A Meg Langslow Mystery (Meg Langslow Mysteries) - The Hen of the Baskervilles

I think this book was excellent reading because it was fast, humorous and lighthearted. I enjoy reading Miss Andrews'
books and wait for each new one to come out. I like the setting and the variety of characters. I always give the newest one to friends and family after I have read it.

Hen of the Baskervilles was as entertaining as all the rest of this series . I love Meg's character and the humorous clever solution that resolves the mystery. Knowing chicken collectors made this one even more entertaining.

Donna Andrews hit another home run,...or should I say won a blue ribbon! A very entertaining read. I even looked up images for all the heritage chickens. Can't wait for Meg' s next adventure! I think she's interested in a deputy vacancy...

Donna Andrews does it again! I always look forward to her funny, energetic, entertaining, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat murder mysteries and after reading the entire Meg Langslow series, I can honestly say I have NEVER been disappointed!! 5 stars!!

The characters have depth & personality & there's a murder to solve! What more could you want. Donna Andrews has the ability to craft characters that you want to know more about. Multi-dimensional, quirky, funny and just plain fun. Can't wait for the next one!

This is great read. As others have said, the author continues to bring fresh perspective and adventures to an ongoing character after 15 books--which is no small accomplishment. The setting is such a win for me. If you've ever been to the county fair, or Un-Fair in this case, you know the backdrop of heirloom quilts, quiet cow barns, showpiece crops, and designer (yes, designer!) poultry makes such a great backdrop to adventure and... crime. Even terror in the case of what's going to happen to the exhibitors next. And don't forget the llamas, please! And what role will a member of Meg's extended family play next? Quirky, funny, and just plain fun with a satisfying resolution at the end.
This author's books are justifiably known for humor, tale spinning, engaging characters, and great mystery plotting. And some of best and funniest titles in cozy mysteries to boot.
As an aside, I have a new favorite chicken--the Russian Orloff. Perhaps it will become yours, too.

I received this book through a Goodreads win.

This is my second book by Donna Andrews. The first being Murder with Peacocks.

I read a lot of gruesome murder mystery books and every once in a while I like to read something a little more lighthearted. Donna Andrews does that for me.

Her main character, Meg Langslow, lives in the country somewhere in Virginia and the laid back atmosphere surrounding her life definitely comes through in the books. Meg has been set up perfectly to have many books written about her. Her mother is the nosy one who knows everyone and all the gossip. Her father is a retired doctor. Her uncle is a retired forensic specialist. All the people you need at your finger tips when a murder takes place.

Meg herself is a blacksmith who lives on a small farm with her husband and two twin boys. They raise llamas, fruit trees, vegetables and live usually a quaint life. Until a murder takes place. Meg just happens to be in the wrong place at the right time and is always involved with the police to find out what happened.

Sure, this can get monotonous in book after book. However, I really like the characters and the old hometown feel these books have. The author does a lot of research in her books. She is well versed in all the species and types of whatever bird she is using in the title. I never knew there were so many types of chickens!

I would recommend this book if you were into cozy mysteries. They read quickly and you really get to like the quaint main characters.

A dastardly murder and the kidnapping of a prize chicken threaten to ruin Caerphilly's state fair--fortunately, Meg Langslow is on the case of The Hen of the Baskervilles

The newest mystery in Donna Andrews's gut-bustingly funny, award-winning, New York Times bestselling series is anything but elementary. Meg Langslow is helping Mayor Randall Shiffley organize the Virginia Un-Fair, Caerphilly's entry in the race to replace the old state fair (which has gone bankrupt). Before a line can even form outside the ticket booth, however, a pair of Bantam Russian Orloff chickens are stolen from their coop in the chicken tent. Soon, a rash of vandalism crops up at the fair, showing no heritage farm animal, prize vegetable, or artisanal craft to be safe.

While patrolling the fairgrounds, determined to catch the perp, Meg runs into her friend Molly, who has been building a successful business making goat cheeses. Molly is terrified that she may lose her farm because her idle husband Brett has left her for Genette Sedgewick, a rich hobby winemaker, and is demanding his half of the land. Meg enlists Mother's help to find Molly a divorce lawyer, but later that night, Brett is found murdered and Molly is swiftly accused as his killer.

Meg is convinced that her friend wouldn't so much as harm a fly, but can she find the real killer before it's too late? Will she track down the vandal who has been terrorizing--however creatively--the fair's participants? And will Michael be able to convince her to add members of his new favorite heritage breed to their growing menagerie? Meg's most hilarious caper yet, the curious incident of the hen in the nighttime will have readers rolling on the floor with laughter.

My first Meg mystery, I know it won't be the last! I enjoyed the whodunit and the author made it tons of fun in between. You actually learn a bit about chickens, llamas and more! I did enjoy quite the cast of characters. That being said, I had to give it four stars because I felt a bit at times as if it dragged on.

I felt pulled all over the place and distracted when Meg's personal thoughts came into play. Towards the end I started to get clues as to who our murderer MIGHT be, but it was fun none the less.

I know I will be checking out the other Meg mysteries, too much fun to not!

I received this book as a part of Goodreads First Read program in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. Andrews delivers yet another enjoyable, lighthearted mystery. I started reading this series because of the comparison to Janet Evanovich, as I loved the early Stephanie Plum novels. To me Donna Andrews has long since surpassed Evanovich in the genre, though probably not as well known or as popular. I gave up on Plum when I realized I was reading practically the same book time after time. The characters and their quirks were exactly the same, just in different settings. Meg Langslow, meanwhile, has gotten married, purchased a fixer-upper in a constant state of repair, has given birth to twins, and continues to acquire enough animals to become a hobby farmer. There are no gratuitous characters; from the locals to the array of suspects, all play a necessary role in the mystery - even if only as a red herring. The humor is light and natural- not forced or "slapstick". Refreshing to read a book and not be bombarded by unnecessary obscenity! I recommend this entire series to anyone who enjoys a mystery/crime novel minus the blood and guts!

Much, much better than her last book, and back to par with her first books. Ms. Andrews seems to have her game back. This takes place at their Un-Fair...you've got good guys, bad guys, murder, chicken thieves. What more can you ask for? A darn good mystery.

Fifteenth in the Meg Langslow funny mystery series revolving around Meg and family in their small town of Caerphilly, Virginia.

My Take
Lately the Meg Langslow stories haven't been as funny, but The Hen of the Baskervilles reminds me why I adore this series. It's cozy, homey, and downright hilarious with its small-town life and obvious villain. Add in the focused pride of individual participants in their particular plants, animals, and crafts, and its humanity in spades.

I hadn't really thought of how much work was involved in raising that pumpkin, and I love that Andrews took the opportunity to explain. This really is an excellent and too-funny story, one that's made even better with Andrews' promotion of heritage breeds and heirloom plants. The emphasis is more on the animals, but I do love how she explains the breeders' hopes and dreams for their animals. I could wish she'd done an equal opportunity for the crops and produce, but perhaps Andrews felt that organic produce and cheeses and such have received more publicity than the critters.

Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hen! We are searching for the Hen of the Baskervilles.

Oh man, anyone putting on events would love Meg's database with its matching map! Actually, they might want to read The Hen of the Baskervilles for reasons they can use to explain why a good judge is worth the price! The Cutest Dog Contest is so sweet!

Jesus, listening to Plunkett and Vern argue about who has jurisdiction over the body was just ridiculous. Sure made me laugh until the sheriff horrified me with his crime scene techniques.

"Don't worry your pretty little head"? Oh, boy...

I loved Meg's solution, LOL. Actually, Meg has all sorts of solutions that'll mire the Clay County deputies in deep ca-ca.

Geez, that Genette is a piece of work. Everything and everyone is supposed to revolve around her? You'll enjoy hearing how Meg plans to take her for as much as possible.

Why wouldn't Meg simply email a link to what she found to the police? Okay, besides printing out the picture?

And it looks like the Langslow-Waterston's will be adding to their animal menagerie, LOL. Can't wait to read the next in line, Duck the Halls .

The Story
It has all the security a laid-back, easygoing town will provide, so it's no surprise when acts of vandalism and theft destroy the efforts of some of the fair's participants. Then again, it is a surprise that anyone would actually do such things until Meg learns of one fair entrant everyone is willing to blame.

The Characters
Meg Langslow, blacksmith and mom, is too inquisitive for words and always getting roped in to helping with events. This turn around she's the deputy director for the Un-fair. Michael Waterston is Meg's husband, a drama professor at the local college, and llama enthusiast. Josh and Jamie are their two-year-old twin sons. Harpo, Zeppo, Gummo, Groucho, and Chico are their pet llamas; Spike is their vicious little dog with Tinkerbelle, Rob's dog, his faithful companion. Horace Hollingsworth is Meg's cousin and a veteran crime scene analyst. Rose Noire is another cousin deeply into organic anything who sells herbal products. Dr. Langslow is Meg's dad and volunteered to be the medical officer for the fair; Meg gets her inability to resist meddling from him. Mother is in charge of the winery pavilion, and it's beautiful. I suspect she'll be running a lot more next year. Rob is Meg's brother who owns a computer game company.

Fair participants
With no one knowing if the Virginia State Fair would be able to go on, Caerphilly decided to stage its own Un-fair, a statewide agricultural exposition focusing on heritage animals and heirloom crops. Bill Dauber is the not-quite-competent chicken tent volunteer. Rosalie has lost a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt. Molly Riordan is a friend of Meg's and makes the most delicious artisan cheeses. Too bad she's so miserably unhappy. Dorcas is one of the winery participants. Genette Sedgewick, another winery participant, is the Other Woman, and a right bitch who believes she is entitled to anything she covets. Jim-Bob, a American Mammoth Jackstock donkey, will play a vital role. Betsy is a Jack Mule breeder and enthusiast. The Baskerv-, oops, I mean Bonnevilles are in mourning for that first known loss. Mason Shiffley is mortified when his sheep are hit. Seth Early is Meg's neighbor and raises sheep; Lad is his Border Collie. Mr. Beamish raises Sumatrans.

Paul Morot is a wish-he'd-been. As a Genette victim, he's missing his vineyard terribly. Brett Riordan is Molly's roving husband. Doesn't sound like much of a loss.

The usual cast of characters
Vern Shiffley is a deputy with the Caerphilly PD. Debbie Ann is the police dispatcher. Poor girl seems to work 24/7 in that town! Chief Burke is the police chief as well as a sheriff's deputy. Aida is a deputy with EMT training.

Randall Shiffley is the mayor, Vern's cousin, runs a popular construction company, and he's the fair's director. Stanley Denton is a private investigator who recently moved to Caerphilly—he's infatuated with Muriel Slattery's pies, and maybe Muriel (she runs the local diner). Daphne can clean anything. Cousin Norbert Shiffley is about to have a bonanza weekend. Uncle Hiram has moved his moonshine operation over into Clay County to keep from embarrassing Randall if he gets busted.

Clay County Sheriff's Department
Deputy Billy Plunkett is a scheming, incompetent idiot and jerk. Those are the polite terms I'm choosing... Sheriff Dingle makes Plunkett look right smart. Reely is another relative.

The Cover
The cover is too typically Meg Langslow with a gradient of lilac that is dark around the edges and lightens up in the center to focus on the cartoony depiction of a midway game of Shoot-the-Chicken even as The Hen of the Baskervilles waves her wing to reveal all. A cute chick, she's wearing a green vest with collar revealing a white button-down with tie, a magnifying glass in her vest pocket, a meerschaum betwixt beaks, and a green deerstalker to match. It's definitely enough to let you know you're entering the Fun House!

I always appreciate my annual visit to Caerphilly, VA because I know I'm going to be hanging out with Meg and her eccentrically quirky family and their menagerie of animals that will both delight and entertain me. This was a fun and hilarious read with some laugh out loud moments as Meg does her best to solve a murder and find the person responsible for vandalizing and absconding with the animals at the un-fair. This fast-paced and action-filled drama kept me on my toes, quickly becoming a page turner that I could not put down. This is another great story with a solid plot, witty dialogue, and a great cast of characters led by Meg Langslow and her uniquely terrific family. I can't wait to read the next book in this wonderfully crafted series.

The town of Caerphilly, Virginia is hosting a fair and Meg Langslow - blacksmith, wife, mother of toddler twins, and hobbyist farmer - is assistant director. Amidst preparations for opening day a vandal targets the fair and valuable chickens are stolen, a prize-worthy pumpkin is smashed, and a beautiful quilt is sullied. Soon afterward a straying husband is shot dead. The Caerphilly cops reluctantly team up with neighboring Clay cops to solve the crime and, of course, Meg helps investigate as well. I enjoyed this humorous, cozy mystery and learned something about heirloom species of animals as well. A good light read.

Donna Andrews has another hit on her hands. The writing skill and the imagination that Donna possesses blows me away. This one has Meg helping out at Caerphilly's "un-fair", their version of the traditional county fair. But of course the un-fair does not run as smoothly as expected. Picture llamas in costume, a llama obstacle course, missing chickens, a wine tent that Meg's mother is volunteering in, a murder, a set-up and Meg's darling twins, and you can only imagine what happens! The only missing ingredient was Meg's grandpa, as much as I enjoyed the book, it just didn't seem quite right without him.

Other reviews seemed to harangue Andrews, a nit-picky bunch, perhaps? I, however, have read all of the books in her series from cover to cover and found this one to be just as side-splittingly funny as her previous installments. Not to take away from the intelligent mystery the author can so skillfully spin into a delightful read.

I would hate to spoil a gem like this, but I do feel I should reply to critical reviews; Mrs. Andrews brings back all your favorite characters, though I will admit Meg's father, Rose Noire, and Rob didn't receive the same attention their used to, but its compensated for with liberal helpings of Meg's mother (who shows a different face in this novel that rounds out her character to a more three dimensional person, rather than a foil to Meg's crazy father). And don't forget the motley bunch of Shiffleys and, a personal favorite of mine, Chief Burke! These guys are bigger than ever.

Trust me, you won't want to miss this new novel by Andrews, much less put it down. When it comes to reading Hen of the Baskerville's, it's a class act.

This is another great mystery of Meg Langslow. Took me a little while to really get into the story.

I wish authors would put a list of the characters in the front of the book, as sometimes there get to be too many characters to keep track of in the book.

I just love the Meg Langslow series, but oh I get tired reading about all of Meg's energy. She must be on power drinks. :)

I enjoyed the earlier books in this series for their quirkiness, but this one is really stale.

Donna Andrews must be tired of writing this series, or she assumes her readers are dumb enough to continue to read books with little or no plot, dumber than dirt characters, and unsatisfactory motives for the crimes. The most intelligent characters in this book are the farm animals at the fair.

There is as much suspense in this book as a kiddy bedtime story. The motive for the crime is ludicrous, the characters are stereotyped country hicks, and in short, this book is an insult to the readers.

I can't complain about spending money on this book because I borrowed it from the library, so the only thing I lost was the time I wasted reading it.

In this latest addition to the Meg Langslow mysteries Donna Andrews delivers again. If you haven't read any of her books I would suggest that you start with the first book in the series. You will enjoy Meg and her quirky family as she solves the latest murder.