Another fun mystery for Meg and the gang to solve. This one was really close to home! Like in her backyard. There is so much going on at the moment in Meg’s life, a convention at the Inn, which friends and family are involved in. Her sister in law due any day now and on bed rest staying in her home. The twins on Christmas vacation and since not planning the usual huge Christmas party at her home she with her curiosity peak gets in the middle of another murder to solve.
I did read and switched over to the audiobook, which I truly enjoyed listening to. Does help if you have read a few of her previous books for the background of the characters.

Tis the season for this year's festive, slightly chilling holiday edition of the Meg Langslow mysteries! Donna Andrews has written another outstanding addition to this series filled with the love of family, friends, the preservation of nature and the nurture of everyone, while they all endeavor to solve the most recent crime! Caerphilly is fully decorated for all of the winter holidays, and Meg and her family have decided to hold an innocence symposium designed to explore the efforts and technology being used to aid in the exoneration of those wrongly convicted. Besides Meg's family and local law enforcement, there are a few of those who may have been wrongly accused in attendance, as well as an outspoken detractor of any type of innocence investigation. When things turn deadly for one of those in attendance, Meg, along with the sheriff, and her family and friends pull together to discover who is responsible and safeguard everyone else. The beauty of these books goes beyond solving the mystery in each, to Donna Andrew's splendid creation of her characters, and the growth of the regular characters from one book to the next. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the holiday trip to Caerphilly! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of my review are my own.

I always enjoy Donna Andrews’ Christmas mysteries, and this one is no exception.

It has a great holiday atmosphere - over-the-top decorations, Christmas concerts, huge meals, and snow. But this specific book is less about the cultural details of Christmas and more about the meaning and values of Christmas - caring for others.

This book has everything that I’ve come to expect from a Donna Andrews’ mystery - an interesting plot, a nice pool of suspects, great pacing, just enough clues to help me solve the mystery alongside Meg. Plus, of course, there are the wonderful characters from Meg’s family and community.

However, this book has a bit less humor than usual, and I think that’s because the topic of Cordelia’s conference is a very serious one. She’s helping to train people who are trying to seek exonerations for those who have been erroneously convicted and imprisoned. As a result, some of the content is pretty heavy. Important, but heavy. It makes me glad I read it slightly before the holiday season and not a couple of days before because it’s a bit less jolly than some of her other Christmas stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s always fun to spend time with Meg and her family and friends especially at Christmas time. In Rockin' Around the Chickadee, Meg’s house is strangely quiet because her sister-in-law, Delaney, is on bedrest for her pregnancy. She is staying in Meg’s dining room with her husband, and Meg’s brother, Rob.

However, don’t worry, Meg has plenty to do. While helping with her grandmother’s innocence project conference, Meg ends up investigating a murder of a vile podcaster.
There are an immense number of suspects to wade through but Meg is up for the challenge.

The mystery was good. However, I really missed the large family gatherings typical of this series. Rockin' Around the Chickadee just wasn’t as humorous without them or any reference to Meg’s career as a blacksmith. Even Meg’s boys are barely present. This book was definitely not a great addition to this usually hilarious series. 3 disappointed stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Rockin' Around the Chickadee is book 36 in the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews.
A cozy mystery with a dash of humor and a whole lot of holiday spirit.
This book did not disappoint!
A fun cozy mystery with a bit of holiday cheer!
Meg was so funny to follow along with, and her wild crazy family.

This has to be the quietest, most serene Christmas season in Langslow family history, even with a body behind the barn. All for the benefit of pregnant ready to burst Delaney. Grandmother Cordelia is running a conference aimed towards victims of unjust criminal convictions and their friends and families trying to exonerate them. An interesting mix of guests attend, including true crime buffs. A number of Caerphilly friends and family are on the panels as Meg patrols the conference. This story is an interesting change from the usual Christmas mayhem!

Rockin’ Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews (Meg Langslow #36) 5 stars

It is Christmas time and Meg Langslow is extremely busy – preparing for the holidays, helping her grandmother Cordelia with “Presumed Innocent” her conference about how to exonerate unjustly convicted individuals (with True Crime lovers along for fun) and taking care of Delaney who is ready to give birth anytime now. But it wouldn’t be a Meg Langslow mystery without a dead body and the future victim shows up early in the book. There are a plethora of suspects (some with shaky alibis) and too many clues too count. Can Meg solve the mystery before Delaney gives birth?

I absolutely loved this mystery. It had all my favorite things – a victim that you love to hate, a lot of suspects in the vicinity, Horace doing his CSI thing, appearances from beloved family members, cameos of several Pomeranians (Widget and Watson) and best of all – a description of the food served at the conference banquet. I still think the best food description passage was in “Owl Be Home for Christmas”, but this one comes close. I had a wonderful time with this book – it demanded a Hot Cocoa and a cozy blanket for company. I am looking forward to the audiobook version with Bernadette Dunne narrating I really can’t wait for the next one, “For Duck’s Sake” (Meg Langslow #37) in Fall 2025.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for this ARC.

The holiday season doesn't give Meg much opportunity to rest in this latest in the long running series, especially after their bird watching camera catches a murder in her back yard. Fans of of the Caerphilly crew know that the real point of these cozies is, IMHO, the antics of Meg, her family, and her friends. This time out, Delaney is pregnant and meant to be keeping calm but, hah! Meg will of course solve the murder but what about the rest of the issues? No spoilers from me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.

Who holds a conference in the week before Christmas? Meg's grandfather when it is for a worthy cause. Inviting those who have been wrongfully convicted to meet others that might be able to help them defend their case is his idea. He knows that many of them do not have family to spend the holiday with, so this might bring them joy. Until murder occurs, and they are all under suspicion again. Men's family is also anticipating the birth of her brothers first child just to add more tension. Good holiday read!

It’s the Christmas season in Caerphilly but, with Delaney, Meg Langslow’s sister-in-law, very pregnant, festivities are being held away from the house. Among these activities is a Presumed Innocent Project sponsored by Cordelia, Meg’s grandmother which has attracted many people including exonerees, others seeking help to exonerate friends or relatives, as well as true crime bloggers and their fans. When a body of one of those bloggers is found dead behind the Langslow house, Chief Burke has his hands full given the number of suspects. The blogger had believed that the vast majority of exonerees were guilty, had been rude and obnoxious to other attendees, disruptive during the conference and was finally tossed out of the host hotel when he abused an attendee’s dog. With all this facing the chief, Meg jumps in to help by doing her own sleuthing.

Rockin’ Around the Chickadees is the 36th entry in the Meg Langslow cozy mystery series by Donna Andrews and, as always, it is a whole lotta fun. Reading one of these books always feels like linking up with old friends and meeting new ones while providing an entertaining mystery to grab my attention. I also appreciated the information about the number of wrongful incarcerations that led to the actual Innocence Project and thought their work fit perfectly with the Christmas season.

I read the book from St Martin’s Press while listening to the a audiobook from Macmillan Audio narrated by Bernadette Dunne who does an excellent job of giving individual voices to very large cast of characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are my own

I enjoy this author & series. I find the characters fun. The mystery kept me guessing.

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

I'm a huge fan of Donna Andrews. I've obsessively read every single book in the Meg Langslow series and always eagerly await the next. Unfortunately, this book felt cobbled together to me. Too much was happening, and not enough time was able to be spent on anything. We have the Presumed Innocent conference, Delaney's pregnancy, Delaney and Rob trying to find a house, and Meg trying to keep everything and everyone under control. From the back cover blurb, I expected Delaney and Rob to have a bigger presence in this book, but I ended up being highly disappointed because Delaney and Rob don't contribute much, if anything, to the story other than a few lame obstacles to Meg trying to solve the murder. Having Delaney's pregnancy and her and Rob trying to find a house bogged down parts of the story and felt thrown in rather than a part of the book. I also felt like we didn't truly get to know the exonerees, so I wasn't particularly surprised or didn't particularly care when the killer was revealed. A disappointing Donna Andrews book, but I am still looking forward to the next!

The mystery was both entertaining and kept me engaged from beginning to end. The fun part was trying to figure out who hated the victim that strongly to murder him among the many suspects. The visually descriptive narrative and fetching dialogue, put me in the middle of all the non-stop action as I watch every scene play out until the killer was left standing for all to see. Donna knows how to tell a story that keeps you mystified and glued to the pages until the last words have been spoken. Bonus seeing Josh and Jamie have a larger role in this book. My have the grown and I especially love their conversations about food consumption. Too funny. Boasting an eccentrically lovable, yet quirk cast of characters and a small-town atmosphere, this book will put you in a festive mood and is one of the best Christmas-themed books in the series.

Christmas time in Caerphilly and the Langslow family is preparing for the season. Delaney is pregnant and on bedrest and living in the Langslow dining room so the festivities are elsewhere. Meg’s grandmother is running a Presumed Innocent Convention which is a gathering of true crime buffs, families who have a deemed guilty party but believe them innocent, and those that have now been declared innocent. Not quite a seasonal activity but lots of seasonal activities are built-in. Early one morning Rose Noire finds a dead body by the barn. Which member of the convention could be the murderer? Another great book in this series. I love the characters and the town.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Megan and her family are hoping to have a nice quiet holiday. That changes when a man's body has been found. With a growing list of suspects, it will take some time to find the guilty party. I liked this book.

This book is awesome! I loved it. It’s amazing that this far into the series, they don’t feel repetitive or stale. I do wonder though, how old is Cordelia & Dr. Blake? #RockinAroundtheChickadee #NetGalley

Rockin' Around the Chickadee was another fun romp with Meg Langslow and her large and quirky family. I loved the characters, the plot, and humor sprinkled throughout. Murder and mayhem during the Christmas season and of course Meg is involved in trying to help solve it. The victim had enemies galore so there are lots of suspects, red herrings, and plot twists that kept me guessing until the end. A perfect cozy!

Every year I look forward to a new addition to this series and Donna Andrews never disappoints. A creative whodunnit sprinkled with plenty of Christmas touches make this a great holiday mystery.

Another great story about Meg Langslow and her family who solve small town murders together. Surrounded by family, Meg and her family try to keep everything calm as they await the birth by her sister-in-law Delaney. However, a body is found behind the barn at Meg and Michael's place, that of a man, detested by many, who was thrown out of the Presumed Innocence conference that Meg's grandmother was hosting during the holiday season. Together they try to distract Delaney all the while trying to solve this murder. Some people are not whom they seem to be and it is up to Meg and her cousins to help the Chief find the killer before they strike again. I love the family connections, how they all compliment each other, and being able to walk through the case with Meg. It's just a delightful mystery and set at the holidays is a boost. Some surprises, some things predictable, again more birds, but all the while a delightful read. Many thanks to #netgalley, #donnaandrews #rockin'aroundthechickadee for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another winner from Donna Andrews! While other cozy mystery series can be hit or miss with each installment, Andrews is consistent - telling a well written and engaging story each time. Highly recommend!!