In this 14th book in the 'Meg Langslow' series, Meg - wife, mother of young twins, blacksmith, and amateur sleuth - is trying to help save her town from predatory lenders when a murder occurs. The book can be read as a standalone.
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Meg Langslow and the other citizens of Caerphilly, Virginia are trying to stave off "the evil lender" - also known as First Progressive Financial (FPF) - that holds the mortgage on the town's buildings. Caerphilly, being in dire straits, had taken out a loan using the town's infrastructure as collateral, but the larcenous mayor ran off to Cancun with the money.
Since Caerphilly was unable to pay back the loan, FPF was going to confiscate the courthouse, which it planned to use for commercial development.
There's a fly in the ointment though. On the day of the takeover, Caerphilly's town clerk, Phineas Throckmorton, barricaded himself in the courthouse basement.....and he's been there for the past year!!
This would seem to be an untenable situation, but - unknown to the evil lender - there's a secret tunnel into the rear of the basement from Caerphilly's communal greens. Thus various townsfolk have been ferrying food to Phineas and keeping him company.
FPF suspects there's a hidden entryway to the basement, but can't figure out where it is. Thus they send in paramilitary security guards to patrol the courthouse, search for hidden passages, and keep an eye on the barricaded entrance to the basement. Of course the guards have no luck finding the tunnel.....and neither does the private detective retained by FPF.
Caerphilly and FPF are preparing to face off in court when a woman is shot in the courthouse lobby, right outside the blocked entrance to Phineas's domain. Phineas becomes the prime suspect, but Meg and her friends are sure he's being framed.....and set out to find the real killer.
While all this going on, the town is holding July's 'Caerphilly Days festival', a shindig that features all kinds of entertainment. The gala is held on the town's communal greens, which has a stage for the acts.....as well as tents for volunteers; performers; church groups selling food and beverages; and so on.
One of the tents covers the trapdoor leading to the hidden tunnel, and Meg and her cohorts occupy this 24/7.
A humorous trope of the story is a plan to replace the hidden tunnel's old trapdoor, a noisy enterprise scheduled to take place during the festival performances.....which are purposely VERY LOUD. There are also fun fireworks on the 4th of July, which make a good cover for clanging construction work.
Popular recurring characters make an appearance in the story, including Meg's extended family - who help with the detective work and the twins; the police chief - who's resigned to Meg's amateur sleuthing; the Shiffleys - who do the town's construction work; the family dogs - Tinkerbell and Spike; and more.
The title of the story refers to the fact that FPF brings in a falconer whose hawk will attack Phineas Throckmorton's pet homing pigeons, presumably to flush Phineas out of the basement. (Shame on FPF!)
I enjoyed the novel, but the mystery is given short shrift in favor of chapters about the pigeons; the tunnel; Meg's husband and 18-month-old twin boys; Meg's big new house; Meg's brother - who designs computer games; Meg's attorney cousin - who'll face off against FPF in court; a forensics expert who wears a gorilla costume; a coroner who's claustrophobic; etc. All of this is entertaining, but it makes the book more of a cozy story than a cozy mystery.
Nevertheless, fans of the Meg Langslow books would probably enjoy the book.
Rating: 3 stars
I was so hoping you'd like this better. 14 books in the series!
ReplyDeleteJacqui, it was humorous but a little disappointing. I think a mystery has to have more investigating. 😊🌺🍂
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