Programming an Ice Cold Murder
My day job is as an accountant for a company, and our fiscal year end is the end of November. That means that December is extra stressful between insane deadlines at work and trying to get ready for Christmas. I don’t think I realized how stressed I was until I sat down with Dashing Through the Snowbirds, this year’s Christmas entry in Donna Andrews’s long running Meg Langslow series. I could immediately feel my stress slipping away as I got lost in Meg’s latest adventure.
It's a few days before Christmas, and Meg’s house has been invaded once again. This time, the invasion is in the form of visiting Canadians. They are employees of AcerGen, a genetics company that is trying to do a rush update of their products and working with Mutant Wizards, Meg’s brother’s computer software company, to accomplish this. Unfortunately, the CEO, Ian Meredith, is less than ethical, and Meg begins to learn just how much trouble he is after the project has started.
Someone has a serious grudge against Ian, however, because when loud Christmas music wakes Meg up in the middle of the night, and she finds Ian’s dead body out in the cold. Is Meg harboring a killer in her house?
This is the thirty-second book in the Meg Langslow Mystery, so by now we know her family and friends well. Honestly, I think that was part of why this book was so relaxing to me right away. I just felt the peace and calm of visiting old friends. Some of the characters make me smile when their names are mentioned, and I just love them. They are their usual charming selves here once again.
Very few people do a Christmas mystery quite like Donna Andrews. With the descriptions of decorations and references to Christmas music and the weather, this book will put you in the holiday spirit right away. I’ve always saved these books for December for a reason. It is always a joy to read these and see my decorated Christmas trees when I look up between chapters. If you are missing the Christmas spirit, this book will definitely give it to you.
And that’s despite the murder. Yes, the book does take that seriously and never forgets that it is a murder mystery. While Ian might not be killed as early as in some series I read, we are still learning about him and potential suspects and motives before that happens. While I do wish the climax were a little stronger, I had pieced things together only a couple of chapters before we got there, and it is obvious that Meg was right behind me. And it is hard to complain too loudly about such a well plotted book.
I know I say this with every book in the series I read, but I truly appreciate Meg’s relationship with the local police. It’s a small town, and she is friends with them. While they don’t encourage her snooping (and she mostly does it accidentally anyway), they appreciate the fact that she shares what she has learned with them, and she calls them immediately when she gets a lead. It’s such a refreshing change from most of the books I read.
And there’s the humor. As I’ve said, I was smiling the entire way through the book, with some laughs along the way as well.
This truly is another wonderful Christmas visit with Meg and company. Dashing Through the Snowbirds will please fans old and new looking for a wonderful Christmas mystery.
Enjoy more fun with the rest of the Meg Langslow Mysteries.
Reading a fun book is always a stress reliever for me. I hope you have a happy holiday
ReplyDeleteI love this series! This was a fun one though I did like last year's Christmas mystery with all the birds loose in the house and everyone having to wear hats.
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