Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow #38
Published by Macmillan Audio on October 14, 2025
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 26 mins
Pages: 297
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Libro.fm
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Two of Meg’s cousins, members of Mother’s vast Hollingsworth clan, are getting married, and both have chosen Caerphilly for their Christmas destination wedding . . on the same day, in the same venues. But while they’re cousins they’re also lifelong enemies. Mother’s efforts to keep the peace are wearing her down, and the battling brides (and their mothers) are making the holiday season miserable for everyone. So Meg steps in to keep the peace. And it was going badly even before she stumbles over the murdered body of the wedding photographer.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of suspects. The photographer has been hitting on many of the guests, bridesmaids . . . possibly even one or both of the brides. He’s also been slinking about and taking candid shots that are unflattering, embarrassing . . . occasionally even incriminating.
Can Meg help the local police nab the killer in time for the weddings to go on as planned? Unless, of course, the killer was one of the brides or grooms, in which case she needs to identify the killer in time to reveal their identity when she hears those fateful words, “If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else forever hold your peace.”
I am a sucker for Christmas cozies, and since they start releasing in October, that’s typically when I start reading them. The Meg Langslow series is one I dip in and out of, but typically enjoy. It’s Christmas again in Caerphilly and what would Christmas be like without a bunch of quirky relatives and a murder? Two of Meg’s cousins are having weddings in Caerphilly the Saturday before Christmas – not a double wedding, more like competing weddings- same photographer, same venue, but different times and each seems determined to outdo the other. Actually, it seemed like a weird setup – who could possibly have thought this was a good idea? But it’s the photographer who ends up dead, not one of the wedding party.
The story moves along quickly and some of the bride’s antics and others’ responses are downright funny. Meg somehow manages to keep her calm in the midst of the chaos- and helps solve the murder, since the local police just have a bit too much on their plates. She has several suspects, from grooms who disappear at convenient times, to a disgruntled assistant and angry former clients. I will admit I guessed the killer early, but that didn’t diminish the fun. The characters are just as important here as the mystery.
As usual with this series, I listened to the audiobook as I have done for most of this series. The narrator, Bernadette Dunne, is Meg Langslow to me. She does a great job and it’s nice to have consistency throughout the series.
Five Golden Wings had plenty of Christmas touches and, even though there are tons of returning characters, I think it could still work as a stand alone. We get good introductions to everyone but not so much information that it stops the flow of the story.
About Donna Andrews
Donna Andrews was born in Yorktown, Virginia, the setting of Murder with Peacocks and Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, and now lives and works in Reston, Virginia. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she’s messing in the garden
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