How the Finch Stole Christmas!

Meg Langslow's husband, Michael is directing the annual charity benefit production of A Christmas Carol. Instead of Michael's usual one man show, this time they have hired a big-name actor to star in the production, but Malcolm Haver has been a problem from day one. He's a raging alcoholic, chronically late, and just a complete pain. Both Meg and Michael hope that having Haver in the cast will boost ticket sales, if his out of control drinking doesn't wreck the entire production. Haver's contract prevents him from being fired so Meg and her extended family struggle to keep him sober enough to perform. This means following him around town and hiring a "minder'' to be sure nobody sells or gives him alcohol. Add in the annual Christmas show more pageant at church, the discovery of an animal smuggling ring, and her grandfather pestering everyone to foster finches seized from the smugglers, and the holiday season is keeping Meg extremely busy. When a dead body is discovered in the snow and their cantankerous star actor is a murder suspect, the holiday season gets even less jolly. Can Meg and her rag tag group of friends and family make sure the Christmas productions go off without a hitch, solve the murder and break the ring of animal smugglers before the holiday season becomes a complete disaster?

This is the first book by Donna Andrews that I've read. It's #22 in the Meg Langslow series, but I was able to jump in and enjoy the story without having read any of the previous books. I could tell that I wasn't up to snuff with some of the background or personalities of the characters from previous stories, but I was still able to very much enjoy this Christmas-y cozy mystery. My favorite character by far is Meg's grandfather. He is a side character and not as developed as some of the other more main players....but his personality is just delightful. His attempts to sneak multitudes of finches into the 12 Days of Christmas display at the theater and his habit of discussing inappropriate topics (like murdered hunters and how to fingerprint dead bodies bloated by laying in water for days) at the dinner table just made him the shining star of this book, in my opinion. There wasn't a single character I didn't like (well, except maybe for the horrific Malcolm Haver), and I liked the nice mix of mystery and humor. The plot moved along at a nice pace, and the mystery definitely had a few unexpected twists and turns. All in all, a very enjoyable cozy mystery!

I liked the fact that this book wasn't in a hurry to get to the murder. There was a nice bit of story before the body popped up. The side mystery of the animal smugglers didn't over-power the murder mystery portion of the plot.....the two intertwined to make a wonderfully complex investigation. The story moves along at a nice pace, and had several surprises! Nicely done!

This is a fun book to read. It's a nice mix of holiday theme, humor, fun characters and mystery. I will definitely be going back to read the earlier books in this series. I think this will be a cozy series that I will enjoy!

For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://donnaandrews.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

How the Finch Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews is a 2017 Minotaur publication.

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s that time again…

Yep! Christmas in July!!

This year in Caerphilly, there will be a full-blown production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Malcolm Havers, a quasi-big-name actor has been cast in the role of Scrooge. Unfortunately, Haver is difficult and has a bit of a drinking problem. While everyone is trying to keep Havers sober, someone keeps supplying him with booze.

Hoping to catch this ‘bootlegger’ Meg follows Haver to his possible source, only to discover an animal smuggling ring….

And a dead body…

Andrews always adds a little something extra to her holiday themed mysteries. I loved the mystery, which was well-plotted, and show more had a kind of dual thread, and of course, the play and the snowy Christmas atmosphere, along with a little holiday spirit, gave the story a little sweet, cozy, and heartwarming atmosphere to close things out.

This is the twenty-second installment in the series, and it is still drawing me back for more. I enjoyed touching base with all the zany characters, who are, by now, old friends, and it is especially nice when they are dispensing a little holiday cheer!

Overall, Andrews delivers again- and of course, I look forward to my next visit to Caerphilly! show less

There is no place I’d rather spend Christmas than in Caerphilly with Meg Langslow. Donna Andrews’ latest Meg Langslow mystery has the town in the throes of another Christmas season with Meg this time acting as assistant director to her husband’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Of course nothing goes smoothly as the college has hired a has-been actor who proves to be both difficult and a rather determined alcoholic. Add in Meg’s grandfather trying to house a bunch of illegally imported finches related to a big federal fish and wildlife animal smugglers ring, a determined stalker of the actor, and assorted problems big and small that only Meg can solve and you’ve got another wonderful Caerphilly Christmas.

A murder and an animal show more hoarding situation add to the chaos making Meg determined to get to the bottom of things so that production of A Christmas Carol can go on. Her multi-talented extended family and a large cast of helpful locals will draw you into a hilarious and deeply satisfying mystery.

Andrews writes books that allow new readers to jump in at any point in the series, and she manages to delight long-time readers with revisiting familiar characters. One character who gets a lot of page-time in this outing is Ekaterina who runs the Caerphilly Inn. She steals scene after scene and is a significant part of solving the mystery. I look forward to seeing even more of her in the future.

Find your most comfortable reading spot, crack open this book, and prepare to spend a few hours with a smile on your face. Donna Andrews has done it again. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher. show less

Christmas in Caerphilly includes a full-scale production of A Christmas Carol this year. Michael is directing, Jamie and Josh have roles, and Meg is the stage manager. Things are going on in the usual chaotic manner.

A famous actor has been cast in the role of Scrooge. However, he has a major drinking problem, and it has become a whole town conspiracy to keep him away from booze. Yet he is still managing to find some somewhere.

Meg discovers his source when she follows him to an isolated rural farm. She also discovers a plethora of animals including many exotic animals which leads her to a smuggling operation. A raid is planned with the assistance of the sheriff, the local vet, and many others. They are also concerned about an elderly show more wheelchair-bound woman who is living in the house surrounded by dozens of cats.

A body is discovered during the raid who turns out to be the actor's booze supplier. He'd been shot and the actor is now a suspect who goes on the lam.

Will she find the killer before opening night? And what will they do for a Scrooge if the actor turns out to be a murderer?

This was the usual fun mystery. I liked that Meg manages to be the voice of reason when all around her is dissolving into chaos. show less

I really liked this one. Josh and Jamie have grown into wonderful 10-year olds.
Michael has expanded his one man show of A Christmas Carol into a full production. They hired a B-movie actor named Malcolm Haver as Scrooge. The man is a belligerent unrepentant alcoholic. He shows up to rehearsals late and drunk. Randall has convinced the town to not sell the man alchohol but he keeps getting it anyway. Haver even tried to yell at the costume mistress, Mother! I was positive by this time in the book that Haver would be the dead body and Mother the prime suspect. I was wrong.
Throughout the last few books, Grandfather and Dad have been helping save Gouldian Finches. Everybody in town seems to be fostering cages of finches because show more Grandfather's friend with Fish and Wildlife will be bringing more. The guy never shows but while following Haver to see who his bootlegger is, Meg stumbles on a house full of cats, an old lady in a wheelchair, and a barn full of exotic animals. The chief stages a raid. They rescue the old lady, her cats, the exotic animals and the puppy mill. They also find the bootlegger with 2 bullets in his brain.
There are plenty of suspects, a lady of the evening in Westlake!, a couple of red herrings, an unexpected murderer and a wonderful production of A Christmas Carol. show less

I'm an unrepentant fan of this series, but I got about half way through this book and sort of resigned myself to a good read, but not a great read. Admittedly, to my way of thinking Duck the Halls is a pretty hard book to beat in terms of holiday spirit and humour, as well as a solid mystery.

The mystery in this one is, it pains me to admit, weak. The lady doth protest too much, sort of, and it made the culprit feel obvious. But I suspect that if you got Andrews drunk, she might admit that the mystery wasn't the point of this story. The series has always been about the characters, and to a lesser degree, about animals, but How the Finch Stole Christmas is almost all about the animals. The front flap leads a reader to think it's about show more the town's holiday play of A Christmas Carol and the shenanigans of the lead actor, but from the beginning the story really revolves around

an exotic animal smuggling ring, and a puppy mill that Meg stumbles across while tailing her lead actor, trying to figure out where he was getting his booze.

This is where the finches in the title come into play, and at least one of them plays a much larger role towards the end of the book.

So the book was good, but not great. Until the very end. And Andrews' managed to get me in the feels. I'm not sure how, because the scene isn't one I'd normally be moved by, so credit has to go to her writing, I think. No matter the reason, I found myself a little misty eyed as I finished, and once again feeling like she'd given me exactly what I was looking for: a Christmas mystery full of Christmas spirit.

By the way, this book works PERFECTLY for the Bodhi day square: Book themes for Bodhi Day: Read a book which involves animal rescue. show less

The town is putting on a performance of A Christmas Carol and they have hired a slightly over-the-hill actor, Malcolm Haver to play the lead. The problem is that Haver drinks too much is belligerent, and isn't always there for rehearsals. No one in town will sell him booze, but he is getting it somewhere. One night Meg Lagslow follows him out into the county and finds his "bootlegger" and plenty more besides that. It turns out the guy is running a puppy mill, is selling some of the illegal Gouldian Finches that her grandfather's friend from Fish and Wildlife is working on a sting to shut down, a Tiger, and an assortment of other wild animals. She takes pictures and looks in the window of the house and sees a little old lady in a show more wheelchair with a million cats too.

Meg takes this information to Chief Burke as well as to her grandfather. They plan a dawn raid. Meanwhile, Ekaterina, who came from Russia and runs the Caerphilly Inn, is keeping a close eye on Haver and what is in his room such as alcohol, and his movements within his room. That night Haver doesn't come home and his agent doesn't come back til late. Haver shows up passed out at another Inn so he sort of has an alibi for the murder of his bootlegger whom they find the next morning when they do the raid on his house. His neighbor, though, who hated him for harming his sheep with his dogs is missing. And it's possible the people he was selling the animals to might have killed him.

Meanwhile, the play must go on and it's not looking good for Haver because Meg found a gun in his dressing room that matches the type of bullets that killed the bootlegger. Michael may have to go on in Haver's place and quite frankly with all the absences Haver's has Michael's been filling in any way so he's prepared. But this is Jamie and Josh's, Meg and Michael's kids first play. Will it be ruined? This delightful mystery is perfect for the holidays. There's not much of a murder to solve, but you don't really care because the book is so much fun. Meg and the gang really deliver. I give this book four out of five stars.

Quotes

I am becoming somewhat anxious. He comes from Los Angeles, you know, California. They do not have snow in California. I suspect he knows even less about driving in the snow than Virginians do.

-Donna Andrews (The Finch That Stole Christmas! p 89) show less