Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt

Synopsis:

As the holidays draw near in Caerphilly  , Mother volunteers to take part in a big Christmas-themed decorator show house—each room of a temporarily untenanted house is decorated to the hilt by a different decorator for the public to tour.  Of course, Mother insists that Meg pitch in with the organization, and she finds herself surrounded by flamboyant personalities with massive egos clashing and feeling their professional reputations are at stake.  Then the rooms start to be sabotaged, and an unfortunate designer turns up dead—making Mother a prime suspect.  Can Meg catch the real killer in time to save Mother the indignity of arrest?

Review:

In The Nightingale Before Christmas Meg Langslow is pushed to play a part in the big Caerphilly decorator Christmas themed show house. She is forced to deal with a lot of big (and small) personalities. Her mother insisted, in her polite way, that Meg play a part. So she is the go to person when anything goes wrong. And boy have things been going wrong. Things start to come up missing, rooms are tampered with and there is one designer that has some serious problems getting along with anyone. When he winds up dead, Meg takes it upon herself to find out who did the horrible deed.

As always with Donna Andrews’ Meg books, the characters are a hoot and family time is a true adventure. Add in a murder mystery and things really get hectic. Ms. Andrew’s writing style is fun and descriptive and draws the reader in with the wonderful characters that fill her books. Christmas is always a big time for the Langslow’s from Meg’s husband doing his  Christmas Carol, to the big family dinner. And all the little things that are such tradition with the family. As a reader of the Meg Langslow series, when reading these books, the reader becomes part of the fun and festivities.

Besides all the entertainment the reader gets from Meg and her family, Ms. Andrews tells a wonderful tale in these cozy mysteries. The murder investigation keeps the reader guessing, with more and more hidden facts start to come out. Meg is pulled in different directions investigating the murder and trying to keep the house on schedule. Thank goodness her husband is off from his teaching job for the holidays.

I love this series. It is always fun, fast paced and full of family love and relationships. The setting is delightful, the characters are well developed, the mystery is intriguing and the author keeps you on your toes. Somewhere in the books there is always a bird that it gets its title from. It is almost part of the fun trying to figure out where it will be. A wonderful Christmas read that fills the reader with the holiday spirit. I would recommend The Nightingale Before Christmas to any cozy lover and anyone searching for a great winter read.