Reality Show and Murder at Christmas
Donna Andrews dependably releases a Meg Langslow mystery with a Christmas theme every year, and it’s become a Christmas tradition for me to save it for December. This year’s Christmas entry is Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!, and it’s another book fans will enjoy.
Meg has no desire to be more than a gofer on the reality competition Blades of Glory! If for no other reason, Meg is a blacksmith, but she doesn’t specialize in making weapons, and the competitors are all going to be bladesmiths. However, she has agreed to help out behind the scenes since the first episode is being filmed the week before Christmas on her friend Ragnar’s property, and her blacksmithing teacher, Faulk, is one of the competitors.
However, the night before the filming is set to kick off, someone attacks Faulk, so he can’t compete after all. Meg reluctantly steps in, wondering who is responsible for the attack. Navigating the first competition and all the personalities of the other contestants is trickier than Meg expected, but she isn’t prepared for the body of another contestant to turn up. Is someone going after all the contestants? Can Meg figure out what is going on?
I’ve got to admit, I was scratching my head when I read this plot teaser initially. It feels like it should have been the setup for the non-Christmas entry in the series we also get each year. Then again, with multiple Christmas books already in the series, I’m not sure what Christmas activities we haven’t explored yet. This may not have all the touchstones we normally expect from a Meg Christmas book, but we do still get plenty of Christmas spirit, just with a bit of a twist.
It certainly helps that we get the usual supporting characters. It felt like many of them had smaller roles than normal, but it was still delightful to see them. And maybe that’s just my perception. At this point in the series, we know what to expect from them, but it is still a delight to get it. I will say, I found one of Meg’s competitors to be very one note. I get it, we aren’t supposed to like him. And I didn’t want to like him. But it would have been nice if there had been some nuance to his character instead of a cliché.
Fans of the series pretty much know what to expect here plot wise, and that’s what we get. It’s a ways into the story before the body drops, but there is a lot with the competition to keep us engaged. Plus, suspects and motives are set up, so when Meg does find the victim, we are off to the races. The ending was on the weaker side, but everything was explained by the time we turned the last page.
If you aren’t familiar with this series, it is famous for its humor, and it is on fine display here. I laughed and smiled my way through the book at the various things going on.
It’s tight to try to get this book read before Christmas this year, but you’ll want to add Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! to your reading list if you haven’t already done so. No matter what time of year you read it, this will be a fun Christmas visit with characters you’ll quickly love.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Meg Langslow Mysteries.
I enjoyed this one and did like having Christmas at Ragner's crazy house. I do agree about the one note of the competitor but I really enjoyed seeing Meg blacksmithing again!
ReplyDeleteThis was actually the first in the series I've read. I enjoyed it. I don't know why it took me so long to read one.
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