The Holidays and reality tv collide in this latest edition of this beloved Donna Andrews series. Meg at the last minute becomes a contestant on a blacksmithing show to help some friends and when a fellow contestant dies races to find a killer to save Christmas and the show. A fast enjoyable read.

Meg’s friends are involved in a new reality TV show for a bladesmith competition, but she wants nothing to do with it. After her friend and mentor is attacked by an unknown assailant and unable to compete, Meg steps in to take his place. The show is being filmed on Ragnar’s property…everything, including the animals are black (or black and white) and dark colors. It’s appropriate that crows play a part in the story and were delightful characters. When the most obnoxious contestant is killed, the hunt is on.
I loved that Meg is back at her blacksmithing once again, the setting, and the mystery. The humor is great fun and it is all set against a backdrop of the Christmas season. This is now one of my favorite stories in this wonderful series.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is of one of my favorite book series! Donna Andrews has created wonderful, realistic characters, and in this installment, a complex plot, with a bit of humor and Christmas cheer. This book finds Meg anticipating a typical, festive Christmas season in Caerphilly with her family and friends. As the holidays approach, her friend Ragnar has agreed to host filming of a new blade smithing reality TV show at his "castle." Six contestants are to participate. When her mentor and friend, Faulk. is attacked and cannot participate, Meg is asked to join the competition, and reluctantly agrees, hoping to find out who attacked Faulk. She soon finds the contest is plagued by cheating, sabotage, and blackmail. Meg's fears that someone else may be attacked soon become a reality. She works with the local police and enlists the aid of her family and friends to help to determine who the culprit is. This is a mystery full of heart, the warmth of family and friends, and fabulous plot twists! I did not anticipate the identity of culprit! I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary copy. The opinions of the review are my own.

Absolutely love this long-running series, populated with wonderful characters, interesting stories and an unlimited possibility of mayhem! I always love returning to Meg's world and this is no exception. Who else would make crows a primary avian feature for a Christmas story? This time, as Ragnar hosts a TV reality show based on hand-forged weapons. When Meg's teacher/mentor is injured, she's forced to step in as an unwilling contestant along with the five males already selected. And the chaos begins! Such a joy to return and I can't wait for the next in this series.

Another delightful return to Caerphilly at Christmas from Donna Andrews!

Meg has been roped into competing on Blades of Glory, a weapon-making reality show being filmed at Ragnar's house. The show is made up with some very eccentric competutors - and 2 producers and a director who are grinches. Sabotage, an attack and subsequent murder occur on the set, and the Chief is relying on Meg's inside knowledge to help solve the cases.

One thing I especially loved about this book was the chance to get to know some of the Caerphilly residents that we usually don't hear from better. Andrews has developed a wonderful cast of characters and it was nice to spend more time with them. But rest assured, Mother was still up to her usual Christmas-decorating magic; Kevin is helping with some tricky tech situations - and having some fun pulling pranks as well.

Overall, a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Andrews continues book after book to produce a fantastic story with a wonderful cast of characters!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I always look forward to Meg's Christmas adventures. There's a nice change here. The story revolves around Meg and her blacksmithing, not her grandfather or Michael's latest holiday show and his students. PLUS, we're in a newish setting, definitely new as the main setting, Ragnar's estate.

I really enjoy a reality show background and fits in well here as a showcase for Meg and her abilities.

I appreciated the changes from the routine holiday read and enjoyed this book more than I have many of the latest in this series. I like the usual cast of characters, but they're getting old. Several do show up, but briefly. Michael and the boys get a few more lines than usual, though it would be nice if the foursome had to work together to solve a crime.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A reality show has come to the small town of Caerphilly, more specifically Ragnar Ragnarson's farm. A reality show that features blacksmiths and blade smiths competing for a cash prize. Meg's friend Faulk has elected to be on the show and Meg agrees to be an unofficial stagehand. When Faulk is injured in a mugging, Meg is pressured to step in and compete in his place. So she moves with her family to stay at Ragnarson's during the shooting. When another one of the competitors is killed, Meg can keep from asking questions.
Again as in each of her books, we have the extended and sometimes crazy family as the cast of characters. I truly enjoy her books not only for the humor, but for the character interaction and growth.
I've found Ms. Andrew's Christmas mysteries sometimes not the strongest, but I really felt the mystery was well done. I certainly didn't figure out who the killer was. Overall a great book to read for anyone who loves cozy mysteries.

This was a fun little cozy with an unusual main character profession - a female Blacksmith. You could drop in to this series without having read the others and not be too lost, although there were references to prior character interactions. This story itself was fun to follow as it involved a reality show competition and murder - plenty to keep you reading as you hope to solve the case. Overall a fun little cozy with some fun secondary characters.

"Let It Crow!" is a cozy mystery. It's a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Meg, her husband, and kids were engaging and acted realistically. As a female who has taken a traditional blacksmithing class, I was interested in that aspect of the story and enjoyed it.

Meg passed on clues that she discovered to the detective, mostly things she came upon, observed, or happened to overhear. Since we knew that the murder was done with a hammer stolen from the competition tent and Meg had hidden cameras installed at each station, I kept wondering why they didn't check the footage to see if it showed the thief. They never did. While I strongly suspected whodunit and how, Meg didn't figure out whodunit. The killer assumed she'd figured it out and attacked her. When told she didn't guess, instead of confessing to a lesser crime, the killer confessed every detail of how and why.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting novel.

I so loved this book! I love the Meg Langslow series, this was another AMAZING addition to this series! Meg and her family are a bunch of laughs!! This book kept me entertained and I loved the characters so much!! I highly recommend this book to everyone!!

I love Donna Andrews and the Meg Langslow series. This addition was a particularly good one. Meg becomes a a reluctant contestant in a reality show blacksmithing competition when one of the original contestants is attacked and cannot compete. The show is being filmed outside Meg's friend Ragnar's medieval castle and the contestants and much of Meg's family has moved into the castle for the duration. She soon discovers that there are lots of suspicious things happening to mess with the competition. To add to the mystery and craziness of the television production, it's Christmas and, as usual with Donna Andrew's Christmas books, there are over the top decorations and Christmas activities. I love this family and their adventures and I look forward to the next books in this series. Crows are important to the story and I did learn some interesting crow facts. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in return for my honest opinion.

A Christmas season story featuring Meg Langslow; what could be better? The gang's all here as Meg is tapped for a reality blacksmith show after Faulk, her mentor, is attacked and forced out. Despite her misgivings, her competitive nature won't let her do less than her best, and she becomes a contender as she protects her forge from a saboteur and tracks down who attacked Faulk. As expected, this is an intriguing mystery with notes of humor!

Thanks to St Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

I love Meg and I have read every book in this series and they keep getting better and better. Donna Andrews is an auto buy author for me and this is a perfect example of why she is! I think this is a perfect addition to the series and a great holiday cozy mystery! 5 star read!!
I just reviewed Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I can’t resist these books! I love the quirky characters, and I always learn something interesting while reading them! This book’s lesson was about crows, and I don’t think I’ll look at those birds in my yard in the same way ever again!

This is part of a wonderful series I’d never heard of or read set in Virginia at an elaborate castle. Ragnar had it constructed to his very specific tastes. He was in a heavy-metal band and enjoys sharing his success with his friends. Meg is one of those friends and a blacksmith. Last minute events have thrust her into competing against some gnarly, testosterone-filled men in a reality show being filmed at this castle. There’s loads of Christmas activities going on at the castle, caroling, sledding, endless buffets to feed them all, with a side of murder. Oh my! There’s sabotage, cheating, attacks, attempted blackmail, hidden passages, pranks, eavesdropping, and hidden cameras. There’s a wonderful cast of characters, producers, castle staff and guests, many lovely people, some quite despicable, even critters, all entertaining. I adored the sneaky crows. What a fun holiday themed mystery! I’m so glad to have discovered the series and will read more.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “LET IT CROW! LET IT CROW! LET IT CROW!” by Donna Andrews, Minotaur Books. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! is another holiday entrant into the Meg Langslow Cozy Mystery series. It holds its own next to similar entrants The Gift of the Magpie and How the Finch Stole Christmas. This story takes us to Ragnar's palatial spread for an engaging story that places Meg at the center of the intriguing world of reality television and back to her passion of blacksmithing.

This is not the most overtly holiday themed of the series, it has enough hints, good cheer, and descriptive passages to make it feel like it could take place at that time of year. Of our avian friends, I am quite happy Crows are finally getting the opportunity to take center stage once again in the series following on from Lord of the Wings. The knowledge of Crows, Ravens, and other "dark birds" from that book is invaluable to finding full enjoyment in this story.

This book highlights what is awesome about the entire series, the ever-expanding list of excellent characters across the wider Meg Langslow universe. I look forward to future editions that deepen our knowledge of the people who populate Caerphilly.

As to the murder mystery it is serviceable, but I am sure I am not the only reader that was far more invested in Faulk's story-which felt unfinished at the end of the book. I would like to continue to see how he and Tad can be further developed in the future. Despite my small quibbles, I still look forward to the next edition in the series and a resolution to the competition highlighted in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

Blacksmithing, Christmas and crows - what’s not to love?

It’s close to Christmas. Meg’s friend and mentor, Faulk, is involved in a bladesmithing (as opposed to the more generic blacksmithing) competition, “Blades of Glory,” a cross between “Forged in Fire” and “Baking Championship:” it involves making weapons, but rather than the competition being just a single episode (as with “Forged in Fire”), it’s held across six episodes, with someone being eliminated each week. “Blades of Glory” is the brain child of another of Faulk’s pupils, Alec Franzetti who might look more like a blacksmith than Meg, but is a far less competent one.

The competition is being held at Ragnashjem, the farm / estate of Ragnar, the retired heavy-metal drummer with an obsession with cast iron and the colors black, red and gold. While she’s adamantly against participating in the competition, she is helping on the production side, meaning she’s at Ragnarshjem and thus constantly having to tell Alec that’s she’s not interested in participating just to make the competition more diverse (four contestants are white, with one Black and one Korean American, but all six are male). When Faulk’s arm is broken in an attack, Meg reluctantly agrees to step in for him, especially once she realizes he’s financially involved in the production. If “Blades of Glory” fails, he and his husband Tad could end up bankrupt. However, no sooner has filming of the first challenge been completed, than one of the constants is found dead.

I’m a big fan of the Meg Langslow series in general, but I highly enjoyed this book. As usual, I felt the mystery was a little light and easy to figure out whodunit; the big draw for me is always the characters - the characters and how they look out for each other. It’s a trait of most of the books, and there were numerous examples in this book. Meg jumping to help, for example; she wasn’t willing to participate until she found out the negative impact it would have on her friends. Later, when one of the inexperienced assistants on the show get yelled at causing her to run off the set in tears, Meg follows her, letting her know they can find a replacement for her if she wants and how Ragnar frequently takes in strays - basically letting her know she has time to figure out what she wants to do. Meg’s new age cousin Rose Noire joins in, letting us know she’ll help take care of the assistant as well. Ragnar also shows a lot of compassion and generosity, being willing to host the filming plus provide rooms and a nightly feast.

In addition, I loved seeing Meg do some actual blacksmithing and even better being in a competition. Faulk and Ragnar are two of my favorite characters, so it was great seeing them. I also loved the crows and how they helped Meg, calling her attention to when Faulk was hurt and later, showing her where gates were when she was riding one of Ragnar’s Frisian horses. The room names were also fun - all taken from gothic books / movies - Van Helsing, Pointe du Lac, and Bon Temps to name a few. I even enjoyed the cover, with it’s gingerbread castle and crows.

Even though this is part of a long running series, I think for the most part past relationships are explained so someone new to the series wouldn’t feel too lost. There’s also enough backstory to explain some the characters’ actions like Faulk and Tad’s debt.

Altogether, a fun and entertaining book. Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

It’s Christmas in Caerphilly again, but Meg Langslow’s holiday preparations are disrupted when she finds herself helping out on set of a reality tv competition for blacksmiths. Meg’s plan to stay behind the scenes is ruined when one of the competitors is attacked from behind and forced to drop out of the show. Meg takes her mentor’s spot, much to the dismay of some of the other contestants who are not thrilled to be competing against a woman—especially after she wins the first challenge. The show goes sideways on the second day of filming when the body of one of the competitors is found in a nearby field. Brody was caught attempting to sabotage his fellow competitors, tried to blackmail others, sexually harassed at least one woman, and was just a general annoyance. Despite all of his shortcomings, Meg is determined to help find the killer between her duties at the forge and Christmas planning.

It’s good to see Meg back at the forge, even if it is on the set of a reality show. The cast and crew of the show provide plenty of suspect. The victim was unpleasant, and there were many motives for the suspects to have wanted him dead. While it did take until halfway through the book for the murder to take place, there is the mystery of who attacked Faulk and knocked him out of the competition to investigate. Andrews also gives the reader to see the victim in action as he makes enemies during the first day of filming. There are enough plot twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing as to the identity of the killer. A great addition to the series.

I was excited to be selected to read and review the newest Meg Langslow book, as its one of my favorite cozy mystery series! This one does not disappoint. This book is set during the Christmas season, featuring a lot of my favorite characters from this series. A new
blacksmithing reality series, is being filmed at Meg's wealthy friend Ragnor's mansion. Before it even starts, Meg's mentor Faulk is attacked and ends up in the hospital. Knowing Faulk has invested in this series. Meg agrees to take his place so the show can go on. One of the participants gets caught cheating and later ends up murdered. There are lots of suspects. red herrings. cute dogs, and even some very smart crows. I was very surprised by who the murderer turned out to be. Thank you for the ARC netgalley! I can't wait to read the next book in this highly addictive series.

Meg and family are volunteering to help with a reality television pilot when Meg is required to fill in for an injured participant. Luckily, while she is a blacksmith, she does know how to forge a blade. Full of fun backs, great characters and Christmas spirit (well, except for the Tweedledees), don't miss this latest installment!