Series
Publication
Dreamscape Media, LLC (2019)
Original publication date
2019-10-15
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Description
"New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written "firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie's Christmas books" (Toronto Globe and Mail). The 26th book and the sixth Christmas mystery in the Meg Lansglow series, Owl Be Home for Christmas is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews. It's a few days before Christmas, and Meg's grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. Most of the family are there, helping out in one capacity or another, including Meg's grandmother, Cordelia--invited by Grandfather in rare gesture of peace-making, to share her expertise on rehabilitating large birds, including owls. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered. Even if Caerphilly is able to clear the roads in time, Chief Burke doesn't want the various suspects to scatter to half a dozen continents before he identifies the killer, so there's a very real possibility that none of them will make it home for Christmas . . . at least not unless Meg comes to the rescue. Full of intrigue and snow, this Christmas mystery will take readers home to Caerphilly for Christmas"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jetangen4571
puntastic, situational-humor, verbal-humor, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, murder-investigation, blizzards *****
Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things!
It's nearing Hanukkah and Christmas and India holidays, plus Japanese and vegetarian interests
Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! !
Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things!
It's nearing Hanukkah and Christmas and India holidays, plus Japanese and vegetarian interests
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when everyone wants to be with their friends and family in their own homes in the US, Australia, Japan, and elsewhere. But instead they are stuck in a five star resort in Caerphilly, Virginia snowed in by an unexpected pair of blizzards while attending a scientific conference, Owl Fest, for ornithologists and others chaired by Grandfather Montgomery Blake, the acclaimed zoologist. It's a good thing that Cousin Horace is there with the Langslow family since he is a Crime Scene Tech and the only law enforcement on scene because the landlines and cell phones are out and there are only two satellite phones. Of course Dr Langslow is there, and that's a good thing because he's also the county's Medical Examiner and the death is not a simple one (and not just because 200 of the guests are suspects).Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! !
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LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Another delightful mystery in the long-running Meg Langslow series. It is December, and Meg is assisting her grandfather at his Owl Fest ornithological conference, which is currently snowbound at the local Inn. Fortunately she has other family backing her up, since the blizzard may not stop by
The usual wacky characters, fun situations, and family fun, plus a beautiful late-book twist. Fans will not be disappointed, and newcomers to the series can dive right in. Recommended.
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Christmas. When the most-annoying conference attendee keels over at the big banquet, Meg is pressed into service to help investigate whether or not it is a murder and, if so, who did it.The usual wacky characters, fun situations, and family fun, plus a beautiful late-book twist. Fans will not be disappointed, and newcomers to the series can dive right in. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member tottman
Meg Langslow is coordinating her grandfather's Owl Fest, a scientific conference on owls being held at the Caerphilly Inn. This is the setting for Donna Andrews’ latest Christmas-themed mystery Owl be Home for Christmas.
A historic snowstorm is covering the entire East Coast and trapping all the
The good news is all the suspects are pretty much stuck in one place. The bad news is that figuring out who had the motive, means and opportunity to off the victim is no easy task. But if Meg has anything to say about it she'll have the crime solved and everybody home in time for Christmas.
The snowstorm is a useful tool in limiting the locale to the hotel, much like the shipboard setting in Andrews’ last novel served. There are plenty of Meg's large and useful family around to help out with both running the conference and assisting in the investigation. This book also gives plenty of time to one of my favorite Andrews’ characters, Ekaterina Vorobyaninova. She manages to be both an imposing and charming character. The visiting ornithologists also provide plenty of fodder with their eccentric and infuriating behavior, which shouldn't be that surprising to find at an owl conference.
Andrews does a great job of showing Meg keeping the conference on schedule while also getting to the bottom of a thorny murder. She manages to do it with her typical humor, charm, and tenacity. Reading a Donna Andrews mystery has become a holiday tradition and nobody manages the cozy mystery better. Filled with action, humor and lovable characters, Owl be Home for Christmas is the perfect gift for any mystery lover and a great way to curl up and spend an enjoyable few hours. Highly recommended.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
A historic snowstorm is covering the entire East Coast and trapping all the
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conference attendees, along with a handful of other guests staying at the Caerphilly Inn, for the duration. The conference continues on as planned until one of the attendees collapses and dies. With the chief of police trapped by the storm, it is up to Meg and her crime-scene-technician-cousin Horace to lead the investigation. The problem is that the victim was almost universally disliked by his fellow ornithologist as well as the hotel staff and pretty much anyone who met him.The good news is all the suspects are pretty much stuck in one place. The bad news is that figuring out who had the motive, means and opportunity to off the victim is no easy task. But if Meg has anything to say about it she'll have the crime solved and everybody home in time for Christmas.
The snowstorm is a useful tool in limiting the locale to the hotel, much like the shipboard setting in Andrews’ last novel served. There are plenty of Meg's large and useful family around to help out with both running the conference and assisting in the investigation. This book also gives plenty of time to one of my favorite Andrews’ characters, Ekaterina Vorobyaninova. She manages to be both an imposing and charming character. The visiting ornithologists also provide plenty of fodder with their eccentric and infuriating behavior, which shouldn't be that surprising to find at an owl conference.
Andrews does a great job of showing Meg keeping the conference on schedule while also getting to the bottom of a thorny murder. She manages to do it with her typical humor, charm, and tenacity. Reading a Donna Andrews mystery has become a holiday tradition and nobody manages the cozy mystery better. Filled with action, humor and lovable characters, Owl be Home for Christmas is the perfect gift for any mystery lover and a great way to curl up and spend an enjoyable few hours. Highly recommended.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
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LibraryThing member nicolewbrown
In this latest Meg Langslow mystery its Christmas time and the family is snowed in at the Inn where Meg is managing the Owl Conference her grandfather is hosting. With everyone snowbound and unable to leave the Inn, tensions are running high and people are arguing more than usual, especially over
The worst of the bunch is Dr. Frogmore who comes from a college in Oregan that finds a way to not accept women or minorities. Its faculty is nearly all-white males and Grandfather can't stand Dr. Frogmore and would have seen if he could have found a way to keep him from the conference if he could have. He and his long-suffering flunky Dr. Czerny.
At the fancy dinner one night, Frogmore complains loudly while the speaker is speaking. Meg is close to doing something about him when suddenly he falls over dead. Everyone is in shock for a few minutes until it sets in. But the only one upset about his death is Dr. Czerny. Who will hire him now? His life is over.
Meg comes up with some suspects for the police. Dr. Green who argued with him and was on the side of the spotted owls. Dr. Lindquist who was on the same side as Dr. Frogmore but Frogmore he believed was taking money from the lumber industry to sabotage the debate and create chaos. Dr. Crane whose career Frogmore torpedoed so she couldn't work at his college. Melissa McKendrick who was kept from going to Frogmore's college by him because she was a woman and African American. Also, the three students who sat at his table because there was nowhere else to sit. And there's also Dr. Czerny for whatever reason he might have.
Luckily Meg's cousin Horace who is a deputy who does the forensics for the sheriff's department got stranded at the hotel and is able to work the case. The sheriff is at the baptist church and will be over by snowmobile the next day to take over. Meanwhile, he is conducting interviews via satellite phone. The suspects look pretty guilty as no one liked Frogmore and they each had extra motives to kill him, but you don't want them to be guilty as you really like them.
This was a fabulous book as only Andrews can deliver. But this book was better than her usual books in that the characters were truly likable and the murder victim was truly despicable. True to form she throws you off the scent in more than one way and leaves you complacent when Boom! the action really starts up. I love Andrews's books and her Christmas books are always a special treat. This one was a real delight to read and I give it five out of five stars.
Quotes
He sighed heavily. For any other scientist at the conference, I might have relented and run the copies. Not for a man I’d overheard agreeing to enthusiastically when, right in the middle of a presentation by one of the female scientists, Dr. Frogmore had said, very audibly, “But what can you expect? Women have no head for statistics.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 13-14)
“But he’s nota misogynist—just an all=purpose misanthrope.” “About the only thing, he’s prejudiced against is stupidity.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 43)
She enjoyed explaining things to people—especially explaining technical things to men.
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 140)
He looked annoyed, but then he always did. It occurred to me that “resting owl face” would make a nice gender-neutral replacement for “resting bitch face.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 213)
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the debate between the barred owl and the spotted owl and how the barred owl was taking over the spotted owl's territory and the spotted owl was endangered. This is just one of the many fevered arguments taking place at the conference. Meg is forced to referee and separate people and deal with people who have guns.The worst of the bunch is Dr. Frogmore who comes from a college in Oregan that finds a way to not accept women or minorities. Its faculty is nearly all-white males and Grandfather can't stand Dr. Frogmore and would have seen if he could have found a way to keep him from the conference if he could have. He and his long-suffering flunky Dr. Czerny.
At the fancy dinner one night, Frogmore complains loudly while the speaker is speaking. Meg is close to doing something about him when suddenly he falls over dead. Everyone is in shock for a few minutes until it sets in. But the only one upset about his death is Dr. Czerny. Who will hire him now? His life is over.
Meg comes up with some suspects for the police. Dr. Green who argued with him and was on the side of the spotted owls. Dr. Lindquist who was on the same side as Dr. Frogmore but Frogmore he believed was taking money from the lumber industry to sabotage the debate and create chaos. Dr. Crane whose career Frogmore torpedoed so she couldn't work at his college. Melissa McKendrick who was kept from going to Frogmore's college by him because she was a woman and African American. Also, the three students who sat at his table because there was nowhere else to sit. And there's also Dr. Czerny for whatever reason he might have.
Luckily Meg's cousin Horace who is a deputy who does the forensics for the sheriff's department got stranded at the hotel and is able to work the case. The sheriff is at the baptist church and will be over by snowmobile the next day to take over. Meanwhile, he is conducting interviews via satellite phone. The suspects look pretty guilty as no one liked Frogmore and they each had extra motives to kill him, but you don't want them to be guilty as you really like them.
This was a fabulous book as only Andrews can deliver. But this book was better than her usual books in that the characters were truly likable and the murder victim was truly despicable. True to form she throws you off the scent in more than one way and leaves you complacent when Boom! the action really starts up. I love Andrews's books and her Christmas books are always a special treat. This one was a real delight to read and I give it five out of five stars.
Quotes
He sighed heavily. For any other scientist at the conference, I might have relented and run the copies. Not for a man I’d overheard agreeing to enthusiastically when, right in the middle of a presentation by one of the female scientists, Dr. Frogmore had said, very audibly, “But what can you expect? Women have no head for statistics.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 13-14)
“But he’s nota misogynist—just an all=purpose misanthrope.” “About the only thing, he’s prejudiced against is stupidity.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 43)
She enjoyed explaining things to people—especially explaining technical things to men.
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 140)
He looked annoyed, but then he always did. It occurred to me that “resting owl face” would make a nice gender-neutral replacement for “resting bitch face.”
-Donna Andrews (Owl Be Home For Christmas p 213)
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LibraryThing member KateBaxter
Donna Andrews has done it again! This Christmas, Meg's entire family, just about, is in on all the "fun". I don't know how Donna does it; bringing her readers fresh new material 26 books into the series yet somehow she does it beautifully with amusement and witty dialogue.
Meg's grandfather is
Now that Meg's twin boys are getting older, it's fun to see them taking even more active roles in the story. They're clever much like their parents and are active boys - through and through. If light, humorous and cozy mysteries appeal, then this series may be a perfect choice for you.
Synopsis (from publisher's website):
New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written "firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie's Christmas books" (Toronto Globe and Mail).
The 26th book and the sixth Christmas mystery in the Meg Lansglow series, Owl Be Home for Christmas is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews.
It's a few days before Christmas, and Meg's grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. Most of the family are there, helping out in one capacity or another, including Meg's grandmother, Cordelia--invited by Grandfather in rare gesture of peace-making, to share her expertise on rehabilitating large birds, including owls. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered. Even if Caerphilly is able to clear the roads in time, Chief Burke doesn't want the various suspects to scatter to half a dozen continents before he identifies the killer, so there's a very real possibility that none of them will make it home for Christmas . . . at least not unless Meg comes to the rescue.
Full of intrigue and snow, this Christmas mystery will take readers home to Caerphilly for Christmas.
Meg's grandfather is
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hosting the annual "Owl Fest" at the elegant Caerphilly Inn and Meg is on administrative duty as Dr. Blake's regular assistant has gone off to warmer lands to celebrate the holidays leaving the boss in the lurch . Avid ornithologists from around the globe have descended on the quiet community of Caerphilly and a huge storm has stranded them there for a while. There's just a few more days 'til Christmas and it's questionable whether they'll all make it home for the festivities. All the scientists appear to know one another, yet not all are loved. Sure enough mayhem ensues and there's a dramatic death scene. Meg's dad is conveniently already there for the conference and he also happens to be the local area medical examiner. So the investigation gets underway and Meg is again right in the midst of all the action. Now that Meg's twin boys are getting older, it's fun to see them taking even more active roles in the story. They're clever much like their parents and are active boys - through and through. If light, humorous and cozy mysteries appeal, then this series may be a perfect choice for you.
Synopsis (from publisher's website):
New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written "firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie's Christmas books" (Toronto Globe and Mail).
The 26th book and the sixth Christmas mystery in the Meg Lansglow series, Owl Be Home for Christmas is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews.
It's a few days before Christmas, and Meg's grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. Most of the family are there, helping out in one capacity or another, including Meg's grandmother, Cordelia--invited by Grandfather in rare gesture of peace-making, to share her expertise on rehabilitating large birds, including owls. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered. Even if Caerphilly is able to clear the roads in time, Chief Burke doesn't want the various suspects to scatter to half a dozen continents before he identifies the killer, so there's a very real possibility that none of them will make it home for Christmas . . . at least not unless Meg comes to the rescue.
Full of intrigue and snow, this Christmas mystery will take readers home to Caerphilly for Christmas.
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LibraryThing member Maydacat
Meg and much of her family are helping her grandfather host a convention about owls, with many learned experts attending. Where there are strong opinions, there is bound to be much disagreement. Add in a snow storm of epic proportions, and you have set the scene for murder. When one of the
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attendees suddenly dies, it is not a matter of who hated him enough to kill him, but who didn’t! This twisty mystery leads readers on a merry romp as Meg and her snow-bound family decipher clues to track down the killer even while providing a pleasant stay for the guests. An intricate plot and delightful characters are combined with great writing to make an enjoyable Christmas tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
Meg helped her grandfather plan his owl convention just before Christmas. A snowstorm threatens to keep the entire convention snowbound over the holidays, and then a well-known but not well-liked owl expert dies under suspicious circumstances during the banquet. Fortunately Meg's father, the
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medical examiner, witnesses the incident, and a deputy is staying at the inn because his vehicle got stuck. Suspects abound. Even Meg's own grandfather possessed a motive. It's a fun Christmas mystery. In the story set in 2019, they propose holding another conference in 2020 a little earlier in the season--perhaps in September or October, but definitely before Thanksgiving. Obviously the author had no clue of what things would be like in 2020. I wonder how they enjoyed their Zoom conference? Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
This was the only Christmas story I read this year, and I started it just as everything started going pear shaped in RL, so it took me forever to read it. I know this is a 'me' problem, but the longer it takes me to finish a book, the more scattered the story feels to me, so this entry by one of my
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favorite current authors got short shrift from me this year. Still, it was good; the mystery was well constructed and the holiday spirit was high. The Christmas dinner almost made me misty eyed and made me love Donna Andrews as an author just a little bit more than I already did. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Other editions
Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews (Hardcover)