Janice Tangen
good-works, family-dynamics, friendship, situational-humor, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, hoarding, animal-welfare Warning! I liked it so much that I pre-ordered an audio copy! Come for the laughs and puns, stay for a good mystery, and perhaps to learn some things! Meg Langlow is a craft blacksmith/organizational wizard with a very large, impressive, and quirky family and she is the protagonist. Michael Waterston is her drama professor/former star of a cult sci-fi TV series husband. Dr. Langslow is her father/mystery geek/local Medical Examiner. And a cast of most of the town of Caerphilly, Virginia. It's the Christmas season and in the Good Works department is a community effort to help anyone with a need that can be filled with the help of volunteers, whether hauling manure, making a wheelchair ramp, or helping a man who is overcome by clutter. That last one is the man who needs Meg's persuasion to accept help and find creative answers to the fears he has. Add in some truly awful neighbors and some even worse cousins, and you can guess why Meg finds him nearly dead of blunt force trauma in his garage. Let the sleuthing begin! I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!