Meg and Michael’s house is serving as the marshaling point for the annual Caerphilly Christmas parade. The theme is “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and it features twelve drummers from the school marching band, eleven bagpipers, and so on. As organizer, Meg’s job is hard enough. But when her nephew Eric, wide eyed and ashen faced, whispers, “Meg, something’s wrong with Santa,” things take a tragic turn. The local curmudgeon, whose beard and belly made him a natural for the role, has been murdered. Now it’s up to Meg and Chief Burke to tackle the two-fold mission of solving the murder and saving Christmas!
This latest adventure from award-winning Donna Andrews is filled with outrageous Christmas spirit and malice.
From Publishers Weekly
Bah, humbug! In the 10th entry in Andrews's fine-feathered cozy series (Cockatiels at Seven , etc.), Meg Langslow is having a tough enough time trying to organize the Christmas parade, with its Twelve Days of Christmas theme, in Caerphilly, Va. Then someone drives a stake through the heart of Santa, played by grouchy Ralph Doleson, who hates children and animals (and no, he's not a vampire). Finding the killer who could totally spoil Christmas becomes number one priority for perky amateur sleuth Meg. Suspects include protesting members of SPOOR (Stop Poisoning Our Owls and Raptors), six of whose members are playing geese in the parade, a local woman whom Doleson may have been blackmailing and a nosy Washington Tribune reporter. Though Andrews strains for humorous effect at times and the revelation of whodunit may strike some readers as far-fetched, fans will enjoy catching up with old friends among the regular cast of characters. (Nov.)
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From Booklist
Fans of comic cozies who have never read Andrews’ Meg Langslow mysteries have a real treat in store. This tenth book in the award-winning series takes place in Meg’s rural home-town, Caerphilly, Virginia. In fact, it takes place primarily in Meg’s backyard, the mustering point for the annual holiday parade. The theme this year is “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (hence the six geese), but tribute is also paid to other holidays, including the Hindu Festival of Lights. All seems to be going as well as can be expected, given Meg’s zany family, friends, and assorted animals, when her young nephew whispers, “Something’s wrong with Santa.” Indeed, something is very wrong, and it’s up to parade organizer Meg and police chief Burke (who was one of the camel-riding wise men) to figure out who murdered the old curmudgeon. It seems that while Ralph Doleson may have looked like Santa, his personality led to far more enemies than friends. Lots of silly but infectious humor and just enough mystery. --Judy Coon