Duck the Halls: A Meg Langslow Mystery

The residents of Caerphilly, Va., must struggle to maintain their Christmas cheer in Andrews’s lighthearted 16th Meg Langslow mystery (after The Hen of the Baskervilles). Pranksters are creating some not-so-merry problems for police chief Henry Burke, volunteer fire chief Jim Featherstone, and the parishioners of the town’s churches. Some very unhappy skunks fill the choir loft of the New Life Baptist Church; a large snake puts in a surprise appearance at Trinity Episcopal’s Christmas concert; and the sanctuary of St. Byblig plays host to a flock of messy ducks. Meg’s organizational skills come in handy as she takes charge of coordinating revamped schedules for the many holiday activities that can’t take place in the affected churches. The stakes rise when another prank takes a life at Trinity. Andrews leavens the action with her trademark humor, including dueling Christmas dinners and an extravagant—and extravagantly funny—live nativity scene. Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary Agency. (Oct.)