Complex Mystery and The Ren-Faire
This is a wonderful cozy mystery that is set in a summer-long Renaissance Festival. As I have never been to a Ren-Faire, this was an interesting thing to learn about. The mystery itself was very complex with subtle clues and red herrings as well as very interesting characters. I was totally misled until the grand denouement. I am assuming this book to be part of a series, but it is the first that I have read. It stands alone so well that only the title gives it away as being part of a series. I will look to read more of this series and books from this author. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Step back into the world of the Renaissance, but just pretend. Confusing, right? Join Meg and her family as a murder unfolds during a Renaissance fair. Unfortunately, some of the actors take their roles a little too seriously, and murder is about. Can Meg and her family escape harm once again? If you enjoy a light-hearted mystery, then this is the book for you. I recommend going back and reading the earlier years, because you will enjoy all of Meg's adventures!

When Meg Langslow’s grandmother Cordelia decided to put on a grand Renaissance Faire, Meg is of course chosen to be her second in command. It’s an all-family affair, as Meg’s husband Michael is put on charge of the actors hired to entertain the tourists, and their twin sons help Meg at the blacksmith’s forge, assisting with the demonstrations and selling merchandise.

As part of the entertainment, Michael and Cordelia have created the Game, an elaborate tale filled with memorable characters, intricate sword fights (highly choreographed, so no tourists get hurt), and a fight to see who will be worthy to take over Cordelia’s ream when she is not longer fit to reign. Those participating in the Game are mostly actor friends and colleagues of Michael, and they keep the insults and duels all in good fun.

Except for Terence Cox. Hired to be a troublemaker in the Game, Terence lives up to his role with his bawdy comments and pranks. But as the days go by, his behavior goes from charming and humorous to annoying and downright mean-spirited. He sexually harasses Dianne, the young ingenue playing the beautiful maiden whose father is looking for the right man for her to marry. George, who plays her father, is constantly berated and belittled by Terence. Nigel, a recovering alcoholic and Michael’s friend, is almost tricked into drinking mead because of Terence’s interference. And Tad, the husband to Faulk, Meg’s partner in the blacksmithing tent, gets fired from his tech job when Terence interrupts a call.

So when Terence is found dead, a knife to the back, there is no shortage of suspects. And it’s up to Meg and the local police to bring the investigation to a speedy end, to save Meg’s friends from the suspect list and to save Cordelia’s Ren Fest from getting a bad reputation. But will Meg be able to find the killer before she or he finds Meg?

Some of my favorite words: Donna Andrews is back with another of her brilliant bird mysteries, starring the most interesting family in cozies. Meg and her extended family always deliver the laughs, the support, the random helpful tidbits of information, and the bird puns in these warm, witty mysteries. The Falcon Always Wings Twice is the 27th book in this series (27! Can you believe it?), and it’s just as enchanting as the first.

I am clearly a big fan of Donna Andrews. I adore her characters. Her writing flows in a way that makes reading her books feel effortless. Her plotting is still strong, even after all these books. She is consistently smart, creative, and compassionate, and I will read these until the end. And every time I do, I will hope once again that someone in Meg’s family adopts me so that I can be a part of the fun too! Love these books!

Egalleys for The Falcon Always Wings Twice were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Donna Andrews never fails to write fun, entertaining books. I love her characters and their assets and weaknesses. When the tough need to hang together they are all there to help Meg and Michael. This is a book you may want to have plenty of time to read the whole thing in one sitting. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy! 📚

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews is the 27th book in the Meg Langslow series, and another great addition. Meg's grandmother Cordelia is hosting a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, and the whole family is put to work. Grandpa is excited to find a pair of rare falcons breeding at the fairgrounds, and wants them protected. When one of the actors is found dead, Grandpa becomes the main suspect. I love this series, and the wonderful characters. Caerphilly sounds like a great town, with all their quirky people and large families. The plot of the stories are always well written and developed and often make me laugh out loud. This book has more twists. and turns, that kept me reading page after page. I strongly recommend this book and the whole series for anyone who likes well written cozy mysteries that are unique and delightful.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“The Falcon Always Wings Twice” is the most recent addition to the always delightful Meg Langslow series. This series is a lot of fun, and this book is no exception. This time the whole gang is staging a Renaissance Faire, with Meg’s formidable grandmother Cordelia as queen. As always there is a lot of banter, confusion, and of course, Meg’s family including her parents and grandparents.

I don’t like spoilers, so I am not going to give any. The plot is relatively straightforward this time, and it moves along borne on Andrews’ sprightly prose. This is the sort of book where you promise yourself “one more chapter,” and then it turns into three or twenty.

This is not tendentious, great literature. Thank goodness for that. “The Falcon Always Wings Twice” is one of life’s real pleasures, as all of Donna Andrews’ previously bird-named books have been. It is escapist fun, and don’t we all need more of that during these parlous times?

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.

Here we are with the 27th entry in this wonderful, funny cozy series. Spending time with Meg and her colorful family is the perfect escape in the pandemic times. In this mystery Meg is juggling a lot. Her grandmother, Cordelia, is hosting a large Ren Faire on the grounds of her craft center and Meg is acting as her assistant - Cordelia is acting as the Queen. Besides her duties to help keep things in order with the actors, craftspeople, and a mass of paying visitors (many of them costumed by the resident seamstresses), she is doing blacksmithing demonstrations with her long time friend, Faulk. Her husband, Michael, is on hand as one of the main actors and the twins - now twelve years old, how dod that happen? - are old enough to help with the sales side of Meg's business. It would be fine except for a couple of hitches. One is the unexpected arrival of her grandfather which displeases the Queen so Meg throws a fancy cloak on him and lets him join the Faire. The other hitch is not so easily solved. Terence, one of the actors, is a royal pain in the tush, making enemies of just about everyone he interacts with. That means plenty of suspects when he is found dead in the woods.
Meg knows the drill and sets out, working with the police, to unmask the killer. Along the way her grandfather manages to join the list after an incident with the falcons. Another reason to work her investigating talents. I enjoy the humor in every book - her family is a hoot and they are very close, even Cordelia has her own version of family when it comes to the father of Meg's father. Yes, it's a bit complicated. It's all a very big family and many of them add their own talents to help find the killer in their midst.
It takes more than a few chapters to do in the victim but it is time well spent. Each chapter is to be savored. The mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace and the clues and red herrings abound. Now that I have enjoyed this one I only have to wait until 10/13/2020 for book #28, The Gift of the Magpie.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re a fan of Renaissance festivals you will absolutely love this cozy mystery. This is the first book that I’ve read in the series and I fell in love with it. The characters are unique and refreshing and the story is lively and entertaining. This was an easy and fast read. I will definitely be reading more of this author’s work.

Meg Langslow's grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft centre and the whole family is busy. Her husband Michael is directing and performing a multi-day drama in full regalia, their twin sons Jamie and Josh are helping her with blacksmithing demos while Meg's grandfather is excited to see the falconry display.

When Terence, one of the actors performing at the fair, is found stabbed to death in the nearby woods by Meg, Michael and Grandfather during a pre-dawn owling search, they soon realize that the Faire may be in jeopardy. There are plenty of suspects for police chief Mo Heedles to interrogate. Terence had annoyed many of his fellow actors with his hijinks but was that enough of a motive for murder? Blackmail, jealousy and the chance for a plum role in an upcoming avant garde production of Hamlet may be important.

This was another enjoyable entry in the long-running Meg Langslow mystery series.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

I'm addicted to Donna Andrews' witty, wacky and entertaining Meg Langslow mysteries and always enjoy spending time with Meg and her ever growing entourage. This time, it's set at a Renaissance Faire, hosted at grandmother Cordelia's craft center.

Of course, Meg soon has a murder to solve, with a few related puzzles popping up along the way. She catches both a creep and a killer. Great fun, as always!

I have enjoyed tales of Meg and her extended family, but hadn't picked one up in a while. As usual the Langslow clan did not dissapoint. I have never been to a renaissance fair and a story about the characters at at the fair was interesting and was a perfect fit for a cozy mystery. Meg's extended family only add to the story with thier big personalities.

Meg Langslow and her extended family are spending a summer participating in the production of a Renaissance Fair at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center. Amidst the swashbuckling and heckling that is taking place in the kingdom of Albion “Game” one of the annoying, rude, and harassing characters is removed from the “Game”, and the life sustaining business of real life breathing - permanently. Naturally, Meg has a role in helping to find the Person responsible for “Game Over”, and her crazy adorable family members make cameo appearances to help just when help is needed most.
If you love the Renaissance period and faire style, you will really enjoy this book. however, I found this plot a bit harder to get into than other Meg Langslow mysteries. The beginning seemed to drag along a bit for me, but once I got to the last third of the book the story line really started moving and I couldn’t put it down. I thought I had the mystery all figured out a couple of times as clues appeared to be so obvious. Red herrings had me fooled though and I was just as surprised as Meg in the end. One of the things I love about the author’s books in this series is that I frequently learn many new vocabulary words. Some are very scientific terms from Grandfather’s vast knowledge of many things, and some are just words I might sneak into a conversation sometime! A smart, and engaging cozy series for sure!

Meg’s grandmother, Cordelia, is hosting a Renaissance Faire at her mountain craft center. Michael is in charge of a group of actors who wander the faire engaging in “the game”. The twins are helping demonstrate at Meg’s blacksmith booth. And her grandfather joins in to watch over everything including the falcon booth. Things seem to be going well except an over exuberant actor who insults most of the other players. Then there’s the guest who is sabotaging some of the booths. When one of the actors turns up dead, Meg works at finding the murderer. This is a long-standing series with great characters and always a good mystery.

Meg Langslow is back along with her wonderful, crazy family. And whee Meg and her family go, mystery follows. This time Meg, along with family and friends, is working at a Renaissance Fair. As always, Donna Andrews gives us a great fair play mystery with lots of twists and turns. Returning readers will enjoy spending time with the usual lovable cast of characters.

Was thrilled to see the next installment of the one cozy mystery series I have reliably enjoyed available for reading here on Netgalley and was not surprised by how much I enjoyed it. As always, excellent work!

I love this series! Meg us one of mhy favorite protagonist. Donna Andrews always delivers a great story with a plot that is satisfying and characters who have become friends. Thus book is more of the same and better than ever. I recommenxd this book. If you are new to the author or this is your first book in the series, I know you will love it as much as I do.

A wonderful addition to one of my favourite series. A Renaissance Faire with costumed actors and tourists around engaged in an epic tale. When a murder happens everyone is a suspect and Meg must investigate to save the Faire.

I love the Meg Langslow series and this is book 27. Usually a series gets stale after this many books but Donna Andrews keeps the laughs coming and the mystery fresh and new. The Langslow family is spending the summer at her grandmother's craft compound for the Renaissance Faire . Grandmother Cordelia isn't real happy when Meg's grandfather shows up and decides to stay. Now one of the actors is dead and the suspect list is as long as Meg's arm. You can read this book as a stand alone but you will miss all the family dynamics. I love that Meg is back working her forge in the blacksmith shop and the boys are growing and learning the trade. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Very often when a series hits book 27 it has become stale. That is not the case with this book. The writing is clever, and punny. The characters are eccentric and endearing. This mystery is a delightful way to spend an afternoon.

This is the 27th book in this series, but can be read as a standalone. The interaction of Meg's family and friends is hilarious Adding a Ren Faire to the mix is great. Dr. Blake is always entertaining. Great plot twists: I had no idea who was the perpetrator until the end. Can't wait for the next installment!