The Gift of the Magpie

This was the perfect holiday cozy mystery replete with humor and a fun little poke at the human condition. It's the 28th book in series and shows no sign of slowing down or getting stale. I've been on board with this series since inception and have been an ardent fan ever since.

Our protagonist, Meg Langslow, is heading up the Helping Hands army of neighborly service providers. Harvey the Hoarders hovel is in deep need of attention before the town building inspector condemns the home. Rumor has it that somewhere amidst this mess there is a fortune left by Harvey's grandfather. Can Meg convince Harvey that clearing out his cluttered home is in his best interest, get everything repaired timely so that Harvey may keep his home and manage show more to hold Harvey's vulture cousins at bay? Only time will tell.

Author Donna Andrews is an absolute genius when it comes to writing engaging and humorous cozy mysteries. This particular one is one of her best, in my opinion. It pokes fun at family dynamics - good and bad, provides a bit of philosophic pondering and is laugh out loud hilarious at times. If cozy mysteries are your jam, then this one is for you! show less

It's Christmas in Caerphilly again and that means that Meg Langslow is up to her neck in Christmas-related tasks plus a little mystery in Donna Andrews's new book, The Gift of the Magpie. This year Meg is busy with the Helping Hands for the Holidays project where neighbors help each other with projects they either can't or can't afford to do themselves.

Meg's latest task is helping Harvey the hoarder whose house needs to be decluttered in order for necessary home repairs to be done before the building inspector condemns it. Making the task harder is Harvey's nosy neighbors and a handful of disagreeable cousins who appear to have their eyes on Harvey's things. A murder right in the middle of the project complicates her efforts and sets show more her on the trail of figuring out who might want Harvey dead.

Meg has the assistance as always of her extraordinarily talented and helpful family and the many friends and denizens of Caerphilly. Meg and her recruited volunteers must juggle helping the police sort through endless boxes of records that might give a clue to the motive for the murder, assist with the many remaining helping hands projects, prepare for the Christmas festivities, and negotiate between her grandfather and her cousin Rose Noire over the fate of some escaped magpies. All of this as well as making sure a murderer faces justice.

Donna Andrews has an unparalleled ability to juggle an enormous cast of characters without making the story seem overpopulated or underdeveloped. She also manages to squeeze in tidbits about the banking crisis during the great depression as well as the care and habits of magpies.

The Gift of the Magpie is the perfect tonic for 2020. Caerphilly is a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. The warmth of the characters seeps out of the pages and into your home. This story is perfect to disappear into and forget about the real world for a few hours. It's impossible to read this book without a smile on your face from beginning to end. This book is a perfect gift to give either to someone else or to yourself. show less

I loved this book. I missed out on it during the Christmas season, but it’s cold and rainy here down under, so it was the perfect atmosphere in spite of it being the last day of July.

There’s always something wonderful going on in Caerphilly, even if a lot of people get bumped off. This time it’s a Helping Hands program, started by the towns’ churches’ interfaith committee, to help out people with small (or large) projects, run by volunteers lending their individual expertise. The biggest project of them all is a notorious hoarder who is in danger of having his home condemned and his family having him declared unfit to care for himself. Meg and the mayor get the Helping Hands involved and are helping him deal with all his stuff show more and make repairs to his home when Meg finds him bashed in the head in his garage.

The mystery plot wasn’t one of her best, though Andrews did a great job keeping the reader in a state of reasonable doubt, but the rest of the story was just lovely. Not a word normally associated with mysteries, but it was. Though there was less emphasis on the Christmas spirit in this one, I loved the ending and I loved the surprises. The only thing that I noticed (beyond a couple of minor continuity errors) was that of all her books, this one was probably the one where the titular birds (magpies) had the smallest role. The birds have never been pivotal to the plots, so it’s barely worth mentioning. Have I mentioned how much I loved the ending?

I eagerly await the next two books. show less

good-works, family-dynamics, friendship, situational-humor, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, hoarding, animal-welfare*****

Warning! I liked it so much that I pre-ordered an audio copy!
Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things! Meg Langlow is a craft blacksmith/organizational wizard with a very large, impressive, and quirky family and she is the protagonist. Michael Waterston is her drama professor/former star of a cult sci-fi TV series husband. Dr. Langslow is her father/mystery geek/local Medical Examiner. And a cast of most of the town of Caerphilly, Virginia. It's the Christmas season and in the Good Works department is a community effort to help anyone show more with a need that can be filled with the help of volunteers, whether hauling manure, making a wheelchair ramp, or helping a man who is overcome by clutter. That last one is the man who needs Meg's persuasion to accept help and find creative answers to the fears he has. Add in some truly awful neighbors and some even worse cousins, and you can guess why Meg finds him nearly dead of blunt force trauma in his garage. Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Meg Langslow is running the Helping Hands for the Holidays program this Christmas season. Her biggest project is for Harvey the Hoarder who has a house and yard filled with clutter. His neighbors and relatives are threatening to sic Adult Protective Services on him.

Having convinced Harvey to let them move everything to a closed furniture store so that other workers can do needed repairs on his house and let them have room to spread out his belongings to make it easier to sort them, the packing and moving begins. There are boxes and boxes of papers that range in importance from expired coupons to wills.

Harvey goes home to spend the night after a day of sorting only to be attacked in his garage and left for dead. In fact, Doctor show more Langslow and the Chief of Police do announce that Harvey is dead. There are lots of suspects including his avaricious second cousins and the neighbors who have been keeping a very close eye on his house. But before Meg can figure out who wanted Harvey dead, she has to figure out why this shy, reclusive man would be anyone's target.

This was another engaging episode in the long-running Meg Langslow mystery series. I enjoy the combination of mystery and humor in the series. show less

Meg Langslow is running the Helping Hands for the Holidays program this Christmas season. Her biggest project is for Harvey the Hoarder who has a house and yard filled with clutter. His neighbors and relatives are threatening to sic Adult Protective Services on him.

Having convinced Harvey to let them move everything to a closed furniture store so that other workers can do needed repairs on his house and let them have room to spread out his belongings to make it easier to sort them, the packing and moving begins. There are boxes and boxes of papers that range in importance from expired coupons to wills.

Harvey goes home to spend the night after a day of sorting only to be attacked in his garage and left for dead. In fact, Doctor show more Langslow and the Chief of Police do announce that Harvey is dead. There are lots of suspects including his avaricious second cousins and the neighbors who have been keeping a very close eye on his house. But before Meg can figure out who wanted Harvey dead, she has to figure out why this shy, reclusive man would be anyone's target.

This was another engaging episode in the long-running Meg Langslow mystery series. I enjoy the combination of mystery and humor in the series. show less

It's Christmas in Caerphilly Virgina and Meg is up to her ears in family descending for the holidays and coordinating the Helping Hands for the Holidays project, where neighbors help their neighbors with projects.
Although the volunteers have several projects going, cleaning out the house of Harvey the Hoarder is the primary focus. (I love the idea of moving all of Harvey's things to an empty building rearranged by the volunteers by category & giving him the key so he can visit his things any time). There are Meg's father's Magpies involved, bringing bits of sparkly decor and jewelry to Meg's place, where she's raising llamas.
But then Harvey is murdered and there's quite a number of suspects that could have done it - but why? Can Meg show more and the sheriff (and the townspeople) solve the mystery before Christmas? show less