ARC Review: Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 34)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 10, 2023)

Description: '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?

My Thoughts: It's Christmas time and Ragnar is hosting a reality show which features blacksmiths who make weapons. Meg was asked to take part but she's happy just to be a gopher. But when her mentor Faulk is attacked and ends up with a concussion and broken arm, Meg is roped into competing. 

As she gets to know the other competitors, she finds that some could be friends, but others are not the kind of people she likes. When one of her least favorite attempts to sabotage the first event of the competition, Meg uses her nephew Kevin's technological skills to catch the saboteur in the act. This act, and his really substandard knife, makes him the first one to be eliminated. 

However, elimination isn't supposed to lead to murder. However, Meg and Michael find his body surrounded by cows in a far pasture and Meg finds herself investigating a murder while competing in a reality TV show. 

I enjoyed the setting since the story takes place at Ragnar's castle-like home. I also liked the time of the year which includes Meg's mother handling the decorating and complying with Ragnar's rather eccentric color scheme. I also liked the gingerbread house decorating party and other seasonal events. 

I thought the solution to the mystery was the least successful part of this story. I felt that the reveal of the villain was too sudden and, to my way of thinking, without any earlier clues leading to him. But maybe I just missed the clues because I was so enjoying all of the Christmas festivities. 

Favorite Quote:

I sipped, and savored the familiar taste, the bite of the caffeine cutting through the sweetness of the cola. Yes, even in winter, I like my caffeine cold and bubbly.

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