Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow #34
Published by Macmillan Audio on October 10, 2023
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 10 hrs 32 mins
Pages: 304
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Audible
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'Tis the season for sleuthing in Donna Andrews' cheery new addition to the New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow series.

Meg has been roped into participating in a weaponsmithing competition, a Forged in Fire wannabe organized by a blacksmith friend. Meg originally turned down an invitation to participate, but the night before the filming starts, someone attacks Faulk, her blacksmithing mentor, breaking his arm and eliminating him from the contest before it begins. Meg agrees to step in as his replacement to keep the project from failing. She's not thrilled that the filming will take place during December – Christmas is already a crazy time for her. Since the competition is taking place on Ragnarshjem, the picturesque estate that her friend Ragnar, the retired heavy metal drummer, is turning into a Goth castle, Meg won’t have to spend Christmas alone and gets to bring Michael and her twin sons with her.

So Meg joins the cast, to the dismay of several old-school blacksmiths who think women have no place in the profession anyway. And if the show's producers were hoping for drama, they're in luck. The blacksmithing world is a small one, and some of the contestants arrived already laden with grudges and feuds.

It's a high-stakes, cutthroat competition between people who wield large hammers and make swords and have forges full of fire at their disposal. What could possibly go wrong?

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! is # 34 in the Meg Langslow series, but the first I’ve read. Honestly, the bird titles just never grabbed my attention. But this one takes place at Christmas and I always love a fun Christmas mystery. It worked fine as a stand-alone, although I assume I would know the characters way better if I had started at the beginning.

Meg is a wife, mother, and blacksmith – which really has nothing to do with birds. She has been roped into competing on Blades of Glory, a weapon-making reality show being filmed at Ragnar’s house right before Christmas. The show has a variety of competitors, all men except Meg, some of whom are nice and some are total jerks. The two producers and the director are not so great either and want to keep any holiday feel out of the show. Sabotage, an attack, and a murder occur on the set, and Meg uses her insider position to help with the investigation.

It was a fun, light read with a few plot twists. I enjoyed the competition setting, but I have a weakness for reality tv. Meg seems like a more than capable investigator and I appreciate that she works with the police instead of fighting with them.

I listened to the audio and the narrator did a good job. Her accents and pacing clearly differentiate the characters and she brought Meg and the rest of the eccentric cast to life.

We also get plenty of Christmassy stuff- decorations, music, huge meals, even a sled parade.