A Double Dose of Donna Andrews!

 

Meg Langslow is usually reluctant to be dragged into a mystery, but when nephew Kevin asks her to help find out who may have tried to run down his podcast partner, she jumps at the chance in Round Up The Usual Peacocks. Helping Kevin gives her the chance to get out from under her mother's endless errands preparing for brother Rob's marriage to Delaney, which happens to be taking place at Meg's house. 

Kevin and his partner have started a true crime podcast and it appears that one of their episodes may have riled up someone enough to come after them. Meg starts looking into a few of the likeliest episodes that might be responsible including a 26-year-old cheating scandal at Caerphilly College and a singer who disappeared several years ago. 

Meg can't entirely escape wedding errands, but when she and Michael's peacocks molt she uses a trip to pick up some more full feathered peacocks as an excuse to do some sleuthing. Michael gives her some Caerphilly college contacts to start asking questions as well. 

Andrews always manages to highlight different family members and townspeople in her stories and they are all delightful. This time we get to know Kevin a little better. The usual cast and crew turn up for their by turns helpful and exasperating assistance. Meg manages to goad a perpetrator into a mistake and put her life in danger once again before ultimately saving the day and making sure the wedding goes off without a hitch!

Dashing Through the Snowbirds finds Meg's house packed to the brim with visiting Canadians as well as the normal gaggle of relatives just in time for Christmas. The Canadians are in town working with Rob's software company on their forensic genealogy and DNA technology. Their exasperating and unloved boss looks like he's going to make them all spend Christmas away from home. When the boss turns up murdered, there is no shortage of suspects!

Christmas in Caerphilly is a magical place, in spite of the frequent murders. Meg's mother's passion for decorating, the passel of relatives, the mountains of food, and the organized activities really take you to a magical world. 

Watching Meg navigate this all while following clues to track down a murderer is the perfect literary getaway. Her determination to make it a Merry Christmas for friends, relatives, and visitors alike epitomizes the holiday spirit.

This is another clever mystery that lets you enjoy solving the crime as much as soaking up the atmosphere. This is the perfect book to enjoy over a holiday or anytime you just want to escape the world and spend a few hours with a smile on your face.

I was provided these books by the publisher.