Lark! The Herald Angels Sing

What a charming and delightful Christmas mystery with all the banter and wit we Meg Langslow fans have come to enjoy.

They're coming down to the wire. There's just 3 more rehearsals to go before Christmas Pageant showtime at Caerphilly's Trinity Episcopal Church. Our beloved protagonist and friendly blacksmith, Meg Langslow, is the director of this year's production and cannot wait until it's all over. But what's this? There's a live baby in the manger which isn't supposed to be there for this rehearsal. What? There are two babies? Who belongs to this one? The scathing note attached to the child points a finger at Meg's brother as the child's father just as he was about to propose to his long-standing girlfriend. Things go from bad to show more worse and the girlfriend storms out of the church and the brother is suddenly looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

With foster parents in short supply, Meg and Michael are tapped for the job just as 30+ relatives descend upon their home for the holidays. As the DNA tests attempt to disprove Rob's paternity, Meg is working every connection she's got to try and find the child's parent(s).

Meanwhile, there's a murder (off scene), hooch running and weed growing in a nearby county where the local sheriff has pinned the murder on an unsuspecting patsy just to silence him. There's so much corruption that the good guys are just up against it. The local women's shelter even gets a fair amount of exposure in this story (where you would as soon keep the place anonymous).

Leave it Meg to come up with a plan.

I so enjoyed this 24th book in the Meg Langslow series and cannot wait for the next adventure of Meg and her quirky, yet wonderful family. show less

What can I say - I love this series because it features a strong woman MC, with strong supporting characters, solid family relationships and tons of humor. The Christmas ones have become an annual tradition (no pressure Ms. Andrews) I look forward to every year, and I always save them to read in the day or two before Christmas.

This year's involved a baby in a manger, a paternity allegation, and some dark dealings in a neighbouring county that lead to some very dangerous events in the lead up to Christmas. The mystery was pretty much over by midway, and the rest of the book was more rescue mission with shades of three stooges.

The finale was ... the very best kind of holiday wishful thinking. This was definitely Andrews taking the show more opportunity to create the kind of reality she'd like to see and I loved it; it was outrageous and wonderful. Not my favorite of her Christmas books, Duck the Halls still holds that place of honour, but an excellent, festive read nonetheless. show less

It's Christmas time in Caerphilly and Meg Langslow is in charge of the children's Christmas pageant at Trinity Church. In all of the excitement they don't at first realize that the baby in the manger isn't Pastor Robyn's child Noah, but a baby girl, Lark, with a note attached to her claiming to be the child of Rob Langslow, Meg's brother and that the mother just couldn't take care of the child anymore. Meg calls Chief Burke in order to get to the bottom of this.

The problem is that Rob's fiery-tempered red-haired girlfriend Delaney, whom he has been trying to figure out a way to propose to does not take this news well at all. Because even if the DNA test comes back negative it doesn't mean that he wasn't sleeping with the woman at the show more same time he was starting to date her. Meg gets the idea from grandfather and his talk of cuckoo birds that the mother might hang around and see that her daughter is safe before leaving. So the Shifleys set up a guard around her house and sure enough, they find her.

It turns out that she is Janet Caverly whose husband is being falsely accused in Clay County, the Hatfield to Caerphilly's McCoys, of killing a Plunket or a Dingle one of the families in Clay County. One of the Sherriff's men actually did it and put the blame on her husband Mark. He either won't survive to the trial or he'll get railroaded into a long jail sentence since both the Sheriff, the mayor, and the judge is all Dingles. Mark was there as an accountant and uncovered misuse of funds as well as the sale of moonshine and marijuana. He had a contact in the government but it appears that that contact was crooked because now he and his family are on the run separately.

But now they have had word that the Dingles have captured Mark so the Shifleys have gone in to try to rescue him. On their own, grandfather, Meg's dad, her brother, Clarence the vet, and members of Blake's brigade, the animal rescue unit of her grandfather have decided to go in and attempt a rescue of Mark themselves. Meg calls Janet's friend Rachel who lives and works in Clayville and finds out from her that both groups have been arrested. Now it's up to the women to do what they can to get the men out of the jam they have gotten themselves in. They plan on bringing Christmas to Clayville. Normally when a mystery series book doesn't have a mystery to solve it ticks me off. But this book was just so funny and perfect for Christmas. One of my favorite new characters from the series Ekaterina is in it using her spy equipment and know how. You really wonder where the story is going to go about halfway through because it doesn't seem to have a direction without a mystery or a body to follow. But Andrews quickly fixes that in a hilarious way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely read it again next Christmas. I give this book the highest I can give it: five out of five stars. show less

I do love Meg and her town at Christmas.

Read June 2020 and again November 2023-another wonderful small town Christmas story.

Away in a manger, asleep on the hay, Meg Langslow finds a little gift.

For four previous Christmases, New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews has delighted readers with holiday mysteries, full of Christmas cheer and starring her quirky characters. Now she gives us another hilarious new adventure in her award-winning Meg Langslow series with Lark! The Herald Angels Sing.

It’s Christmastime in Caerphilly and Meg, full of holiday spirit, is helping out with the town's festivities. While directing a nativity pageant and herding the children participating in it, she finds a surprise in the manger: a live baby.

A show more note from the mother, attached to the baby girl’s clothes, says that it’s time for her father to take care of her―and implicates Meg’s brother, Rob, as the father. And while a DNA test can reveal whether there's any truth to the accusation, Rob's afraid the mere suspicion could derail his plan to propose to the woman he loves. Meg quickly realizes it's up to her to find the baby's real identity.

She soon discovers that the baby―named Lark according to the fateful note―may be connected to something much bigger. Something that eventually puts a growing number of Meg’s friends and family in danger. And before long, Meg realizes she can’t fix things single-handedly. Meanwhile, a war is brewing between Caerphilly and its arch-rival Clay County―and it's not a snowball fight. Can Meg bring everyone together in time for the holidays? show less

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews is a 2018 Minotaur Books publication.

Meg is stunned to discover the baby Jesus in the church’s nativity play is not Robyn’s baby, but someone else’s. According to the note attached the baby could be her brother Rob’s baby! As Meg goes on the hunt to find the baby’s mother, a web of intrigue will force Meg to gather reinforcement from the women in Caerphilly…

It’s been a long while since I last touched base with Meg and the gang. I thought since this was a Christmas themed installment, I might pull it out for a ‘Christmas in July’ thing- but I knew I needed to get back into the series ASAP because I still have a mountain of installment to read through to get caught up.

The show more holiday books are always special, and this one was no exception. It was a fun and hilarious romp through the snow with Meg and all our favorite Caerphilly characters. The last quarter of the book was so hysterical, I had to put the book down for a minute to gather myself. I was reminded of how fun this series has been and that I need to touch base a bit more often!

4 + stars show less

The mystery in this installment is a little light, but it still provides fun and entertains. Meg is conducting the town's Christmas pageant. Then they find a baby in a manger that isn't the one they expected. No one recognizes the baby, but they want to locate the baby's parents. Something left with the baby makes them think her name is Lark. Of course, it turns out the birth mother is trying to flee neighboring Clay County where the corrupt law enforcement officials nabbed her husband. They shelter the mother in the women's shelter until it's no longer safe to do so. It's worth sticking this one out just because of the fun antics right before the situation is resolved.

The 24th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series begins with rehearsals for the children's Christmas pageant and the discovery of a live baby in the manger. The baby has a note attached indicating the Meg's brother Rob is the father.

Rob is trying to find just the right way to propose to his girlfriend Delaney and this discovery which is false has ignited Delaney's temper. Between trying to soothe Delaney's wounded feeling and discover the identity of the baby, Meg has her hands full.

The found baby who they call Lark because of a note attached to her blanket is the key to crimes going on in nearby Clay County. Solving a crime, reuniting the family, getting Rob and Delaney back together will call on all of Meg's ingenuity and the help of show more many of the colorful characters who live in Caerphilly.

This was another fast-paced and funny mystery ably narrated by Bernadette Dunne. show less