Welcome to Christmastime in Caerphilly. Meg Langslow is reluctantly pressed into joining a blade smithing reality pilot when an attack on her mentor/trainer Faulk causes a badly broken arm. Sabotage, hidden passages, contestants’ secrets and a murder, not just of crows complicate the shooting. Who wants contestants dead and why?

Bernadette Dunne continues to ably narrate the series. Her accents and pacing clearly differentiate characters and add to the warmth of the Caerphilly world. I loved that Meg’s blacksmithing was more prominent than in recent titles. Interesting information about crows, details about making blades, and plentiful red herrings make this my favorite of recent Meg Langslow mysteries. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance audio review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I read the book, but thought I should try out the audio. I love the characters.. The mystery kept me guessing.

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

I listened to the audiobook version of this mystery and it was nicely performed. Meg is reluctantly participating in a knife making competition for blacksmiths. Much drama ensues as the male blacksmiths don’t want Meg to be there and don’t like each other. Donna Andrews always delivers a nice solid book that is a pleasure to read. Nicely developed characters, a good twisty plot and fine craftsmanship. Highly recommended! I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

It's Christmas in Caerphilly again! This year Meg is participating in a blade-making competition at Ragnar's castle. When one of the contestants turns up dead it's anyone's guess whether he was the target or if someone is trying to sabotage the show. But no worries! Meg is on the case!

I love this series! Meg is so busy it makes me tired just to hear about her schedule. I did love that this book finds her at Christmas break for her kids and husband so the whole family is together. As much as I love Ragnar, I did miss her being at their house. I also kind of fell in love with crows. They're so sweet in this book, bringing gifts to people who care for them and pitching in their own help and clues as the story goes on. This series is a must-read for any cozy mystery fan!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
Donna Andrews
Blades of Glory, a blacksmithing reality TV show, is holding its weapon smithing competition at Ragnarshjem. Meg had no desire to participate but after Faulk is attacked and unable to compete, she agrees to step in after all the show must go on. The competition takes places right before Christmas, a very busy time at the Ragnarshjem, the estate of her dear friend Ragnar. Meg’s husband and sons will be with her at the estate.
There are two producers, a director, a production assistant, several cameramen and five competitors. The producers are grumpy, the production assistant is inexperienced, the director is bored, the cameramen are bored but attempting to get it all on video. Then there are the competitors, some of which are upset because a WOMAN is participating. As with most reality TV shows the producers want drama; they won’t be disappointed. One competitor tries to sabotage the first event by changing the temperature of the forges. There is also attempted blackmark. It seems some of the competitors are determined to win even if they have to cheat.
This is the first time I have read a book by Donna Andrews that was my loss. I love the characters in this tale. Apparently, this is a series where each book stands alone; it does not matter the order in which you read them. Other readers are familiar with the Ragnarshjem estate and its owner Ragnar. They are also familiar with Meg Langslow, her family and friends. One of my favorite parts of this book was the setting and the season. I could picture the estate as it was decorated in red, gold and black. I even liked the crows. Kudos to Donna Andrews for a great plot and even better characters.

LET IT CROW! LET IT CROW! LET IT CROW! is the thirty-fourth book in the Meg Langslow Mystery series. No one does Christmas cozy mysteries better than author Donna Andrews! From the festive cover, to the elaborate holiday decorations provided by Meg’s mother, to the continuous Christmas carols piped throughout retired heavy-metal drummer Ragnar’s castle, to... murder?! this newest release has it all. Despite the number of books in the series, the author manages to spin a fresh take on the holiday celebrations. Set against the backdrop of the Blades of Glory blacksmithing competition, the scene is set for more crimes than just murder. Ms. Andrews’ strong descriptive style brings the competition to life. I found Meg’s blacksmithing prowess fascinating and I have to believe that the author has completed some diligent research to make the scenes so believable. It never detracted from the story and instead added to the authenticity of the theme of the book.

Who in the cast of competitors will cheat to win the prize? Who will injure a participant in order to eliminate them? And which one of the participants will resort to murder to get what they feel they deserve? There were plenty of suspects to consider for the murder(s), the cheating, and the attack(s). Ragnar (he is such a great character, and I was happy to see him featured more prominently) and his hospitality is legendary, so the castle and grounds were filled with guests and the crew filming Blades of Glory. I had a fairly good idea who the culprit was but, in the end, found it fun to go along for the ride and “watch” the story unfold. If you enjoy holiday-themed mysteries with charming characters, some zany antics, and close family and friends, then I highly recommend Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!

I was provided with an audiobook thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio. The narrator, Bernadette Dunne, is one of my favorite narrators. She manages to consistently capture the voices necessary for the core characters from book to book. Her excellent range makes it easy to differentiate between the characters, whether female or male, and brings their personalities to life.

Meg is called into a blacksmithing competition when her mentor is deliberately hurt, but that’s just the beginning of the drama. When one of the competitors is killed, Meg is doing double duty trying to solve his murder and continue to do well in the competition. This mystery kept me guessing all the way to the end and the crows were a great addition to the story! I love the narrator in these stories and she helps make the stories so much better!

AUDIO 10h, 32m, 16s Available October 10,2023

I have come to find the audio book versions of this series addictive. Narrator Bernadette Dunne does an excellent job portraying not just Meg but the other characters, both new and old. I'm not quite sure why, maybe because I've already read the book and sorta recalled whodunit, hence not distracted by that need-to-know, but I found myself picking up more about Ragnor and his amazing gothic style castle from this narrative version than I did the print. I think where my mind is going with that thought is to remind you that just because you've read a book doesn't mean you won't find something new listening to those same words. Knowing whodunit didn't distract from the character driven story at all for me.

So, narration flows, which subtle changes of pace based on the action or relative calm at moments.... and those are usually scarce in Meg's life. Chapter changes are simply announced. Vocal differences are obvious and this book/series sports a large cast, so kudos to Dunne as a narrator for making it work. Now, true, I did sorta wish she'd tossed in an imitation of a crow at times but, hey, we can't have everything. In any case, the audio book is well worth a listen, or several listens. Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for making it available to me early. My original review of the ebook follows.

"While I'm not so sure that Meg didn't so much catch the killer as the killer outed themself, this was still a fun read with humor and the characters long time readers have come to know. Meg Langslow is one of my favorite series characters and Donna Andrews never disappoints. It was great to see Meg back at her forge seriously for the first time in awhile, even if she had to be sort of roped into the competition that got her there. I'm not particularly a fan of reality shows but have to admit that it's always rather revealing to read about how they're really put together, so that made it interesting.

"Oddly enough, the expected murder doesn't take place until well into the book. We initially are focused on trying to find out who whacked Faulk aside the head, putting him out of the competition and Meg into it. Seems Faulk and Tad had invested money they really couldn't afford to lose into the show, the point that finally convinced the reluctant Meg to pick up her tools and substitute for him. The other contestants are an interesting mix, ranging from surly to friendly.

"So, who killed one of them? He seems to have had more enemies than friends, so the suspect list is long. Why is the production assistant so happy he's dead? How many people are actually living at Ragnor's gothic but, oh, so Christmas-y mansion? How smart are crows? Why is Horace so anxious about accompanying Meg to a site that may contain clues? How can anyone cheat in a contest when they are surrounded by a film crew almost constantly? Where is the Christmas music coming from? What do Michael and the boys find while horseback riding? Who . ..oh, enough teasers. Read the book. It's a fun, easy read full of humor and a bit of history of blacksmithing, not to imagine picturing the looks on people's face as they encounter one of Ragnor's lenticular portraits. Look it up. Grin.

"Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress- #MinotaurBooks for allowing me to hang out at Ragnor's mansion while Meg was pounding metal. It was nice to get a bit of a fuller tour than in previous books."

The beginning of the book and the subject matter was a bit slow and uninteresting to me — but by 30% into the book I started to like the main character and began to get invested in her winning the reality TV show competition . I have listened to this narrator before and it took me sometime to get used to her doing a woman main character — around 60% in we have a murder — and then all the investigative part of the book begins — which was pretty good — but I felt there was too much time building the characters before anything happened. Over all it was a good book and I liked it . Though this was book 34 in a series you could definitely read it as a stand-alone. Recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another great book in the Meg Langlow series. I listened to a previous one via NetGalley and that got me so hooked I had to listen to the entire series.
This one is just as good as the others. Meg is such a fun character and her family is always funny.
Great job as always by the narrator too.

Still a huge fan of the series, the author and the narrator. This one has a reality tv show element which I love. The conclusion of it was a little bit of a miss for me, and we’re left kind of in the middle of things (more reality tv in future? More blacksmithing for Meg?). I love the characters and I can’t wait for more.

I love Donna Andrews' audiobooks (Bernadette Dunne is brilliant), and her Christmas mysteries are always a delight. This book focuses on Ragnar and his extensive house, which is a great setting choice. The plot of this book also focuses on blacksmithing, which is Meg's primary vocation. There is an interesting cast of new characters as well as the wonderful standbys which appear in many of the mysteries. I especially loved the focus on crows - I am a great fan of corvids - and their role in the plot was an added joy. I highly recommend this and all of Donna Andrews' mysteries to readers of cozy mysteries who are also lovers of nature.

Meg is participating in a contest about weaponmaking, some thing she was talked into by an old blacksmithing friend. She steps in to replace her friend on the televised competition after he was attacked, and his arm was broken. It’s not convenient that the filming is taking place around Christmas, but at least she’ll have Michael and her twins with her. There’s plenty of discrimination on the set, as the other contestants, don’t believe women have a place in blacksmithing. What should have been just a TV competition becomes cutthroat as someone is willing to do anything in order to win. A unique spin on a Christmas mystery.