Helpful Score: 6
I loved this book! I read the 4th book in the series, Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon back in February via a BookCrossing bookring and I found this one even better than that.
Meg Lanslow, a 30-year-old blacksmith, heads back to her home town of Yorkstown, VA for the summer to be the maid of honor in 3 weddings, her mother's, her brother's, and her best friend Eileen's, all within 2 weeks of each other. After a few days, the mayhem begins with the first dead body found on the beach behind her mother's house. Of course, this wouldn't be a Meg Lanslow mystery if the conditions and circumstances surrounding the murder weren't zany and strange.
As Meg and her Dad go sleuthing to uncover the culprit, they unwittingly become the murderer's next victims, presumably because they're getting too close to the truth. Aided by Meg's new friend Michael, the dressmaker's son, hilarity ensues and a few more bodies are found, fortunately of characters that you've come to dislike anyway.
Even when you think you've got it all figured out, some new twists are introduced that cause you to rethink your suspicions. This book kept me enthralled from the first page to the last, and I'm looking forward to Murder With Puffins, the next book in the series.
Meg Lanslow, a 30-year-old blacksmith, heads back to her home town of Yorkstown, VA for the summer to be the maid of honor in 3 weddings, her mother's, her brother's, and her best friend Eileen's, all within 2 weeks of each other. After a few days, the mayhem begins with the first dead body found on the beach behind her mother's house. Of course, this wouldn't be a Meg Lanslow mystery if the conditions and circumstances surrounding the murder weren't zany and strange.
As Meg and her Dad go sleuthing to uncover the culprit, they unwittingly become the murderer's next victims, presumably because they're getting too close to the truth. Aided by Meg's new friend Michael, the dressmaker's son, hilarity ensues and a few more bodies are found, fortunately of characters that you've come to dislike anyway.
Even when you think you've got it all figured out, some new twists are introduced that cause you to rethink your suspicions. This book kept me enthralled from the first page to the last, and I'm looking forward to Murder With Puffins, the next book in the series.
Helpful Score: 5
I really loved this book and plan on reading the rest in the series. I stayed up all night to finish it. The writing is really good and the characters are likeable.
This was a really fun and great 'read'. I see now, as I close the book, for I have just finished reading it, why it has won all the awards that it has. I will absolutely be wishing to follow Meg Langslow, the main character, in other books following in this series. This was the first book, I understand, of the series.
Helpful Score: 3
This book (along with several others in the series) has been languishing on my over-full TBR pile for quite a long time, and now that I've finally read it, I'm sorry I took so long!
Meg Langslow has been pressed into service as Maid of Honor in three different weddings, and she's up to her eyeballs in wedding preparations for all three. When an out-of-town guest shows up dead, it's up to Meg to make sure the murder doesn't stand in the way of wedded bliss ...
I enjoyed Meg as a character. She is smart, strong and sassy. And she's surrounded by mad-cap neighbors and relatives. Although the summer as a whole was pretty much a comical farce, no one situation was so eye-rollingly unbelievable as to make me want to throw the book across the room (which happens oh-so-often when some authors try to write "comedy").
The writing style was quick and snappy ... with very visual descriptions, comfortable dialog, and enough "movement" to keep you from losing interest. I'm looking forward to my next adventure with Meg ....
Meg Langslow has been pressed into service as Maid of Honor in three different weddings, and she's up to her eyeballs in wedding preparations for all three. When an out-of-town guest shows up dead, it's up to Meg to make sure the murder doesn't stand in the way of wedded bliss ...
I enjoyed Meg as a character. She is smart, strong and sassy. And she's surrounded by mad-cap neighbors and relatives. Although the summer as a whole was pretty much a comical farce, no one situation was so eye-rollingly unbelievable as to make me want to throw the book across the room (which happens oh-so-often when some authors try to write "comedy").
The writing style was quick and snappy ... with very visual descriptions, comfortable dialog, and enough "movement" to keep you from losing interest. I'm looking forward to my next adventure with Meg ....
Helpful Score: 3
Read this book! The characters are great, the writing flows, and you will want to keep reading all of the series once you are done the first book. Donna Andrews has a great sense of humor, you won't be dissapointed!
