Audiobook Review: The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Twelve Jays of Christmas
Author: Donna Andrews

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 30)
Publication: Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio (October 19, 2021)

Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes

Description: The cast of Donna Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series is back for an unforgettable holiday story in The Twelve Jays of Christmas.

Meg and Michael’s annual holiday celebration is well underway, with a throng of out-of-town relatives staying at their house. Hosting these festivities is a little harder than usual—they have to relocate all the events normally held in their library, currently occupied by Roderick Castlemayne, the irascible wildlife artist who’s creating twelve paintings of birds to illustrate Meg’s grandfather’s latest nature book.

Still, the celebrations continue—and the entire family rejoices to learn that Meg’s brother Rob and his longtime fiancée Delaney have finally decided to tie the knot. Unfortunately, they decide to do this in the middle of Meg and Michael’s annual New Year’s bash, dashing their mothers’ hopes of planning the wedding to end all weddings.

Delaney’s mother sneaks into town so she and Meg’s mother can secretly plot a way to talk the happy couple into having a big bash. Hiding her only adds to Meg’s holiday stress—it’s almost a full-time job fending all the visitors who want to confront Castlemayne—reporters, bill collectors, process servers, and several ex-wives in search of unpaid alimony.

Then someone murders Castlemayne in the middle of a blizzard and sets loose the birds he was painting. Can Meg help the police crack the case before the killer strikes again? Can she keep Christmas merry in spite of the body in the library? Can she negotiate a compromise between Rob and Delaney and their disappointed mothers? And can she recapture the twelve escaped jays before they begin nesting in the Christmas tree?

This intrigue-filled Christmas mystery takes readers home to Caerphilly to join in Meg's family's holiday celebration—including, of course, another baffling mystery.

My Thoughts: The 30th Meg Langslow mystery takes place in the days before Christmas. The relatives are gathering. The library has been taken over by Robert Castlemayne who is a wildlife artist painting twelve bird pictures to illustrate Meg's grandfather's latest wildlife book. 

Castlemayne is a nuisance who smokes in the library and lets the birds - this time blue jays - loose so that he can paint them in their natural setting. Meg also spends a lot of time fending off Castlemayne's unwanted visitors including his two ex-wives who are demanding their alimony. 

Besides Castlemayne's problems, Meg is also dealing with her mother and Delaney's mother who has snuck into town to try to convince Meg and Delaney to have an over-the-top, blowout wedding which isn't what either of them actually wants. 

Then, for some reason, grandfather has decided to keep some wombats in Meg's basement, and the house is overrun by the Pomeranian puppies Meg thought she had adopted out but who frequently show up for playdates. 

With Michael and the boys off on a ski trip and Meg hampered by a badly sprained ankle, Meg has her hands full solving all these problems before Christmas arrives.

I bought the Kindle copy November 21, 2024, and the audiobook June 5, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman

Deadly Does It
Author: Abbi Waxman
Series: A Mason & Mann Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Berkley (July 21, 2026)

Description: When Natasha Mason’s AA sponsor is in deadly danger, she turns to the cranky yet brilliant Julia Mann for help, in this exciting new mystery novel from the USA Today bestselling author of One Death at a Time.

Mason, a Gen Z adrenaline junkie, and Mann, an ex-con, ex-actress, and lawyer turned sleuth, have already solved one murder together. United by their commitment to sarcasm and general disappointment with the human race, they now face a second crime that’s way too close to home. Alexa Rousso keeps having accidents, and no one but her thinks it’s a coincidence. Could her checkered past be coming back to get her? Mason and Mann’s investigation takes them to the Bay Area, to the Central Coast, and – of course – to the hippest spots in Los Angeles. Will the Berkeley boho vibe convert Mann from vintage couture? Will the wine snobs of Ojai drive Mason to drink (or to vinicide, which isn’t even a thing)? More importantly, will they solve the mystery before the murderer’s sights settle on the detectives themselves, or will this new challenge also be their last?

My Thoughts: The second Mason and Mann mystery begins when Mason's AA sponsor Alexa had problems. The event she's organized is sabotaged when the extremely large vegetables used as decor fall from the ceiling causing chaos. Then she mentions that she has been receiving threatening letters.

Juliet Mann, ex-alcoholic, ex-con, ex-movie star turned lawyer, agrees to take Alexa's case and try to find out where the harassment is coming from. Mason, also an ex-addict and Gen Z adrenaline junkie, is Mann's assistant who has a special interest in this case.

As Mann and Mason try to unravel Alexa's past to discover what secrets she might have and not remember or not say, they travel to Northern California which is also Mason's home turf. She needs to see her parents since her father has had a recent heart attack and is being harassed at work in the hopes that he will resign his teaching position. 

Problems with her sponsor and problems with her family add a lot of stress to Mason's investigation. Luckily, she has the help of Juliet Mann and her eccentric cast of associates as they unravel old secrets and new ones too.

I enjoyed the large cast of interesting characters. I like the relationships between them all. The mystery was also satisfyingly complex. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Death at King's Cross by Rosanne Limoncelli

Death at King's Cross
Author: Rosanne Limoncelli
Series: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (July 21, 2026)

Description: DCI Lilian Wyles is confronted by a troubling case, one that only the four queens of crime can help solve—even amidst the ongoing war efforts.

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh are back in the follow-up novel to The Four Queens of Crime.

1941, London. When DCI Lilian Wyles finds a young woman murdered at King's Cross Station, she needs the help of someone she can trust, but Richard Davidson, her former Scotland Yard partner, has joined MI5 and is busy tracking black market routes outside of London, so for now, she is on her own.

After having met the four queens of crime during a murder investigation two years earlier, DCI Wyles has kept in touch. But Agatha, Dorothy, Margery, and Ngaio are all involved in the war effort and have problems of their own.

Agatha is volunteering at the University Hospital Pharmacy, where a dangerous anesthetic has been stolen. Dorothy has heard unsettling information from her connections at the BBC regarding members of the Royal Navy. Margery, who has been in the countryside helping families escape the city from the bombing, is worried about one of her charges whose older sister has gone missing. And Ngaio, who has relocated to New Zealand and is volunteering as an ambulance driver, has begun gathering secret intelligence from wounded soldiers and sailors that may put her in danger.

When the four queens contact DCI Wyles for help, the information they share makes the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. DCI Wyles once again finds herself collaborating with her old partners in crime to solve the mystery and close the case in this thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Nicola Upson and Anna Lee Huber.

My Thoughts: The second Queens of Crime mystery begins with the discovery of a body at King's Cross Station. The young woman in barefoot and wearing only a silk slip and a man's overcoat. DCI Lilian Wiles arrives on the scene only moments after the unidentified woman's death. 

Though quickly identified, the investigation into the woman's death is quickly snatched out of Scotland Yard and into the auspices of MI5. Lilian is curious and somewhat upset by this change of jurisdiction especially when she sees the woman as part of an investigation she's already conducting into the disappearances of a number of young women. 

Meanwhile, the other four queens of crime are each doing their parts in the war effort. Agatha Christie is volunteering in a hospital pharmacy where she is noticing the some chloralhydrate is going missing. Dorothy Sayers is working for the BBC where she runs into a blackmail plot determined to undercut the country's war efforts. Margery Allingham is safe in the country where she is hosting a young woman evacuated from London. The young woman's sister has gone missing, but a note filled with Cockney rhyming slang has reached her indicating that her sister is in danger and in need of rescue. Ngaio Marsh is back home in Christchurch, New Zealand, driving an ambulance, visiting evacuated soldiers, and directing a play whose actors are young university students and writing long letters to Richard Davidson who has moved from Scotland Yard to MI5.

Each of the queens of crime has clues that all lead to the same mystery. It isn't until Lilian puts all the clues together that they understand what is going on. They rescue the young women and foil a plot against England's best good.

This was an enjoyable mystery. I liked the World War II setting. I liked the insights into the lives of four very famous mystery authors. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils
Author: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
Series: Savvy Summers (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 21, 2026)

Description: The next delectable mystery featuring quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, owner of a soul food café in Chicago.

Savvy has her work cut out when an old friend hires her to cater a company luncheon at a nearby office building on Chicago's South Side. Stepping out of her traditional soul food comfort zone, Savvy whips together a menu of Creole classics, with her own spin, of course―mini po’boys with assorted fillings, sunburst salad, and bread pudding using Great Aunt Essie’s famous buttermilk biscuits.

But when someone is found dead in the company’s conference room, Savvy’s culinary creations are suddenly in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. While the focus should be on their delicious flavors and inventive techniques, Savvy’s beloved café instead becomes the center of a murder investigation once again.

Caught within a messy web of gossip, miscommunication, and fraught coworker relationships, Savvy will have to settle the confusion to clear her name. Somebody’s hiding something, and with the help of her trusty assistant manager, Penny Lopés, Savvy sets out uncover exactly who is to blame. With familiar faces turning up the heat on her investigation and her café still in hot water, will Savvy be able to save her reputation before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: The second Savvy Summers mystery, set on the South Side of Chicago, has the chef expanding her repertoire into Cajun food and catering an event for an old acquaintance. When one of the attendees is killed by poison in one of Savvy's po-boys, Savvy is on the case. 

Savvy is helped by her first ex-husband Fanon who is a Chicago police officer. She's also helped by the unhoused man who wanders the neighborhood with his canine companion Sergeant Stubby. 

Savvy is also dealing with the closing of her restaurant because of a construction project in the neighborhood. Even though her new restaurant will be a flagship part of the new development, it is hard for her to leave the memories built there since she opened.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery filled with mostly likeable characters. I enjoyed the Chicago setting. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz

Sleep No More
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Series: The Lost Night Files (Book 1)
Publication: Recorded Books (January 3, 2023)
Length: 9 hours and 20 minutes

Description: New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz returns with the first novel of the Lost Night Files, an exciting new romantic suspense trilogy about a night that changed three women forever—but that none of them can remember.

Seven months ago, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers were strangers, until their fateful stay at the Lucent Springs Hotel. An earthquake and a fire partially destroyed the hotel, but the women have no memory of their time there. Now close friends, the three women co-host a podcast called the Lost Night Files, where they investigate cold cases and hope to connect with others who may have had a similar experience to theirs—an experience that has somehow enhanced the psychic abilities already present in each woman.

After receiving a tip for their podcast, Pallas travels to the small college town of Carnelian, California, to explore an abandoned asylum. Shaken by the dark energy she feels in the building, she is rushing out when she’s stopped by a dark figure—who turns out to be the women's mysterious tipster.

Ambrose Drake is certain he’s a witness to a murder, but without a body, everyone thinks he’s having delusions caused by extreme sleep deprivation. But Ambrose is positive something terrible happened at the Carnelian Sleep Institute the night he was there. Unable to find proof on his own, he approaches Pallas for help, only for her to realize that Ambrose, too, has a lost night that he can’t remember—one that may be connected to Pallas. Pallas and Ambrose conduct their investigation using the podcast as a cover, and while the townsfolk are eager to share what they know, it turns out there are others who are not so happy about their questions—and someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.

My Thoughts: This is the first book in the Lost Night trilogy. Pallas Llewellyn is an interior designer who has a gift for design that is a psychic talent. After a night she doesn't remember, her gift is greatly enhanced. She and the two other women who were with her when the lost night happened also had their psychic gifts enhanced. They started a podcast to try to discover what happened to them.

A tip to the podcast leads Pallas to a small college town to explore an abandoned asylum. The tipster is Ambrose Drake who is sure that he saw a body being hauled out of the building where he was undergoing tests for sleep deprivation. It turns out that he had a lost night too. He'd always had a talent for aura reading but now he's begun sleepwalking. The only way to avoid it is to not sleep which has led to his extreme sleep deprivation. 

Under the guise of making a podcast, Pallas and Ambrose who writes thrillers when he isn't sleep deprived begin to investigate to see if Ambrose's memory is correct. They find a shady doctor and shady college administrators. They also find drug runners. What they don't find is any indication that a woman died the night Ambrose underwent his testing. 

I liked the characters and the setting of this story. I liked that Pallas was coming to terms with her newly enhanced psychic gifts and was able to help Ambrose deal with his sleepwalking. I liked the banter between the two main characters. I also liked the romance that developed between the two of them. 

Eva Kaminsky does a good job is choosing voices which distinguish each character.

I bought this one April 26. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle

If Books Could Kill
Author: Kate Eberle
Publication: Penguin (July 21, 2026)

Description: A NOVEL LOVE STORY meets LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous

When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author’s next novel, she has romance in mind—namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.

Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist—but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.

Thrown into a perilous genre she’s never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story in which the lines between fiction and reality blur. They’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End—or maybe even Happily Ever After.

My Thoughts: Roxie Mitchell loves romance books for escape but not so much in real life. She's a daredevil who works as a temp to fund her various adventures. When she idly wishes to be the heroine in an Anna Matthews romance, her wish is granted. Roxie doesn't know that Anna has decided to change things up and write a thriller.

Roxie finds herself dropped into the plot of a genre she doesn't read, but all is not lost. To escape her killer, she hijacks an Uber only to discover that quiet, college instructor Grant Hoffman is in the backseat. Luckily, he has read lots of thrillers but has never wanted to take part in one. 

What follows is on over-the-top adventure as the pair tries to find their way out of the story. They travel to London to try to find Anna and convince her to write another story, but they need to battle a variety of odd villains along the way. Also, along the way, they fall in love which is the one experience that really frightens Roxie. 

This was a great story. I enjoyed the romance and loved the adventures. I also enjoyed the humor and the heart of the story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (July 13, 2026)

 It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

Still another quiet week. The high temperatures have landed here in Duluth, and the Air Show is sending very loud airplanes over my house. It is Sunday morning. The temperature already 83 with a feels like temperature of 89 and with 93 as the forecast high. Monday and Tuesday are also forecast for highs in the 90s. Good thing our air conditioning is working.

I'll be watching my Braves play baseball this afternoon. They aren't doing too well lately. Their big lead has evaporated. Since this week is the All-Star Break, maybe they can rest up and find their game again when the second half of the season begins.

I have no appointments this week and plan to keep reading mainly review books. I have 44 on my review stack and would like to get it under thirty by the end of July. Of course, a lot of that depends on how many new ones get added to the stack. I do have four requests at NetGalley that I haven't heard about yet and usually get at least two offers from publicists in my email each week. Lately most of those have been for books I already have on the Review stack. 

I am getting ahead on my audiobooks. I try to listen to and review two a week along with four other books. Some weeks I need all six spots on my calendar for review books, but I still want to listen to audiobooks. That also means that I might look for audiobook versions of some books for which I already have the Kindle copy on the calendar. I do have five Audible credits available, but really like saving them for books I know I'll read more than once. 

Read Last Week

• Vendetta in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
• Death on the Books by Victoria Gilbert (Review, August 4) -- Cozy mystery in the Blue Ridge Library series. My review will be posted on July 29.
• A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (Review, August 4) -- Fantasy mystery with great worldbuilding. My review will be posted on July 28.

• Bad Scene by Max Tomlinson (Audiobook, Mine since July 3) -- Colleen Hayes mystery set in 1978 San Francisco. My review will be posted on August 7.
• Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, Mine since May 13) -- Contemporary romantic suspense in the Arcane Society story arc. My review will be posted on August 11.
• Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty (Review, August 4) -- There is time travel, but the more important thing is people answering questions about their lives. My review will be posted on July 30. 

• (Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall (Review, August 4) -- Romantic fantasy much stronger on the fantasy than on the romance. My review will be posted on July 31.
• Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner (Kindle & Audiobook, mine since April 16) -- Twisty thriller starring Tessa Leoni with an appearance by D. D. Warren. My review will be posted on August 13.

Currently

• Murder in Blackfriars by Jennifer Ashley (Review, August 11)
• The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, Mine since May 11)

Next Week

• Death at a Scottish Halloween by Lucy Connelly (Review, August 11)
• The Matchmaker's Cottage by Kat Sloane (Review, August 11)
• Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan (Review, August 11)

• Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols (Review, August 18)
• Homeward for a Spell by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos (Review, August 18)
• For Services Rendered by Will Thomas (Review, August 18)

Reviews Posted

• Killer Vibes by Jack Friday (Review copy)
• The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews (Audiobook)
• Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter (Review copy)

• The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon (Review copy)
• Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead (Review copy)
• Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt (Audiobook)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Roundabout by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (Review, January 19, 2027)

Bought:

• The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (BookBub, $1.99) -- Read the Review copy, loved it. Wanted it for my Keeper collection but was waiting for a sale. 
• The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (Kindle Deal, $2.99)

What was your week like?