If you've ever looked up how houses have fared after a makeover show, you'll see that people are often unhappy. Based on what she's hearing through the grapevine, the Smetkamps are going to in the same place. They've won a makeover from Marvelous Mansions but the producer seems shady and the workforce is unsettled. Meanwhile, Meg is just trying to make sure they stay in code.
Someone seems particularly against the show though (or maybe it's the Smetkamps) because they've gathered up the wild turkeys and released them on the Smetkamps street. There's a fairly amusing bit where an Amazon driver almost gets taken out by the turkeys. He makes it out alive with some help but someone else on the street does not. So, Meg is once again sleuthing a murder mystery.
This book doesn't have much with Josh and Jamie, nor Michael. We do see any number of other regular characters in this book though and it is a nice addition to the series.

Four stars
Meg Langslow #35
This book comes out August 6, 2024
Follows Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow
ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss
ARC of audiobook kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I’ve been putting off writing a post about Between a Flock and a Hard Place because I really don’t have much to say about it. I’ve read a few in the Meg Langslow series, but not enough for me to quite understand her character. She’s a blacksmith, which doesn’t come up in this one. She’s also the mayor’s assistant of some kind. Maybe because she always has her nose in everything in town so she might as well get paid for it? And I don’t understand why the titles are all bird themed. Granted the wild turkeys are funny.

We do eventually get to the murder. Mrs. Smetkamp is dead and there are several people with motive to have killed her. And several others who just seem shady. I do like the secondary characters, from Meg’s kids to the townspeople. They’re a quirky bunch and they do make me laugh.

I listened to the audio and the narrator did a good job bringing Meg and her friends and family to life.

Well, the crew is at it again!
This time there’s a renovation on a home, AND feral turkeys!
And. Mrs. Smetkamp..(the homes owner) is NOT very nice.

As Meg, the neighbors, and the police try to figure out just WHAT HAPPENED that there are lots and lots of feral turkeys around, another issue is uncovered! This one even more disturbing!

As Meg uses all of her connections (friends, neighbors and police) to get to the bottom of this debacle, well, you will be cracking up along the way!

And, Marvelous Mansions, the one that has been employed to ‘fix up’ the historic house, well that’s a whole other story!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

**** The book is due to be released on 8/6/24! ***

#BetweenAFlockAndAHardPlace by #DonnaAndrews.
Narrated beautifully by #BernadetteDunne.


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This book was the definition of a cozy mystery, through and through. I didn’t even realize it was #34 in the series until I started wondering if there was backstory on some of the characters that I missed. The audiobook narrator was a PERFECT cozy reader. This author is obviously very talented at the cozy genre because while it was small town and simple, there were still layers to the story and a few separate crimes that may or may not have connected to each other.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Between a Flock and a Hard Place is a fun cozy mystery. I quite enjoyed this book with its interesting and funny plot. This volume in the series features a flock of wild turkeys that have invaded the neighbourhood! The characters must find a way to relocate them. Funny antics ensue. And then a dead body appears! I liked the original plot the author brought to this series. I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in trade for my honest opinion. My thoughts are my own.
YouTube Review: 07/31/24
YouTube Handle: KeenCat

I've been fortunate enough to get to review several of the more recent Meg Langslow books and this one was quite entertaining. One thing I like about these light mysteries is that they make me laugh. The characters are very quirky, from her nephew the computer geek to her cousin Rose Noir who sees auras and concocts aromatherapy potions to her grandfather and his animal studies. In this episode, a herd of wild turkeys has invaded a neighborhood in which a controversial home renovation project is ongoing. So Meg helps her boss, the mayor, to resolve the issue and also helps the police chief solve a couple mysteries. I reviewed the audio version, which is always nice, but have to say that I sped up the recording. The narration (especially when some of the older or male characters were speaking) was extremely slow at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance review copy of this audiobook. My opinions are my own.

It is an exciting time for the Smetkamps as they have won a makeover from Marvelous Mansions, a company claiming to make homes like theirs more modern. Unfortunately, things are not turning out as they have planned. In addition to arguments with the building crew, there is potential difficulty with asbestos and wild turkeys moving into the yard.

A seemingly murderous group of turkeys is what Meg finds when the turkey wranglers come to the rescue at the Smetkamps’ house to round them up. Mrs. Smetkamps’ body is found with a fatal stab wound that was without a doubt NOT inflicted by the gobblers. Murder was determined quickly as the weapon was found in short order. Additionally, there were quite a few possible suspects to choose from- from the crew to the neighbors.

Meg’s deductive reasoning is fun to witness with Bernadette Dunne providing the engaging audio narration. Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This book wasn't my normal genre, but that said I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone who liked a very cozy mystery where things may start more slowly and the relationships in town are more focal than the mystery at times.

This book was well-written, and had fun characters I enjoyed getting to know. The mystery was a bit of a slow burn at times, but it was worth it to find out what was going on.

If you like the same kind of books as my mom (cozy mysteries that usually include baking or cats), this book is 100% for you. I would also recommend it for folks who enjoy small town focused mysteries with lots of characters to get to know.

Donna Andrews does it again. In our latest adventures with Meg Langslow, her town Caerphilly is overrun by a dozens of wild turkeys causing havoc. There is also a TV renovation (Marvelous Mansi-ons) show in town that refuses to play by the rules. All this creates chaos, plus a body is found. This is a wonderful cozy mystery that will keep you guessing.
Thank-you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy. Bernadette Dunne does an amazing job as always. I highly recommend this book, it's filled with mystery, small town hijinks and all the wonderful characters in Caerphilly.

This was the first book I have read in this series. I enjoyed it overall, and the incident with the turkeys was amusing. However, I also found the book to be too long, and the murder could have occurred earlier and been more of a focus. I appreciated the lively narration by Bernadette Dunne. I can tell Donna Andrews is a skilled writer but more editing for length would be helpful. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eARC.

Donna Andrews has been a favorite author for many years. I've been a fan of this series since the very beginning. This book does not disappoint! I loved it. This was the first of Andrews books that I listened to rather than reading in book form and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are always entertaining and the mystery creative and well planned. Now I just have to wait for the next installment....

When a home improvement television show comes to Caerphilly, it wreaks havoc on the town. The wife who owns the house is unbearable, both for the TV crew and for her neighbors. When she is found murdered, everyone is a suspect. Even our dear Meg Langslow has had a run-in with Mrs. Smetkamp. But, there's more to the story, and there are others in town who have something to hide.

The latest in Andrews' Meg Langslow series is entertaining and satisfying without being zany. The characters are well-developed and, for those of us who have followed the series all along, there is comfort and reliability to be found among the regular characters like Meg, Horace, Aida, Michael, and Chief Burke. My one quibble with the novel is that Dr. Blake, Meg's grandfather, who is a noted scientist, refers to technology he is working on to lessen animal methane release as a "farther box." Dr. Blake is given to referring to everything by its scientific name, so it seems out of character for him to resort to such a scatological term.

I think I’ve grown bored with this series. It started going downhill with the addition of children and domestic life for the main character. Now it’s arrived at a point where several of the supporting characters just get on my nerves. The books used to be a funny escape from everyday life. Now they feel like something that I’d want to escape from if I had to actually live the life in these books. There wasn’t even a good laugh or two in this one.

Not the greatest cozy murder ever. The turkey caper clearly held more of the author's interest than the murder did. There was no murder in the first half of the book, and once it showed up it got sorted pretty quickly. It was extremely obvious who the killer was. Honestly, there was just too much going on this time around.

This is a lighthearted mystery. More complex than a cozy mystery, but not scary and only slightly gory. It does have a murder, after all. I enjoyed it.

In a quiet, older neighborhood of older homes, all of a sudden, life is no longer as it was. One couple won a home makeover. Unfortunately the company and TV crew are not as professional as they should be. And then a huge flock of turkeys arrive on the block. One of the neighbors also has two boarders. One is a slob, but otherwise not a concern, but the boarder in the attic is creepy. Even the neighbors think he's creepy and they rarely see him.

Then a body is discovered. The story is a bit madcap and definitely entertaining. However, this is entertainment for teens and above. I wouldn't recommend playing in in the car during a trip with the little ones.

I listened to the audio version of the book. I thought the narrator did a great job, with many voices and accents.

There is plenty of humor here with the feral turkeys and I appreciate the humane methods the characters use. I've read one other book in this series and was glad to get this from Netgalley in exchange for an accurate review. Meg uses her network and family to solve the latest murder in her neighborhood. Lots of details show how this is taking place in the 2020s.

Who knew turkeys were related to velociraptors? A flock of wild turkeys, a cut-rate tv remodeling show causing an uproar with the neighbors, illegal mosquito fogging and a creepy room renter, and a murder are all ably juggled by Meg in the most recent entry in the long-running series. I enjoy the series’ variety of characters, humorous actions of people and animals, and animal trivia. Narrator Dunne enhances the warm feel of the books as she convincingly voices the range of ages, genders and situations found in the book. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another fabulous Bernadette Dunne narration of an another perfectly written Meg Langslow cozy mystery (the 35th!!!) by author Donna Andrews. Tensions are high among Caerphilly neighbors when the home makeover show, Marvelous Mansions, visits Caerphilly. After the town is infested with wild turkeys, and the homeowner turns up dead, Meg has her hands full trying to discover the murderer (and those responsible for the turkey prank!)! Between a Flock and a Hard Place was a pleasure to listen to, and I was kept guessing up until the end. Highly recommended! A+

I'm a huge fan of Donna Andrews, and in fact I went to meet her at The Festival of the Book in Charlottesville. In my mind, the writer is a lot like the main character here, strong, clever, and energetic. Because of the picture I have in my mind, I had to get used to the narrator here, as she seemed younger than Meg Langslow at this point. However, she does a great job narrating this, and I felt like I was with her as she navigated the nuttiness that always happens around her. There is always something extra fun, and for me this time it was a reality show not living up to its responsibilities and leaving Meg to handle the fallout. The mystery was clever, and in the end, I still felt as though I would love to visit this fictional town so I could enjoy the antics in person. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy of Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews Narrated by Bernadette Dunne in exchange for an honest review. It publishes August 6, 2024.
As usual, Bernadette Dunne does an excellent job, she is truly one of my favorite narrators, and is totally the voice of Meg!
Another fun book in this series, I'm so glad that Donna Andrews is still writing them. I really appreciate all the bird facts, and the fact that I get to learn along with help solve a mystery! One thing about this book that took me by surprise is that there was quite a lot of fowl...er... foul-language. I was a little taken-aback by this, as I don't recall noticing so much colorful language in previous books.
Overall, this fits right in with the rest of the series!