[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Meg and her family are playing host once again, this time to a group of actors putting on a production of Macbeth. Thanks to an interdepartmental war at the college, Michael and his actors are using the farm and an amphitheater at Meg’s grandfather’s zoo to practice their play. There’s also a group of historical reenactors staying on Meg’s parents’ property. And the warring English and history professors are dropping in regularly.
In the midst of that chaos, trouble is stirring. A vandal is striking at the farm. The reenactors’ antics are putting them at risk for arrest. Someone seems to be concocting a potion over a risky open fire in the woods. And then there’s the murder.
Review
Another fun mystery with Meg and her friends and family! (This is book 29 in the Meg Langslow Mystery series.)
I have been a fan of this series since the first few books released over 20 years ago. Meg, with her notebook-that-tells-her-when-to-breathe is one of my favorite protagonists. She’s such a great character, and her extended family and the community folks are characters I look forward to spending time with when each new book releases.
There’s a TON going on here with the actors and the reenactors and all of the college folks. There’s the Macbeth-related events and the criminal and mischievous behaviors. Evil spells. Vandals. Murder. Puppies. This book has it all.
I loved watching the various mysteries play out. I didn’t really even try to sort out the villain for myself. Instead, I just watched it all unfold. And it was supremely satisfying.
Like the Andy Carpenter series, which I have reviewed recently, the Meg Langslow books are probably easy enough to follow story-wise for someone to start with this book or another one of the latter books in the series. But the cast in this series is VAST and could be hard to track without the history of what – and who – has come before. Personally, I’d love to go back to the beginning of the series – Murder with Peacocks, Murder with Puffins, Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos – sometime and experience the early days of this great series all over again. I highly recommend cozy fans dig into this meaty series. Book 30 – The Twelve Jays of Christmas – releases in October.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥♥½ – I loved it! Would re-read.