Murder mystery that does not disappoint.
Snowed in at a 5 star hotel during an owl convention.
As Meg starts looking into a mystery death, she has many questions going through her head. Is it murder? Is it a heart attack?
Cute bird themed mystery with humor intertwined to help lighten up the story.
Love Donna Andrews books especially the Christmas books.

Another entry in this really fun cozy mystery series, this book finds Meg Lanslow and her family helping run a conference on owls. But there is a lot of in-fighting and backstabbing among the scientist attendees, and with the inn snowed in, everyone is stuck together. When a murder occurs, Meg must help solve the mystery before another crime occurs.

This is just an enjoyable series that always makes me smile. The family characters are all a lot of fun and bring a lot of humor to the story, and the scientist characters in this story were all unique and interesting. The snowed-in atmosphere added a lot of tension, and the ending was a real surprise.

Entertaining and engrossing. It was like spending time with old friends. The mystery was played too close to the author's vest, with not enough clues, but that made it more challenging to figure out.

Donna Andrews titles are always on my must read list and this is number 26 in her Meg Langslow series. It has grown over the years but the central cast of characters and location have pretty much stayed the same. Never boring, Meg's family causes plenty of excitement in her life and Caerphilly, their small home town. Stuck in the family hotel for an Owl conference hosted by her Grandfather meg is counting the minutes until the guests all leave. With a blizzard depositing 20+" of snow that isn't going to be any time soon. When the biggest pain of the conference is found dead, Meg disovers several groups that are happy he's dead. Funny and a good mystery. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Though her name and titles had been on my radar for some time (the titles and covers, especially, are all soooo cool), this was my first shot reading a Meg Langslow mystery by Donna Andrews. Owl Be Home for Christmas is book 26 (whew!) in the series, and the Christmas theme was what drew me in right away. Here we follow Meg as she plays personal assistant to her grandfather, who is hosting a pre-Christmas conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn - Owl Fest - which, unfortunately, is immediately besieged by a blizzard that socks not inches but feet of snow on the proceedings, making checking out impossible and frustrations run high. So much so, when the conference's resident know-it-all, Dr. Frogmore, drops dead during the end-of-conference dinner, nearly any of the other conference attendees could be guilty because the victim - while alive - had managed somehow to tick off every other owl enthusiast in the place. Working with limited resources with the inn snowed in, Meg and her father (another wannabe detective) put their heads together to solve the crime, particularly before the weather lets up and the killer might have a chance to get away. As previously stated, this highly popular cozy mystery series has been on my radar for years, and while I was glad to finally read an entry in it, at the same time I wonder if I should have started from the beginning instead - or at least with an earlier title. Here, the murder just seems to take place quite a ways into the book, even though you can see early on who the victim will be, and then once the murder does occur it's like the novel happens practically in real time; every, and I mean EVERY detail of the investigation laid out like a crime show on A&E Network. Similarly, while I have always found owls fascinating (a trait I inherited from my mother), here it felt like information overload, to where learning about owls seemed to far out shadow the mystery plot. Add to this what felt like characters that have tread this well-worn path too many times, and as mentioned I just wonder if maybe my introduction to this series would have been better off had I started from book one, instead of so far into the series. 3/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

What could be better than a Donna Andrews Meg Langslow book. Of course a Meg Langslow Christmas mystery. If you want a fun mystety and laugh out loud mystery with a slew of exotic pets,, grab this book right now. The characters are fun as always, the mystery is satisfying and the writing is as good as it gets. I can't wait for the next installment

We own all of Donna Andrews' books at our library. Our patrons love her and she's one of our go to authors for Readers' Advisory.

Just as I suspected, Ms. Andrews provided another great story to the Meg Lansglow series. I love the characters and the situations that they find themselves. Her family is just quirky enough to be enjoyable with some 'laugh out loud' moments.

"Watching' the Owl Symposium attendees was quite interesting and although I'm not sure, I'm betting that the descriptions are those are fairly accurate. The twists and turns kept me guessing and kept me reading until really late into the night.

I'm already looking forward to the next one in the series!

If you like owls, you will probably really like this one. The story was okay, but I thought the author overdid it a bit with her insertion of owl history, living conditions, actions, etc. I also have not read any of the other books in the series and would have liked a bit more back story. I understood what was going on okay but had to stop and think a bit about the characters and the way they were acting and talking, as it did not always seem true or clear to me. In this book, Meg is helping her grandfather out during his conference, Owl Fest, a gathering of ornithologists whose specialty involves owls, and anything related to them. A freak storm hits, and they are all stuck in the inn where the conference is being held. Then, one of the attendees is killed—and he just happens to be the most hated humbug of them all! Meg realizes she must try to figure out what happened. As the investigation proceeds, it becomes apparent there are almost too many suspects and not enough “volunteer sleuths” to figure it all out.

The book was interesting, though, as I said, I think the author provided a bit too much owl stuff for my taste. She definitely painted the murder victim as one lousy guy—who even made me want to get rid of his as I read. It was interesting to watch the many characters interact, though, as I also said, a bit more back story on them would have increased my appreciation. The story was well done and moved along, but, after reading this, I am not sure I will go back and read other books in the series, as this one just did not “hit” me all that much. Still, I think the readers who enjoy Meg Langslow and her activities and escapades will probably enjoy this one. The holiday setting was also a plus, being right in that season now. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

If you love crazy families, a yard full of exotic pets, and an intriguing mystery all wrapped up in one book, then this book is made for you.
The author has a way of making the reader laugh and feel included in the story.

Donna Andrews has given us another great read with wit and humor along with murder and mystery. This one kept you wanting to know what was going to happen and who the murderer was. I love that it has some Christmas in it as well.

Meg is helping her grandfather with an owl conference at the Caerphilly Inn. This is a very nice place to have the conference. Everything is going well until there is a snow storm that shuts down everything and makes it to where the conference attendees can't go anywhere. All is going well with everyone being in the Inn until one of the ornithologists comes up murdered.

The police can't get to the Inn to do an investigation and the attendees are still trapped at the Inn with a murdered ornithologists. The police know that they have to get there before the roads become passable because all of their suspects will be all over then.

When there is an attempt on Meg's life, things become real serious for them all. What are they going to do without the police being able to get there? You will have to read this one to find out how it all ends. Such a great read that you will not want to put down.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

Donna Andrews immerses us in an owl conference at an inn snowed in for the duration in Owl Be Home for Christmas. Meg Langslow is there with her boys and family as her grandfather is stick handling the conference of disputatious professors. Then the most dislike professor falls dead at the conference dinner. Whodunit? Lots of suspects. As usual humour and good sleuthing bring a solution. Enjoy.

Owl be Home for Christmas: A Meg Langslow Mystery
By Donna Andrews
Minotaur Books
November 2019

Review by Cynthia Chow

It’s Owl Fest 2019 in Caerphilly, Virginia, and for once Meg Langslow’s home is not the center of her grandfather’s well-intentioned chaos. Instead, J. Montgomery Blake has selected the Caerphilly Inn for the Blake Foundation’s December owl conference of professors, scientists, and many unapproved owls. An uncharacteristic, record-breaking blizzard has knocked out telephones and electricity throughout the town, with roads unsafe even for snowplows. Meg is thankful to have her husband and twin sons trapped with her and relying on the hotel’s generator, but it also means that she and two hundred aggressively opinionated biologists are locked in together for the holiday. While Meg’s massive notebook-that-tells-her-when-to-breathe has her managing presentations and owl-themed-performances, it doesn’t mark out time to deal with the poisoning death of the most detested attendee, Dr. Oliver Frogmore.

Egotistical, sexist, and not a little racist, Dr. Frogmore dominated Meg’s time with his demands for top billing and special treatment. Now he’s going to take up even more of her attention as she must orchestrate the investigation and preserve evidence for the murder of man whom no one has any interest in mourning. Fortunately Meg’s large contingency of relatives are on hand, and conveniently they also happen to be legitimate, official investigators. Her father happens to be the town’s medical examiner, while her Horace is a deputy with forensic experience. It quickly becomes apparent that Dr. Frogmore was poisoned by an embarrassing combination of Viagra and nitroglycerin, and having offended all of the hotel staff along with his contemporaries there are nearly three hundred suspects with the means to have done him in. Only the deceased’s assistant/toadie Dr. Edward Czerny displays any remorse over the death, as owl advocates believed that Frogmore’s extremism was a cover for his being a shill for the lumber industry. Keeping suspects distracted and happy throughout the Christmas confinement is a task eagerly taken on by Meg’s mother, who wastes no time dispersing troops to create nostalgic holiday meals for the Owl Fest attendees.

This 6th of the Christmas-themed Meg Langslow mysteries – and an astounding 26th of the avian-titled series overall – delivers all of the hilarious family shenanigans and creative investigations one expects. Characters have grown and evolved since the debut novel in 1999, with blacksmith Meg becoming the head of her own family that delightfully blends into the massive Langslow contingency. Meg’s grandfather’s advocacy for wildlife – often over humans – introduces readers to a surfeit of avian information concerning their welfare and preservation. What continues to be a standout are the exchanges and witty banter between logical Meg and the well-intentioned but lacking-common-sense scientists, who may not always consider the practicality of their ideas. The pace of mystery ramps up while the laughs never stop, with the author successfully balancing the humor with the locked-room investigation. Wildlife conservation, owl advocacy, academic competition make this a thrilling novel that fully embraces the Christmas holiday spirit.

Last holiday season, I decided to break my usually "set in stone" rule on reading series in order because series rarely start with Christmas themed mysteries. I took a chance and tried The Nightengale before Christmas without having read any of the the other Meg Langslow mysteries. I read Duck the Halls and was hooked! I read a couple more Christmas themed Megs and then started at the beginning of the series. But no way was I going to work my way through the whole series before reading the new holiday themed book. It was the right decision! Owl be home for Christmas hit all the right notes as usual. Humor, warmth, family, action, mystery and a couple of despicable villains rounded out with just the right amount of Christmas cheer.

I always enjoy a good cozy mystery and Holiday books are a weakness so, combining the two is a sure thing in my book ;) Stranded in a blizzard at a hotel conference for ornithologists with the focus on owls when one of the attendees is murdered. Meg and her grandfather work to find the murderer despite their weather limited resources. A fun "hoo" done it to kick off the holiday reading season ")

Oh I love this series! Not only does each new title make me giggle but I love spending time with Meg and her crazy family. This book had the added benefit of having a whole host of even crazier people stuck in a hotel during a snowstorm. It had some serious Agatha Christie vibes but like Agatha Christie had a much quirkier bird fanatic little sister. I had no idea a book involving ornithologists could be so fun and produce such a great mystery.



This was fun and as cozy as the genre can be but the mystery was still solid and it never quite drifted into slapstick. I think what keeps it from being too quirky is that Meg is so amazingly sane and it's easy to sympathize with her as she deals with her family (in a lovingly frustrated way) and the conference goers (much less lovingly).



If you enjoy fun reads with a solid mystery and likable and funny characters this is a must read.

Quick, fun read about murder at an Owl convention! Donna Andrews finds new and funny ways to bring murder and birds together again!

In this 26th book of the series everything has gone to the owls! Let's grandfather is the most of A science conference and the subject is owls. Things are going well with the exception of the weather but even that isn't stopping the group from talking about everything that has to do with owls. When one of the visiting bird experts is murdered and a freak storm traps them in the Inn Meg worries about what will happen next. She knows she.must put her detective hat on and figure out who the killer is because the police aren't able to help out in this situation. As the weather begins to subside and the roads get cleared everyone worries that a murderer will get away. Follow along as Meg asks questions, keeps the conference going, and does her best to come to the rescue. This was a fun holiday mystery that will get you in the mood for Christmas and have you seeing owls!!!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The only thing better than a Meg Langslow cozy is a Christmas-themed Meg Langslow cozy. This one finds Meg, once again, holding everything together in her organized way while chaos reigns around her. She is managing Grandfather's first annual Owl Conference at the Caerphilly Inn (Trevor is on vacation), but it's a few days before Christmas and there's a massive blizzard happening!
As you might expect, there is one exceptionally awful character (well, two actually), and he meets his maker. In a conference of 200 ornithologists who all despise this individual, who is the killer?
Andrews does a good job of introducing new characters (and providing some nice representation that one normally doesn't see in cozies - yay!) while bringing in all the old faves. Mother decorates the Inn (naturally); Horace turns up, slightly frostbitten; Michael & the boys are in residence, digging snow tunnels.
This title doesn't give you any surprises, but it's warm and comfortable: a perfect palate-cleanser from reading whatever high-minded lit your Book Club just made you digest.

Owl Be Home for Christmas is an entertaining cozy mystery. Well written plot and quirky characters. This is a very fun read. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.