I love this series. I miss some of the really unique characters, but it is still very good. I always think I should get a "notebook that tells me when to breathe". The mystery kept me guessing. The castle sounds very interesting.

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

You can never go wrong with a Donna Andrews book. The fact that this one is set at Christmas makes it even more special. Meg Lanslow is participating in a competition on a reality series known as Blades of Glory. She is a replacement for her friend after someone breaks his arm. She is definitely in a man's world with blacksmithing, and the other contestants are not happy with a woman being a part of this competition. Never say women are dramatic. These men give new meaning to being dramatic. It is a backstabbing competition with plenty of drama, and weapons to boot. When one of the competitors ends up dead, Meg will have to put her investigative skills to work.

The characters in this series are fun and quirky. The scene of the story is wonderful. A castle at Christmastime checks off all of the fun things about Christmas. The Christmas events make the book even more merry. Donna Andrews loves to throw the reader off with red herrings that will have you suspecting everyone at one time or another. The cover alone is enough to make me read this book. It is so bright and full of life. You can never go wrong with a Meg Lanslow mystery. If you want a little more light-hearted mystery to read with a Christmas setting, you need look no further.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC . I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An great addition to this seasonal series that couples a whodunnit , a cast of characters we all know and plenty of Christmas touches

Another delightful Christmas cozy mystery from this wonderful author. Meg is invited to be part of a televised blacksmith show. Her mentor becomes injured and she is forced to step in for him.

While not happy with this, it does mean she gets to be in a real life castle for the shoot. Then things start to go awry.

I will reread this book at Christmas - it is just that much fun!

I’m a long-time reader of the Donna Andrews Meg Langslow books. I love her crazy family and animals of all kinds. This book was a specially good one as it focused primarily on Meg and her blacksmithing.

Summary

Christmas time is approaching and filming is just about to start on “Blades of Glory”, a reality show where blacksmiths compete to create the most authentic, efficient and beautiful weapons. Meg has been helping out on set because it is being held at her neighbor Ragnar’s castle, and because her mentor, Faulk, is one of the competitors, but she has absolutely no interest in competing. Reality TV is not her thing. Then Faulk is attacked and his injury prevents him from competing. When Meg learns that Faulk stands to lose a lot of money if the filming doesn’t continue, she reluctantly steps in for him as a contestant. Her hope is that by keeping a closer eye on the rest of the group, she might figure out who attacked Faulk. Then a contestant is killed.

My Thoughts

This is a very enjoyable book in a very enjoyable series!

The story has humor and quirky characters. I suspect I’d enjoy reading about the town of Caerphilly even without the murders. The pacing is perfect throughout, and there is just the right amount of suspense.

The mystery is very well structured. There are many potential motives, some red herrings, and just enough clues scattered around to allow the reader to figure out who did it without it being too obvious. The pool of suspects is also just the right size for the length of the book.

This is book #34 in the series, but would be fine as a standalone or as an introduction to the series.

What Else I Liked
Donna Andrews always knows how to bring the Christmas spirit to her Christmas mysteries. Meg’s mother is engaged to decorate the castle. Among other things, the tree has black glass ornaments of ravens, owls, bats, and dragons. (How amazing does that sound?!) There is even festive clothing from Meg’s reindeer pajamas to Spike’s red and green doggie sweater. Christmas music play lists range from Renaissance and Medieval to traditional and rock ’n roll. While children play games like Pin the Red nose on Rudolph, the adults wrap presents for charity. There’s wassail, feasts, and fires in the fireplaces; there’s caroling and building gingerbread houses. Of course there is snow! And the story wraps up with a Christmas sleigh parade through town to look at the lights. 5/5 for the holiday atmosphere.

Meg is such a great character. She is smart, talented, level-headed, proactive and compassionate. She speaks her mind and doesn’t let people get away with bullying people or animals. Unlike many an amateur detective, Meg actually reports things she knows to people who need to know them.

As amazing as Meg is, when I grow up I want to be Ragnar. He is eccentric, exceptionally wealthy, exceedingly generous, and he lives in a castle with an enormous library and lots of secret passages and a moon garden. Plus, as I mentioned above, I have Christmas tree envy. Ragnar is basically a big Norwegian death metal teddy bear.

One of my favorite scenes was the Christmas war against the producers.

Meg has some great sayings, many picked up from her grandmother. There is the sad, but true - “You can’t fix stupid.” However, my personal favorite is the classic, “Not my circus. Not my monkeys.”

I have always loved crows and this book does them justice!

Meg always makes blacksmithing seem so cool!

My absolute, hands down favourite cozy series and this book did not let me down. While in keeping with the tradition of zaniness, this was less madcap than most of the others and was such a fun and quick read; I am zipped right through this! The mystery was fun and engaging, plenty of red herrings, oodles of suspects, and it was nice to focus on some other side characters this time around.

It's Christmas time and Ragnar is hosting a reality show which features blacksmiths who make weapons. Meg was asked to take part but she's happy just to be a gopher. But when her mentor Faulk is attacked and ends up with a concussion and broken arm, Meg is roped into competing.

As she gets to know the other competitors, she finds that some could be friends, but others are not the kind of people she likes. When one of her least favorite attempts to sabotage the first event of the competition, Meg uses her nephew Kevin's technological skills to catch the saboteur in the act. This act, and his really substandard knife, makes him the first one to be eliminated.

However, elimination isn't supposed to lead to murder. However, Meg and Michael find his body surrounded by cows in a far pasture and Meg finds herself investigating a murder while competing in a reality TV show.

I enjoyed the setting since the story takes place at Ragnar's castle-like home. I also liked the time of the year which includes Meg's mother handling the decorating and complying with Ragnar's rather eccentric color scheme. I also liked the gingerbread house decorating party and other seasonal events.

I thought the solution to the mystery was the least successful part of this story. I felt that the reveal of the villain was too sudden and, to my way of thinking, without any earlier clues leading to him. But maybe I just missed the clues because I was so enjoying all of the Christmas festivities.

I feel like all my Meg reviews are the same lol. So just go read this series if you're reading this and you haven't yet!

The only thing I like better than a Meg Langslow book is a Meg Langslow holiday mystery - especially the Christmas mysteries! When Meg volunteers to enter a blade-making making competition that will be televised, she's not too excited but to help her blacksmithing mentor, who was brutally attacked, Meg agrees to fill in for him. What could be more dangerous - a blacksmith competition where some of the participants aren't happy Meg is competing combined with sharp blades and murder? Absolutely nothing!

Meg is one of my favorite characters, She doesn't rush into danger and she has to keep a "to do" list. Those two things make me enjoy the mysteries even more - she doesn't try to be a hero but usually is and she's relatable. The quirky supporting characters (human and animal) are so entertaining. Meg's Dad and Spike are two of my favorites.

If you are looking for a mystery with humor, a little romance and a story that keeps you reading, here's a great book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews is a great cozy mystery.
It was a delightful and enjoyable mystery that was compelling and wonderfully written.
The action-packed story is filled with humor and suspense.
The characters and their relationships are stellar and the mystery has enough twists and turns to keep us turning those pages. A quick and engrossing read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Book Title: Let it Crow, Let it Crow, Let it Crow
Author: Donna Anderson
Series: Meg Langslow Book #34
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Book
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: October 10, 2023
My Rating: 3.4. Stars
Pages 304

I have only read a few Meg Langslow stories- I. quickly got to know Meg and fell in love her and her family. I did read [book: Birdie, She wrote] which was #33 in the series- a light enjoyable cozy.
I have to admit I was attracted to this title but the story was much different than I expected. Not bad – just different. When I started this I thought that Meg is sure multitalented as this story sound far more serious.

This story starts with Meg and her family is planning for a typical Christmas celebrations
Her friend Ragnar is hosting a reality show “Blades of Glory” (It is a high-stakes, cutthroat competition where six ‘Bladesmithe’ compete by making a weapon that has been assigned by the judges. The judges then assess the final product as to how aesthetically pleasing as well as historically accurate. The worst is release and each week the competition continues until the last two). Another friend Faulk was supposed to be a participant but is unable has he was attacked. Meg is asked to take his place. Reluctantly, she agrees, hoping she can find out who attacked Faulk.

Meg soon finds herself enjoying it but not all the back stage drama.
Sure enough a participant becomes the victim of murder, Meg finds herself trying once again in the middle of things and is trying to piece together this puzzle

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 10, 2023.

This year's Meg Langslow mystery is set at her friend and retired heavy metal musician Ragnar's "castle." It involves the filming of a reality show about blacksmithing with a set of interesting and not entirely trustworthy characters. When someone attacks Faulk, Meg's mentor and the favored winner for the competition, she has to take his place on the set. After he sabotages another contestant's entry, one of those blacksmiths ends up dead. Meg has to find out who killed him and do her best to win the contest all while a tug-of-war over Christmas cheer rages between Meg's mother and her crew and the producers of the show. All the while, it may be that the crows that live on Ragnar's farm, are the ones who really know what's going on. Let it Crow, Let it Crow, Let it Crow is another delightful entry in the Meg Langslow series.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy in return for a review of this book.
I love all the Donna Andrew’s Meg Langslow books. Especially enjoyed this one as the focus was on Meg and her blacksmithing. Other regulars appeared, Michael herding the twins, My favorite, Ragnar and the chief, but the bulk focused on Meg.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Meg can't believe she has been roped into a competition. She is good at what she does, but feels like an outsider. This was a quick read.

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.

“Let It Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow” – the thirty-fourth book in Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow cozy mystery series - has Meg reluctantly competing in a reality show focused on creating weapons. This is a great premise with plenty of room for mystery - Meg initially turned down the offer because Christmas in her busy time but has agreed to fill in for Faulk, her blacksmithing mentor after he is attacked right before the competition begins. Meg’s extended family does take a bit of a backseat in this book but it is set at Ragnar’s castle and it is fun to read about his quirky idea of decorating. The reality show setting is a nice one (it’s good to see Meg blacksmithing again) and is a good set up for the mystery - not only is Faulk attacked but there is a murder. The set up allows for a good mystery with plenty of suspects and more than a few surprises – I have to say I was surprised when the killer was revealed. If I have one complaint about this book is that I wanted one more chapter – an epilogue perhaps – to really wrap a few things up. Still, I really enjoyed reading this book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Holidays and reality tv collide in this latest edition of this beloved Donna Andrews series. Meg at the last minute becomes a contestant on a blacksmithing show to help some friends and when a fellow contestant dies races to find a killer to save Christmas and the show. A fast enjoyable read.

Meg’s friends are involved in a new reality TV show for a bladesmith competition, but she wants nothing to do with it. After her friend and mentor is attacked by an unknown assailant and unable to compete, Meg steps in to take his place. The show is being filmed on Ragnar’s property…everything, including the animals are black (or black and white) and dark colors. It’s appropriate that crows play a part in the story and were delightful characters. When the most obnoxious contestant is killed, the hunt is on.
I loved that Meg is back at her blacksmithing once again, the setting, and the mystery. The humor is great fun and it is all set against a backdrop of the Christmas season. This is now one of my favorite stories in this wonderful series.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is of one of my favorite book series! Donna Andrews has created wonderful, realistic characters, and in this installment, a complex plot, with a bit of humor and Christmas cheer. This book finds Meg anticipating a typical, festive Christmas season in Caerphilly with her family and friends. As the holidays approach, her friend Ragnar has agreed to host filming of a new blade smithing reality TV show at his "castle." Six contestants are to participate. When her mentor and friend, Faulk. is attacked and cannot participate, Meg is asked to join the competition, and reluctantly agrees, hoping to find out who attacked Faulk. She soon finds the contest is plagued by cheating, sabotage, and blackmail. Meg's fears that someone else may be attacked soon become a reality. She works with the local police and enlists the aid of her family and friends to help to determine who the culprit is. This is a mystery full of heart, the warmth of family and friends, and fabulous plot twists! I did not anticipate the identity of culprit! I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary copy. The opinions of the review are my own.