Wednesday, December 17, 2008

25 Reviews of Christmas: Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews

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I don't do this very often, but I read some books that do not fall under the umbrella of Christian. Many, if not all of them are cozy mysteries...and this is one of my favorite series...

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This is vintage Donna Andrews! Meg Lanslow has to be one of my all-time favorite amateur detectives. The entire wacky crew is back in this humorous holiday thriller (I have two quibbles with the book--we'll get to those later) as Meg attempts to host the Caerphilly Christmas parade.

One look at the entourage that comes with this duty will have you thinking Meg has lost her mind: SPOOR members as geese? A grouchy Santa? Mom portraying Mrs. Crachitt in elegance rather than poverty? How in the world did Meg get herself into this 12 Days of Christmas parade mess?

Easy. (SPOILER ALERT!)

She loves her husband (HEY! I warned you ahead of time--yes, the two lovebirds finally married!). Michael is up for tenure at Caerphilly College, and bribery in the sense of taking on unwanted tasks is always in vogue with the regents and board!

But when Santa isn't Ho-Ho-Ho-ing any longer, the question becomes not what has Meg done, but who done in Santa? Was it a member of SPOOR, for his grinchy treatment of the owl and her nest? Was it one of Spike the family pooch's fans for Santa's drop kick the dog performance?

Or is something more sinister afoot this holiday season? With Dad in his element and Meg up to her old sleuthing tricks, you'll chuckle and laugh your way through this entertaining and humorous holiday mystery.

But be warned: Meg Lanslow mysteries always include some mild language. And this particular volume irritated me a bit with it's "Holiday parade"...but it's fiction, and poor Meg doesn't know any better. If I could only sit down with her over coffee (or Diet Vanilla Pepsi) and share Jesus with her...

...and she's real enough to me that I long to do so! Donna Andrews has created a crew of wacky, lovable characters in the Meg Lanslow series that cozy mystery fans will love. You'd be bird-brained if you didn't (okay, that wasn't nice, but it is fitting with the bird theme of the books--but I take it back!).

I'm giving "Six Geese A-Slaying" three out of five bookmarks with a Santa hat as a charm--had to take away one for the holiday thing and one for the mild language. Really, Meg, it isn't necessary:-)

Happy Reading!

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