Who Should Be Presumed Guilty?
I’ve come to really look forward to the Christmas entry in the Meg Langslow series. Reading it in December has become something of a Christmas tradition for me. Rockin’ Around the Chickadee, this year’s Christmas entry and the thirty-sixth in the series, was another fun entry.
This December, Meg’s grandmother is putting on the Presumed Innocence conference at the inn in town the weekend before the holiday. Since it is local, many of Meg’s friends and family are giving presentations, and Meg is doing her best to help out.
However, one of the attendees is well known for his stance that the justice system never makes any mistakes. He’s made his position on some of the newly exonerated attending clear, and he goes out of his way to disrupt things on the first day. The next morning, his dead body is found behind Meg’s barn. Who killed him? And why was he located there?
Obviously, the plot of this book has little to do with Christmas and really could have been set at any time of the year. That’s become the case with other recent Christmas books. Yes, there is so discussion of the timing of the conference in this book, which I appreciated. And let’s be honest, with the number of books set during Christmas we’ve already gotten, I’m not sure what else we could get that was holiday dependent.
Now, don’t take that to mean that there isn’t plenty of Christmas in these pages. No one does a Christmas set story better than Donna Andrews, and that holds true again here. The talk of decorations and carols alone are enough to make it feel like the holiday is right around the corner. Okay, so the fact that the holiday was right around the corner as I was reading the book helped, too.
Having said that, I do have a bone to pick with the Christmas in the book. At one point, the choir from the Baptist church puts on a concert. Among the songs they sing at many of the secular songs of the season and even a couple of Hanukkah songs. Not one religious Christmas carol is mentioned by name. There is a reference to them doing some the next morning, but again, none mentioned by name. Now, hear me out. I have no issue with them singing any of the songs that are listed in that scene. But why couldn’t some of the religious carols be listed as well. A true mix. Especially if this is a Baptist church choir.
Okay, deep breath. Because, honestly, this was a minor annoyance in an otherwise enjoyable book.
The plot was great. It does a good job of setting up suspects before the murder happens, and we are pulled along for the ride as Meg attempts to figure out what is really going on. The climax wrapped things up well.
And it’s always a joy to visit with Meg and the large cast of characters. I appreciated how many of the regulars were involved in one way or another. The suspects were interesting and fit perfectly into Meg’s world. I’m wondering if a couple of them might pop up again in later books.
In addition to the Christmas cheer, we also get some laughs. One scene in particular had me grinning as I read it. It played out perfectly.
Those who are looking for a light Christmas cozy mystery will enjoy Rockin’ Around the Chickadee. Meg’s many fans will not be disappointed in the least.
And do check out the rest of the Meg Langslow Mysteries.
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