’s family, are beginning to arrive in force, and Mother has several special projects underway this year. One is the playhouse she’s having built for Brynn, her two-year-old granddaughter. Brynn is a bright, lively child who loves animals, especially a wounded jay that she and Meg are trying to rehabilitate. She’s also hoping to play matchmaker and set up her cousin with an old friend of hers who was recently widowed.
But all is not going smoothly in Caerphilly. Someone vandalizes the playhouse and sets a dangerous trap that injures and could have killed Mother. She reveals that she has been getting nasty anonymous letters, and it’s obvious that someone is targeting her. Meg realizes she has to do something to figure out who could possibly have it in for her mom.
Meg juggles holiday preparations and celebrations while investigating these potential enemies – not to mention helping repair the damaged playhouse, taking her turn at nursing the wounded jay, and trying to coax Mother’s elderly cousin into a reunion with his long-lost love. When one of Meg’s suspects is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the family rejoices that Mother is out of danger. But Meg isn’t quite sure they’re out of the woods just yet.
Genre: Mystery - Cozy
Why I Picked This Book: I've really enjoyed everything in this series that I've read and the holiday mysteries are always my favorite.
My Impression: This series always has a strong theme of chaos and this one is no different. When I start a Meg Langslow book I know there are going to be a bunch of subplots and even more cousins and other random side characters with a helping of birds. This was no different. The mystery itself was a bit different though. There's no dead body but there is quite a lot of mystery - someone is targeting Meg's mom and everyone is determined to figure out who it is and prevent them from doing their worst. There are also missing angels, a sabotaged pollinator bed, blue jays both real and fake, and Meg's mom is busy matchmaking trying to fix a breakup that she feels shouldn't have happened.
The mysteries are entertaining and some touch on much darker issues. It was fun to watch everything unravel as the group rushes to make sure nothing worse happens. I always enjoy this series and this was no different. I love the main characters and the writing always pulls me in. I liked that Minerva had a larger role than normal and I'm hoping that Lori and Graham will show up in future books.
This is a long running series with a huge cast of characters. This one may be an easier one to jump in with as long as you don't get too caught up on figuring out who all the minor characters are. I've enjoyed all the books I've read so far in this series though I'm missing most of the middle books and it is a series that's getting more enjoyable as it goes on.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! I'm looking forward to the next book and am excited to catch up on the earlier books in the series.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy cozy mysteries, I would definitely recommend this series and while this is one you could start with the more in the series you read the more invested you are.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
