Owl Be Home for Christmas

A locked inn mystery! It's just before Christmas and Meg's grandfather has gathered a group of experts on owls at the Caerphilly Inn for a conference. Get ready to learn some wonderful facts about those fascinating birds of prey as well as follow along as Meg solves the murder of Dr. Frogmore, an obnoxious man. Unfortunately, there's a blizzard and the Inn is snowed in but that won't stop Meg. Regular readers of this series know that Meg's entertaining and energetic family always helps (well, sort of helps) when she's confronted with a mystery and that's the case here. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books; Andrews will pop you right in to the family. Meg's dad and her cousin Horace are on the case with her- you'll get a few good laughs as they work to find the villain. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fun, well written, and best of all- the birds.

puntastic, situational-humor, verbal-humor, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, murder-investigation, blizzards

Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things!
It's nearing Hanukkah and Christmas and India holidays, plus Japanese and vegetarian interests when everyone wants to be with their friends and family in their own homes in the US, Australia, Japan, and elsewhere. But instead they are stuck in a five star resort in Caerphilly, Virginia snowed in by an unexpected pair of blizzards while attending a scientific conference, Owl Fest, for ornithologists and others chaired by Grandfather Montgomery Blake, the acclaimed zoologist. It's a good thing that Cousin Horace is there with the Langslow family since he is a Crime Scene Tech and the only law enforcement on scene because the landlines and cell phones are out and there are only two satellite phones. Of course Dr Langslow is there, and that's a good thing because he's also the county's Medical Examiner and the death is not a simple one (and not just because 200 of the guests are suspects).
Let the sleuthing begin!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! !

It’s hard to believe that this is the twenty-six Meg Langslow mystery. One would think that such a long-running series might be running a tad low or at least out of bird puns on titles.

Neither of those are true of this series. Each book is funnier than the last. The bird puns continue apace and give a clue as to the story. This is one of my favorite series and I have read it faithfully since the first book was published.

In this story, Meg and family are snowbound at the Caerphilly Inn along with 200 plus ornithologists who are attending a scientific conference about owls that Meg’s grandfather is hosting.

There are many discussions about various owls, which you might be thinking would be kind of dry. However, when people are passionate about their subject, they can come to fisticuffs with those who disagree with them.

A death of one of the attendees occurs and, while few will mourn him, all are suddenly suspects and are trapped in the snowbound inn.

Speaking of that Inn, the descriptions of the food served makes me want to jump on a plane and hightail to it. I have to remind myself that it is fictional. I’ve read so much in this series and have enjoyed it all, it is like they are old friends just waiting for me in Caerphilly.

The book is one of the Christmas sub-series in the greater series. I can’t judge well if it can be read stand-alone, however, my real recommendation it to go back to “Murder with Peacocks” and start from the beginning. It is well worth it and will give you many hours of laughs and great whodunnits to solve.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.