Duck the Halls

A Meg Langslow Mystery, Book 16

By: Donna Andrews

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

A few nights before Christmas, Meg is awakened when Michael is summoned to the New Life Baptist Church, where someone has rigged a cage full of skunks in the choir loft. The lengthy process of de-skunking the church requires its annual pre-Christmas concert to relocate to Trinity Episcopal, despite the protests of Mr. Vess, an elderly vestryman.

Meanwhile, when Meg helps her grandfather take the skunks to the zoo, they discover that his boa has been stolen - only to turn up later during the concert slithering out from the ribbon-bedecked evergreens. It's clear that some serious holiday pranksters are on the loose, and Meg is determined to find them. But before she can, a fire breaks out at Trinity, and Mr. Vess is discovered dead.

©2013 Donna Andrews (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Love this series!

I meet Donna Andrews at a book signing for her first book and have collected them all in either book or audible form. I wish the characters and town were real so I could live there.

Christmas pranks gone a little too far

Meg and Michael Langslow are enjoying the Christmas holidays with their over-large family. Michael has become a volunteer fireman for Caerphilly so when a call goes out in the middle of the night, he and Meg’s brother Rob, who still lives with them, must answer. They find that a whole lot of skunks have been delivered to the choir loft at New Life Baptist Church just before the annual Christmas concert and services. Extricating them requires breathing gear, equipment from a moving company, and Meg’s grandfather’s zoo to receive the critters. When they arrive at the zoo, they discover the zoo’s very large boa constrictor is missing. The boa later makes an appearance from the Christmas greenery at Trinity Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, hundreds of ducks had been delivered toTrinity and left overnight causing another mess and uproar.

With all these pranks going on, the churches need help scheduling their services and concerts and rehearsals. In comes Meg and her laptop to find space for the many events, making changes constantly through the next upcoming days. She hears of many complaints about the overly demanding choir director who may not be who he says he is. Plus one of the vestry at Trinity who is constantly pinching pennies has plenty to say about the commotion. When a fire breaks out in the basement where the furniture from a member’s estate is being stored, a body is found, and the pranks have gone too far.

No Christmas tradition is left untouched in this delightful 16th entry in the series. All the usual family members are here and many are referred to from past series entries. Meg and Michael’s twins are now four and cheer their father on during his one-man Christmas show. Michael’s mother arrives with plans for an elaborate Christmas dinner. When Meg’s mother also plans a feast of non-traditional choices, Meg and Michael yearn for a old-fashioned meal with just the two of them and the two boys. With a family this large, is it possible?

It was sure fun visiting Caerphilly at Christmas with snow, llamas, and a unique nativity scene downtown. The irreverent Donna Andrews keeps her series going strong with no sign of fading. Bernadette Dunne does her usual terrific job of narrating this unique Christmas carol and even regales us with song. Recommended with laughter.

Wonderful tale

This book was full of twist and turns, but had a way of drawing you back into Christmas. Loved it

Love this series!

This is the type of series that every single book just makes you feel wonderful! What would Meg do- is my new mantra when a stressful situation comes along. Thank You Donna Andrews!

Fun Murder for Christmas

I adore Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow Christmas mysteries! Lots of holiday love and traditions with a murder thrown in for good measure

First was the skunks in the Baptists' choir loft!

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, christmas

It's all about the characters who truly are!
There's Meg and Mike along with their young twins, their parents, cousins, her brother, Grandfather, and most of the townsfolk, especially the assorted congregations affected by some hijinks. It's not very nice and Meg is called upon to organize some sense into the potential disasters the week before Christmas. And then they find the body.
Another excellent cozy mystery from the work of Donna Andrews!

One of my favorite books by one of my fav authors!

I love Donna Andrews' books! They are so funny and creative in their mysteries! This is one of my favorites, probably because when someone skunks the New Life Baptist Church the night before their big Christmas concert, the entire community pulls together to support each other. All the churches donate space, and the community spirit seen in the latter books available on audio (there's a big gap of books not available on audio) is exemplified in this book.

The plot keeps its humor and has very creative twists. The ending comes as a real surprise. My only complaint is that four year old children are not toddlers and don't talk like them. "G'amma come with us?" is one particular statement. But in the scheme of things, that hardly matters. I've listened to this book at least a dozen times and it never grows old!

I don’t normally like Christmas stories, but

I don’t normally like Christmas stories, but this one was original and quite enjoyable. Donna Andrews had an entirely new concept that she gracefully crafted. If you’re tired of “ho hum” Christmas tales you’ll be sure to enjoy this one.

Duck under Glass?

A 3.5 for me because the ending kind of went flat. Quite a few cute parts and funny characters but I think if I knew them better it would have been a more enjoyable read. Comming in in the middle of a series can be tricky that way. A well rounded story about what starts out as harmless pranks turns into a murder investigation. A small town, family and church oriented Christmas story. Skunks and bunnies and snakes, Oh No! Believable characters and good narration kept it going for me.