Once again, Donna Andrews has written a book that I never wanted to end. I love the people in the book, I love the way they manage to stay on the good side of the "interesting characters/unbelievable creatures". The stories are always interesting and really funny. They are also a good chance to learn a lot about a subject that you probably haven't researched before.

When a snow storm traps Meg and all those she holds dear, a group of rowdy ornithologists studying owls and a murderer - in a luxury inn - chaos, comedy and murder reign! Days before Christmas Eve finds Meg and her family helping her Grandfather conduct a scientific convention on owl habitats and rehabilitation. However, when a snarky professor is murdered, there are too many suspects and almost not enough Lanslow's and extended family to help!

I always enjoy a Meg Lanslow mystery because the mystery keeps you guessing, humor, family and wonderfully written descriptions of the settiing of the story. All the characters I enjoy played a role in the story - Rose Noire, Horace, Chief Burke, Meg's mother, father, grandfather and Spike!

Grab a hot drink, warm blanket and enjoy the latest Lanslow family Christmas mystery!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of this book.

OWL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is the twenty-sixth book in the “Meg Langslow” cozy mystery series by Donna Andrews. Even though this book is part of a series, I think new readers can still enjoy OWL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. The “Meg Langslow” mysteries, and this story in particular, are reminiscent of the classic films of Preston Sturges. There is a delicious absurdity to this story that makes it such fun to read. Meg Lansglow and her various family members just happen to be snowed in at the Caerphilly Inn at the same time a group of ornithologists are there for Owl Fest 2019. Hilarity ensues. As usual, Meg is working as chief wrangler – this time in the capacity as assistant to her grandfather at this conference and wrangling the fascinating, oddball, and occasionally ornery ornithologists. When Dr. Oliver Frogmore is murdered, the ridiculousness is kicked up another notch and the suspects are plentiful.

Dr. Frogmore is loud, obnoxious, sexist, and generally a big ball of unpleasantness. As the story progresses, it’s obvious that it’s only a matter of time before somebody kills him. It doesn’t help that everybody is stuck in close quarters at the inn due to the weather. When death does hit the conference, Meg does have help in the form of her father who is the local medical examiner, and her cousin Horace who is a policeman. The supporting characters in OWL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS are terrific and a hoot – even the baddies. Meg is a likable amateur sleuth and Donna Andrews balances the humor with the mystery solving.

OWL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a mix of cozy Christmas fun and murder mystery craziness. Having so many suspects makes the mystery more enjoyable since it’s harder to figure out who did it. I look forward to reading the next installment in this entertaining “Meg Langslow” series by Donna Andrews.

"Owl Be Home for Christmas" is the 26th book in the popular Meg Langslow mystery series, although it was the first one that I have read, and it easily read as a stand alone book. Meg is helping her grandfather run Owlfest 2019, an annual convention about owls attended by a bunch of ornithologists, at the local Caerphilly Inn just days before Christmas, and coincidentally during an unusally big snowstorm that has hit the area, snowing everyone there in. During the keynote speech and dinner, one of the ornithologists, Dr. Frogmore, dies just after standing up to protest the man chosen as keynote speaker. It soon becomes apparent that Dr. Frogmore's death is not due to natural causes, and because he was such an unpleasant man who many despised, there are an unusally large number of suspects. Meg, along with her cousin Horace, the local crime scene tech, and her father, a doctor who also happens to be the county coroner, work to discover just who was responsible for poisoning Dr. Frogmore while everyone is still snowed in, and before conditions are cleared enough for them to leave the inn.

Besides the mystery aspect, the book was quite humorous (who knew ornithologists could be such a rowdy group?), with many owl-related puns thrown in for good measure. As a bonus, I got to learn a few tidbits about owls here and there throughout the story. It was a cute, quick read, and I'd definitely be interested in reading the rest of the series, with each book being themed around different birds.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Minotaur Books, as well as NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Donna Andrews has delivered another excellent mystery. It is the usual cast of characters: Grandfather, Dad, her mother, Rose Noire, Michael and the twins. This time it is a snow-bound conference on owls. Grandfather's assistant is on Christmas vacation, so Meg is in charge of the Owl Conference. From Christmas carols to a snow storm, there is a long list of suspects who would have loved to kill one of the professors. Usually you have a only a few people with motive, but this time there was a long list suspects.
This is well written and well researched. I learned a lot about owls. I have always like Donna Andrews' mysteries, and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend this new mystery by Donna Andrews.

This was a fun Meg story set at Christmas. As the cast members were confined to the inn, there weren't many interactions with Meg's extended family and the towns people which always add a layer of fun to these for me. The mystery was great - my pick was half right which meant there were some twists I didn't see coming, which I always enjoy. And I enjoyed how the author changed things up with how the police would investigate a case in a blizzard like this. Her solution was clever.

A new Meg Langslow book is always a treat. Donna Andrews always entertains with her quirky family dynamics and wonderful characters.

Meg is not expecting to have to deal with a death at her grandfather's conference on owls but... well. She does encounter them more than the average person. This time, she's in the middle of a virtual locked room mystery since Virginia is being hit by a massive snow storm, one that was unexpected but explained in the book in a nice touch. Of course, the murdered man was the nastiest of the lot, Professor Frogmore. A man who was not only rude, he was also a racist mysoginist. So, lots of people were ready to celebrate his death.
I like that Andrews does time jumps between many of the books and makes an effort to not have the "Murder She Wrote" syndrome of why-would-people-live-there? Some of the characters were a little caricature-is but this book once again knocks it out of the park.

Four stars
This book came out October 15th
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

This series is always a fun series to read. I have started listening to them on audio as well. The characters can be quirky (in a good way). Meg, Michael and the boys have a good relationship. I also like how Meg has developed a working relationship with law enforcement. They mysteries always keep me guessing and I'm always disappointed when I reach the end of the books (because I've reached the end).!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meg is helping her Grandfather run Owl Fest 2019 at the Caerphilly Inn at Christmas. When its 200 ornithologist guests are stranded by a snowstorm, one of the most cantankerous and least-loved professors is killed. Time for Meg to step in, with help of her extensive family, to solve the mystery in Owl Be Home for Christmas, the twenty-sixth entry in the Meg Langslow cozy mystery series.

I absolutely love this series. While this entry doesn’t involve the nuclear family dynamic as much as earlier entries, I still love returning to visit Meg’s crazy extended family. The new characters from ornithology were interesting. Each had a real personality and fit well into Meg’s humorous world. The mystery was solid and I enjoyed the twist at the end. Overall, Owl Be Home for Christmas is one of my personal favorites. 5 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the "26th" book and the sixth Christmas mystery in the Meg Lansglow series by author Donna Andrews. This series is a favorite of mine and I have read most of the series. This is a cozy mystery series I highly recommend for your reading enjoyment. This series is always humorous and fun with great charcters and wonderful bird education in each book.

In this 26th book our favorite protagonist Meg and her Grandfather are snowed in at a local Inn. They were there to attend "Owl Fest" with other bird fanciers and a acclaimed zoologist. The fun begins when a murder occurs and all 200 of the attendees are suspect and unable to leave. The suspects are many and soon Meg and her family are involved in a sleuth that is proving quite convoluted to solve.

I loved this next in series. All the favorite charcters are here as well as some new ones. The writing is fast paced and the sleuth delightful to the surprising conclusion. Very well done to the author !

This was such a fun book to read. The characters are kind of wacky, the puns run wild, and the mystery itself is interesting. I'm new to this series and I had a great time reading it. An Owl Fest, a pompous professor, and snowed in right before Christmas all lead to hilarious antics.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is reading Donna Andrew's lastest Meg Langslow Mystery Christmas based-story. This year's bird-based entry, Owl Be Home for Christmas is not the strongest plot in the series (that title belongs to Duck the Halls or The Nightingale Before Christmas), but it's still an okay mystery with some of my favorite Caerphilly based characters.

We find Meg and the majority of her family snowed in at the local Caerphilly Inn with over 200 attendees for her grandfather's first annual Owl conference. While balancing the conference's more difficult speakers and her family responsibilities, Meg gets sucked into what feels like a locked-room mystery.

I don't usually figure out the murders in Ms. Andrew's books very quickly, but I had my guess in early for Owl Be Home for Christmas. Still, fun, but with less "meat" than usual.

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 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.

Hard to believe that Owl Be Home for Christmas is book #26 in this wonderful series. I have been a fan from day one, the day Murder With Peacocks was published. I was hooked. Twenty years and going strong. For those counting, this is the 6th Christmas mystery and, okay, I have to say it, it's a hoot. A local hotel hosting a group of ornithologists, many of whom brought owls with them - against the hotel rules and a major snow storm keeping them all indoors and at each others throats, it seems. Nobody is going out for a walk to calm down and refocus. Add to that are some guests who didn't heed the weather reports to get out while they had the chance and are well and truly grounded. What could possibly go wrong? Considering this is a conference being chaired by her wonderfully eccentric grandfather, you can bet your bottom dollar things will go pear shaped and at least one homicide will occur. It's not just Meg who is a magnet for murder, it's pretty much her whole family. May it never change.
I'm not going to give anything away. All you really need to know is this is another funny, punny mystery full of twists, turns, red herrings and enough laughs to cure the worst case of the winter Blues. So set aside a block of quiet time, brew up your favorite hot beverage, settle down in a comfy chair or sofa and dive into Meg's latest investigation. Let the fun begin.

I love a good Meg Lanslow story and Donna Andrews doesn't disappoint in her 26th book in the series.
Meg is running Owl Fest 2019 at the Caerphilly Inn for her grandfather as a blizzard ends up snowing the entire group in. Ornithologists are sharing facts, learning from one other and having mostly peaceful discussions about owls, their habits and saving endangered species. With almost the entire family on hand, Meg is enjoying the conference until the final banquet. Dr, Frogmore and his assistant have been ruffling feathers the whole time so, is it any surprise that as he is making a speech criticizing everything about the dinner, Dr. Frogmore drops dead! Now Meg has an entire group of attendees who are not only snowed in, unable to get home on time for Christmas, but now there are even more suspects than usual. A wonderful read with information about owls and their habits, the usual fun and warmth with Meg's family and friends and of course, a mystery to solve. This is a perfect holiday read.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book for a fair and honest opinion.

It’s been a rough year for Meg Langslow and her family. After a disastrous summer cruise (told in great detail in Terns of Endearment, the 25th book in Donna Andrews bestselling mystery series), now Meg is helping run her grandfather’s Owl Festival at Christmas time. And as if that’s not enough, there’s the giant blizzard that has everyone, festival attendees and not, stuck at the Caerphilly Inn for an indefinite amount of time.

The good news is that most of her family is also at the Inn, either assisting Meg with the festival (that would be her cousin Rose Noire, who has caught the eye of one of the ornithologists), or helping decorate the inn for the holidays (that would be her mother), or adding some entertainment for the academic conference by finding a group of people crazy enough to dress like owls and sing modified Christmas carols (that would be her father). And with her husband and their twin sons in a nearby cottage, Meg can breathe easy that her family is safe and together.

The bad news is that the group of ornithologists who came to the festival to share opinions and scientific findings about their favorite owls have trouble keeping the decibels down in the best of times. This blizzard is not the best of times. With the temperatures so low as to threaten frostbite within 30 minutes, the local snowplows trapped in snow drifts, cell phone service down, and no end in sight to the flakes falling from the sky, Meg and Ekaterina, the manager of the inn, are concerned about supplies, keeping the peace, and now, investigating a suspicious death.

At the festival banquet, constant complainer Dr. Frogmore suddenly turned bright red and dropped to the floor. Meg’s father was close by, and as a medical doctor, he knew what to do immediately to try to save the man’s life. However, it was too late, and Dr. Langslow’s instincts (and his avid reading of murder mysteries) made him wonder if there was something in what the ornithologist had been eating or drinking that could have caused such a reaction. With the help of cousin Horace, a local EMT and crime scene investigator, he starts immediately ti investigate as if a crime had been committed.

As Meg tries to put people’s minds at ease, she also grans tidbits of intel on the other guests at the inn. Some gossip about a colleague here, some drama from a graduate student there, and soon Meg is putting together the pieces of the puzzle herself. But will she be able to figure out what happened in time to save Christmas for her family, as well as herself?

Donna Andrews’ 26th book in the popular Meg Langslow series, Owl Be Home for Christmas, is just as entertaining as her first. Or her 8th (which is still my favorite, after all these years). I love that Donna Andrews can continually come up with a fresh take on the cozy mystery, with tight plotting and innovative settings, but more than anything I adore Meg and the whole zany Langslow clan. Every time I read one of these books, I want them to adopt me, even though it means being around the no-longer-living (spending time with Meg and her family means the chances of someone ending up murdered is just slightly less than if you go to a dinner party with Jessica Fletcher). So I can’t stop reading these. Give me more birds, more Meg, and more Langslows, and owl’s right with the world!

Galleys for Owl Be Home for Christmas were provided by St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur) through NetGalley, with many, many thanks.

Oh how I love this series, even 26 books in. These books are a rarity - they never get old, never feel like the same story over and over again with just new suspects and NEVER fail to amuse the heck out of me. The author, Donna Andrews, has such a way with words and it never fails that some character says something that makes me chuckle for long after the book is finished.

In this book, Meg and her family are at the local Inn with her Grandfather, helping him host an OwlFest - problem is, they are snowed in. The biggest blizzard ever to hit Virginia has trapped them all at the Inn for an indeterminate amount of time. WHICH would not be a hardship [as this is a very nice Inn] in most cases, but when murder becomes the focus over owls and when the victim is a man who is universally disliked, the whole conference becomes suspects. And even though the conference is about owls, there are PLENTY of red herrings to throw Meg and Horace and the crew off course.
Such an excellent read!! Cannot wait for the next one!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Langslow and her family are back in another Christmas themed mystery. Meg's grandfather, a respected scientist has gathered a group of passionate ornithologists together at the Caerphilly inn for an owl convention. Things are moving along swimmingly until an unexpected blizzard snows the attendees in and one of the ornithologists drops dead over dinner. The deceased, Dr Frogmore, has a long list of enemies as he was on the obnoxious side. When it becomes clear he was poisoned, Meg, with the assistance of her enthusiastic family, starts hunting for the killer. Although there are numerous suspects with a clear motive, Meg will have no problem investigating since no one can leave. Hilarity of course ensues as Meg's family, with the help of local police chief Burke via Satellite phone gets to the bottom of the mystery.
The Langslow family is always a delight to catch up with, especially around the holidays. Owl Be Home for Christmas is a great addition to the series with it's light-hearted antics and seasonal cheer. However there are some more serious topics broached through the course of the novel surrounding endangered species and their habitats. There were plenty of insightful facts about owls and ornithologists alike as well as some great owl jokes that will keep readers laughing. Overall this is a humorous, fast paced mystery that will keep you guessing right up to the very end. I highly recommend this book to long time fans of the series as well as those new to the Langslow family antics.

Donna Andrews' 26th Meg Langslow mystery (and 6th Christmas book!) finds half of Caerphilly and an entire contingent of owl enthusiasts snowed in at the inn when the biggest snowstorm in recent history arrives right before the holidays. After a pompous professor is murdered at the banquet, Meg and her cousin, Horace, must discover whoooo the murderer is. A very nice cozy mystery with lots of holiday spirit along with several twists and turns, Owl Be Home for Christmas was a delight to read! A+++