I have not read a Meg Langslow in a while and I am very happy to report that the story was just as good as its predecessors. A Ren Faire is the perfect setting for this Virginia based cozy, and Biscuit Mountain sounds like a lovely place to visit. It’s hard to believe that the twins are tweens and are essentially apprenticing with Meg at the forge. In case you aren’t familiar with this series, Meg is a blacksmith and a very good one as well. Another thing that you need to know about Meg is that her Mother’s side of the family is HUGE and they all have a variety of jobs so if you ever need a specialist of any type there is sure to be a Hollingsworth making a living doing what ever it is you might need. To round out Meg’s family is her Dad, the doctor, her Mom who is incredibly creative and in charge of costuming for the faire, her Grandfather is an ornithologist and thorn in her Grandmother’s side (nope they are not together, never have been outside of her Dad’s creation event), Michael, the love of her life, husband, and drama professor at Caerphilly College, and her twins Josh and Jamie. With that all said, add some old English, a variety of vendors, Falconer’s Grove, a few characters with questionable comings and goings, semi-improvisational entertainment, and a guy that everyone really, and I do mean REALLY didn’t like as the victim and you have a great little cozy. Makes me want grab some mead and a turkey leg or shepherd’s pie or possibly trade insults in the Queen’s English, that’s Queen Cordelia’s English to be sure. The Game is definitely afoot and you must be careful because everyone had the means and the motive.

Meg's grandmother holds a Renaissance Faire at her craft center in Riverton the whole family gets involved. Michael directs the actors running an ongoing story for the guests, Meg and her friend Faulk have a blacksmithing booth with regular demonstrations. Her Mother with a broken foot still heads up the costume department and her Dad does what he does best and runs the first aid tent. When her grandfather shows up, Meg realizes she's going to have to run interference between Cordelia and Monty, then one of the actors is killed. It's no secret no one liked him. It also becomes apparent that he was blackmailing people as well. Meg soon gets involved in solving the murder which gives Jacob and Josh a chance to help out at the booth and take over the demonstrations.
I really like her books, I was kind of disappointed with Terns of endearment, but I'm glad she's back to her zany madcap stories. I love the fact her boys are growing up and the family dynamics seem to be changing as well. I've read several books set at Ren Festivals and I'm glad there aren't any glaring inaccuracies in this one. Add to it all the great information on falconry, makes this a wonderful read. #netgalley #falconalwayswingstwice

The eccentric but fun loving Langslow family is back for another adventure, this time centered around a renaissance faire. Meg's grandmother Cordelia invites Meg and her extended family to stay for the summer at her farm in the mountains of northern Virginia to help run a renaissance faire she is hosting at her craft center. The family eagerly accepts, including, much to Cordelia's dismay, Meg's grandfather. Each member of the family uses their special skills sets to help out. Meg's father will run the first aid tent, her mother will help with costumers, Meg's husband lends a hand with the improv shows and Meg herself is busy conducting blacksmith demonstrations with the help of her twin boys. She is also helping Cordelia run the faire by keeping staff, especially the members of her family, organized and on task. Things are moving along swimmingly until a troublesome member of the cast winds up dead. When it becomes clear the victim was murdered, Meg, with the assistance of her family, lends a helping hand to the members of the local law enforcement agency. It's only natural they help out with the investigation, seeing as their is a long list of crew members who might have wanted to help the victim along to his untimely death, and the Langslow crew have solved a few murders in their time.
This was another great addition to the always pleasing Langslow series. The last few in the series have had unique settings and the unique renaissance setting just might be my favorite. The renaissance faire, with its fast paced nature and demanding actors, made the perfect setting for a murder mystery. The depictions of the faire are spot on and accurate to real life. The mystery itself was fast paced with plenty of likely suspects to sift through. The Langslow crew and their over the top antics are such a delight to catch up with, especially now with the state of the world, giving readers a much needed dose of comical relief. It was great to see Meg in her natural element sharing her love of blacksmithing with her boys. I am eagerly anticipating the next release featuring the Langslow family, which is a mere two months away and best of all has a Christmas theme.

Meg Langslow's family have a fair out it the country. There are a lot of people that work there with all kinds of different personalities. One guy especially gets on everyones nerves. When he ends up dead there is a big selection of possible killers.
A good cozy murder mystery book.

I really enjoy the Meg Langslow series, it is always great to go back to Caerphilly and the surrounding towns to solve crimes and catch up with this quirky family. As always, author Donna Andrews does a great job of blending murder, crime, and a unique cast of characters!

OMG! I love Donna Andrews' books! Meg is such a character & her family!! I am happy too that the murder is not in Caerphilly. These books are such a fun read - laugh out loud at times! This book is a great addition to the series - keep writing Ms Andrews! Can't wait for more!

Ohhhhhh, this was a very good one y'all.
You would think that after 26 books, they would be getting old or tedious or start using old storylines by the time the 27th arrives [and this folks is why I am not a writer! LOL], but Donna Andrews makes each of these books fresh and fun and I really, really, love Meg and her wackadoodle family [including her mother who typically makes me crazy, but is barely in this one and so it was a nice refreshing change].
This one is set at her Grandmother's [Cordelia] place in the Biscuit Mountains in Northern Virginia. I love Cordelia as a character and it was delightful to revisit her and her home again in this story. Cordelia had decided to set up an Ren Faire and enlists Meg and Michael and their extended family to come for the summer to help. Meg accepts [she also gets to do some blacksmithing in this one and it was fun to watch her return to that as well as watch her teach the boys how to as well] and the whole family troops up to the mountain for the summer. Including Meg's grandfather [MUCH to Cordelia's dismay] who adds so much of the comic relief in this story, without even really trying. I just love him so much. He is a great character and I love how everyone has accepted him, warts and all. It really adds to a well rounded story. The main cast is doing what they call "The Game" and are acting out a play of sorts to engage the guests at the Faire and all is going well until someone gets murdered and then the "game is afoot" so-to-speak, and you are left wondering just who it could be [there are a LOT of potential suspects - the victim was universally disliked] and when the reveal comes it will be an interesting time. And very satisfying.

Another really great book by Donna Andrews - I enjoyed this read so much. It was perfect for the mood I was in and I am so glad I had it on my plate.

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

I have been reading my way through Donna Andrew’s “bird” series and am about half way through. When the opportunity to read an ARC copy of this newest in the series, I jumped at the chance. This book can definitely be read as a standalone book as there is enough back story info to understand what’s going on. I loved the characters and their wacky ways – except for Spike the very bad tempered tiny dog. Spike must be getting geriatric by now but his attitude hasn’t improved. This one was set in a Renaissance Faire. The behind the scenes workings of the Faire were especially interesting…the lengths they go to avoiding anachronisms, the laundry, the daily changes in the program, the weaponry policies to name just a few. The mystery was well done with a totally unlikable deceased and the red herrings in the identification of the murderer.

As series mysteries go, this is one of the best. Great characters who have continued to develop over time. Meg has a wonderful family full of eccentric and loveable characters. In this title, the are helping her grandmother run a Ren Faire when a very dislikeable actor is murdered. Suspects abound and Meg and company step in to assist the police. A great read.

I enjoyed this installment of the series. The twins are a little older. We are back at Biscuit Mountain, this time for a Renaissance faire, always one of my favorite things to do. While Meg's mother is there, she doesn't have much of a part. Grandfather, Cordelia, Dad and Michael are there as well. I liked the setting and the mystery kept me guessing as well. I felt like it had a little less humor than others, but I still enjoyed it.

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

Another fun title in Donna Andrew's "bird" series. Set in a Renaissance Faire on the mountain in Virginia, everyone is enjoying a beautiful weekend with jousting, blacksmithing and great food and drinks. Then a murder changes the mood around the Faire. Will Meg be able to find the killer before someone else gets hurt? A quick read for the weekend.

I am always very excited to read a new Meg Langslow book and this one didn't disappoint.

I love the creative way that Ms. Andrews can take the mystery away from home but still keep the family together. This is a series that her family seems like my family and I love 'visiting'.

The mystery was well-crafted and it was very close to the end when I had my 'suspect' named.

Now, we'll have that long wait for the next one in the series.

Meg Langslow and her family are spending the summer putting on a Renaissance Faire at her grandmother’s craft center in the mountains. Meg and her sons are conducting blacksmith demonstrations while her husband is one of the key actors in the improv show. Meg is also helping her grandmother Cordelia run the faire, and one of her many jobs includes dealing with any problems concerning the other Faire workers or the visitors. The biggest problem of the summer is turning out to be one of the actors—Terrance Cox has been making a nuisance of himself since the first weekend. One weekend Terrance is found dead in the nearby woods. His death was no accident, and Meg finds herself helping the local law enforcement track down the killer among the Faire volunteers. There is a long list of people who have grievances against Terrance. The question is which one of them finally had enough of the infuriating man.

THE FALCON ALWAYS WINGS TWICE is a great addition to the Meg Langslow series. As someone who has read the entire series, I have to say that it was nice to get away from Meg’s home and the usual cast of secondary characters. The change in location switched things up a bit. It was also good to see more of Meg the career woman and blacksmith. As usual, there was some standout humor in the novel—especially the description of how Rose Noire collects the wool for her homemade crafts.

A Renaissance Fair, hosted by Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, becomes a murder scene when an obnoxious actor is killed. Meg must find the killer, keep the actors, jousting tourneys (and turkey leg consumption) and Grandfather and his falcons on track!

I enjoyed the way all the family rallied to solve the mystery. The descriptions of the fair were detailed and realistic - from the costumes to the food - and this really enhanced the book. The mystery was fast-paced and kept me reading. It's fun to see how Meg has grown into a successful career woman, sleuth and mom! Who knows where the next mystery will lead us, but I know I'll be there to read all about it!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed are my own.

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews (Meg Langslow #27)

It is hard to believe that this is book #27 since Murder with Peacocks. I have been a fan since Die Like a Eagle and went through her backlist with joyful enthusiasm. This time we have Meg helping her grandmother Cordelia put on a Ren Faire. All of the Meg's immediate family is either there or mentioned. As part of the Faire, Michael, Meg's husband is doing a long improv with other actors to entertain the masses. Meg's dad is manning the first aid tent and Mom is in charge of the costume department. The victim is somebody that everyone seem to hate and we end up having too many potential suspects. The end was a little abrupt but enjoyable.

The humor in these books always keeps me coming back for more. There was a description about how Rose Noir gets her wool that had me laughing for a long time. I loved this book and look forward to the Christmas themed mystery - The Gift of the Magpie out on October 13, 2020

Another great entry in this series. Like meeting up with old friends that you can’t wait to see again.

The Meg Langslow series is my all-time favorite cozy mystery series. This book is great! We return to Biscuit Mountain where Meg's Grandmother is hosting a Ren Faire at her craft-center. Meg's family is there to help out and naturally outrageous situations, including murder, ensue. Characters that we were introduced to in Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos, make a reappearance with a good chance of popping into future books (yay!)
I love all of the characters and as always I can't wait for the next book!!

This was a perfectly plotted and incredibly enjoyable entry in this long-running series. Deeply satisfying.

family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, actors

Not an unbiased review--I have loved nearly every book in this series!
Meg Langlow is a craft blacksmith with a very large, impressive, and quirky family and she is the protagonist. Michael Waterston is her drama professor/former star of a cult sci fi TV series husband. Together they are in charge of a renaissance faire type of weekend fun complete with a cast of hundreds and even more spectators. It's well set up to figure out who will be murdered and the side plots, distractions, and red herrings make for interesting sleuthing. No spoilers. Even if you've not experienced this family you'll still find plenty to laugh with. I LOVED this one!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley. Thank you!

This is another great series that keeps getting better with each book written. It is fun to watch the camaraderie between Meg’s family and those she encountered. The author knows how to tell a story that had me completely immersed in all aspects from beginning to end. The visually descriptive narrative with all the details played as a film in my head and put me in the middle of all the action as our heroine gathered clues and suspects and I had a good time watching it all play out. With great aplomb, the author had a few surprises, especially when I thought I had a handle on the killer’s identity. This is one of my favorite series and I love the aviary titles and how it connects in the story. With a quirky cast of characters, engaging dialogue and the backdrop of a Renaissance Faire, this was a very enjoyable mystery and I look forward to the next adventure with Meg and her friends.