“Meg, what’s this in your notebook about crickets?”
I started. I had been so busy on my computer that I hadn’t even noticed my brother Rob come into the trailer that served as headquarters for the Un-Fair, Caerphilly’s annual agricultural exposition.
And I wasn’t thrilled to see Rob browsing in my notebook-that-tells-me-when-to-breathe, as I call my giant to-do list.
Granted, the notebook wasn’t exactly as private as a diary, but still–I didn’t like seeing someone else making free with that familiar, worn-leather, three-ring notebook. I still shuddered when I recalled the disaster a few months ago, when one of my twin boys had learned how to open the rings and an avalanche of 5×7 pages spilled onto the floor where the other twin was finger painting.
“Put my notebook down,” I said. “And what do you mean, crickets?”
” ‘Find more live crickets,’ ” he read.
“For the boys’ pet toads,” I said. “You wouldn’t be interested in catching some, would you?”
“I’d be happy to go down to the pet store and buy some,” he countered.
“They’re out,” I said. “All they have is freeze-dried. The toads insist on live. Do you have time to drive someplace to buy some? You’d probably have to go to Tappahannock, or maybe even Richmond.”
“Too busy,” he said. “Ever since word about the murder got out, the parking lot has been a zoo.”
“Make that the whole fair,” I said, with a sigh.
“Weird, isn’t it?” he said. “You’d think having one of the exhibitors murdered would drive people away instead of inspiring them to come. And before you ask, I’m on my lunch break.”
He pulled out a sandwich and ostentatiously took a bite. My mouth began watering. I could tell just by looking that it was freshly made at the organic sandwich stand in the vendor’s hall. I had no idea what antibiotic free meats and organic cheeses were lovingly tucked in between the two thick slabs of fresh whole-grain bread, but it didn’t really matter.
I focused back on my computer. As soon as I finished a few urgent items, I could go get my own sandwich.
“What’s this?” Rob asked. “‘Call Clarion to ask for correction.'”
“That’s the email I’m writing now,” I said over my shoulder. “The Clarion website reported the murder under the headline ‘Murder at State Fair.’ I think the people who run the official Virginia state fair might get a little ticked off if they saw that. There! Email done.”
“Want me to cross that off your list, then?”
“No,” I said. “I’m the only one who gets to cross tasks off.”
“What about adding tasks?”
Rob was still holding the sandwich in one hand and staring at the phone he was holding in the other.
“Even more so,” I said. “No one gets to add things but me.”
“Okay,” he said. “So I guess I should hand you the notebook and a pen before reading you the text I just got. Some goats are loose in the pasture we’re using as our expansion parking lot. They’re eating the signs that tell people what row they parked in. And whoa! Some lady who’s phobic about goats is standing on top of a pickup truck screaming.
That I’d like to see.”
He stood up and ambled over to my chair.
“That doesn’t even make it into the notebook,” I said, pulling out my cell phone.
I called the volunteer in charge of the goat barn and arranged for a team of goat wranglers to tackle the trespassers. Then I called Dad and asked him to rush over to the parking lot with his medical kit to tend to the phobic woman. I sat back and closed my eyes for a moment.
“So no one gets to add tasks but you?” Rob said.
I looked up to see Rob standing in front of me, still browsing in my notebook.
“If other people add tasks to my notebook, I make a point of not doing them promptly,” I said. “Or sometimes not even doing them at all.
The same goes for tasks requested by people who manhandle my notebook.
Hand it over.”
“You might want to make an exception in this case.”
He held out the notebook with one hand while pointing to the bottom of the right-hand page with the other.
I followed his finger to see that a new item had been added, in our father’s neat, almost calligraphic handwriting.
“Solve the murder.”
Donna is giving away one (1) copy of THE HEN OF THE BASKERVILLES. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. The book will be shipped directly from the author. Contest ends July 19; US entries only.
You can read more about Meg in The Hen of the Baskervilles, the 15th book in the “Meg Langslow” mystery series. The first book in the series is Murder with Peacocks.
Meet the author
Donna Andrews is the author of fifteen (soon to be sixteen!) books in her Meg Langslow series from Minotaur. After The Hen of the Baskervilles (July 2013) comes Duck the Halls (October 2013), and she’s now hard at work on The Good, The Bad, and the Emus (July 2014).
Dru’s note: I love these titles!
You can reach Donna at her website, on Twitter or on Facebook.
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
I love the title! Would be great to win a copy, thanks for the opportunity!
Delightful series. I really enjoy the titles, too. Very clever!
I love the covers of this series!!!! so colorful & fun!!
thank you for the giveaway!!
Great series – always a fun read. Thanks for having this contest.
I love this series!
Thank you for the chance to win this fun book
this sounds great!
Sounds really great, love the title, would love to win
This is one of my favorite series. Thanks for the chance!
I love this series. Lots of laughs, unique characters and funny situations. No one does it like Donna Andrews!
Can’t wait to get my hands on a new Meg mystery. It’s a long time between ‘drinks’ of favored author releases. Sigh. Hubby has been warned that I won’t be surfacing for awhile once I get my hands on Hens’. LOL. I still reread all of your books…particularly during times of stress. I think I get the most laughs out of We’ll Always Have Parrots and Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, because they have familiar themes in them, but all of your books are brilliant. Love the characters.
Cheers,
Looking forward to reading this one. Meg is a great character and I love her notebook! I have several of those myself.
This is another wonderfully entertaining series. Looking forward to this book.
Sounds like a real fun book.
This is my favorite series of all time. I would LOVE to win a copy. LOVED reading this peek into Meg’s notebook that tells her when to breathe! 🙂
Would love to win this book. Could use the diversion of a fun read in the midst of the current heat wave!
Congratulations on another release. I know it’ll be a delight.
I really enjoy Donna’s books; they are well-written and humorous, a combination which is hard to find. A visit with Meg and company always brightens my day!
Started reading this series with ‘Six Geese-a-Slaying’, and know own them all. Wonderful, clean, funny, and just plain delightful.
Love this series with its terrific blend of eccentric family and unconventional conventional townsfolk. Looking forward to HEN!
I love the tone of these books–not to mention the catchy titles.
.
I’ve had a list like Meg’s for years, too. First it was paper (I used pink legal pads). Then I went digital with a Palm Pilot and now an iPod touch. But I call it the list that tells me when to breathe after Meg’s list.
Love Meg’s dad! I used to sneak to my friend’s calendar every so often and write “buy Sharon’s present.” Can’t wait to read the next installment in Meg’s chaotic life.
I want it, I Want It, I WANT IT. I think that makes my intentions perfectly clear… Right Dru?
I love the cover. Looks like a really fun book.
Looks like a fun read – would really love to win a copy.
One of my favorite series…. I usually laugh out loud as I’m reading… Hoping I get to add this to my bookcase!
Reading this reminded me that I haven’t heard any crickets yet this summer. I wonder what is wrong? Cute covers for this series. The hen is just adorable.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Such a great series. Can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the contest. 🙂
Love the series! Love the titles! But I especially love all the quirky characters!
This sounds interesting
Not sure why, but I had never read any of Donna’s books. I love cozy mysteries and those with a lot of humor and both offbeat and upbeat characters, so this series sounds just like “what the doctor ordered” for me.
I ordered the first three in this series the other day and want to read through all of them before I begin the latest one which sounds so cute. Winning this book would be even more encouragement to get through the first 14 books now, wouldn’t it. I’m not very lucky, but maybe that will change and I will be reading your entire series including this one. Thank you for the great interview with your character, Meg, and thank you Dru for having Donna featured today. Can’t wait for my first three books to arrive. With temps of 100 in MA I am home in the AC and will read all afternoon and be ready for my Amazon order to come!!!!!
Sounds like another great mystery for Meg to solve! I’m with her–only I get to add things to my To Do list and cross them off. And sometimes, I add something I’ve already done (and forgot to put on the list) just to have the satisfaction of immediately crossing it off. 😉
I love the Meg Lanslow series! I have all of them. I recommend “Murder by Peacocks” to everyone I know who reads mysteries. I even read it out loud to my husband during a long trip. My favorites so far is “We’ll always have Parrots”, because I love going to fan convictions, and “Crouching Buzzard and Leaping Loons” because I love seeing more of Rob’s life. And, because of Jack. I totally related to that moment that Meg had where she could see two paths of her life.
I can see this is a series which I need to start, immediately if not sooner. This sounds like such a fun story.
I love this series, and would love to win the book!
I am a big fan of Donna Andrews because I love birds. It is great to have some kind of bird making an appearance in a cozy.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
WHY do I keep reading these blogs, and reviews, and interviews, etc? I just keep finding NEW series, and new authors, that I just HAVE to read!!!!
The titles are wonderful == I need to win the lottery so I can buy all the books (these and others) I want to read from Amazon. Also, I need the lottery money to pay the maid and cook, etc., to do the household chores, and to pay the bills, while I read!!! 🙂
I love this series, always funny and smart. I was ever so happy to see this book pop into my kindle the other day. I wil be arving out time to read it this weekend.
Meg’s notebook-that-tells-me-when-to-breathe is her sanity. If she lets any one mess with the notebook who knows what chaos and disasters would happen to Meg. I know how she feels.
What clever titles in this series. I imagine that the stories are just as imaginative. Thanks for the giveaway, I’d love to win a copy of The Hen of the Baskervilles (still making me smile).
This is quite possibly my very most favorite series! I adore Meg & Michael, and Rob, and the whole crazy family! 🙂
It would be great to win the latest! And either way, looking forward to another fun read!
This reminds me of how much reading I have to do. I haven’t read this series but sounds wonderful. Another one for the TBR pile.
Love all of the Meg books! Can’t wait for each one to come out.
I adore Meg! And, love this series. I’m “re-reading” those available on audiobook for the laugh-out-loud fun especially while waiting for a new one to be published. Would love to win a copy of Donna’s latest Meg adventure. And, I’m ready to go back to the paper “notebook that tells me when to breathe — too many computer crashes & electronic calendars lost!
I love the notebook that tells me when to breathe! It is part of what made me fall in love with the series way back in Murder with Peacocks! 🙂
This is, hands down, my favorite mystery series. I even buy them when they come out. All others I either get at the library or wait until they’re in paperback.
Have been reading these since the very first one came out and I still laugh my face off at every one. There are very few series I will buy in hardback, but this is definitely one of them–because I always re-read them and I like to make sure I have good copies to keep on hand. Have lost count back of how many times I’ve re-ead “Murder With Peacocks”–still my favorite!
I love this series. I have read almost all of them. This one sounds interesting too.
I’m loving these comments.
Just love this series and can’t wait to read the latest!
I wish I could live by a list!
This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I love the characters, and the titles are always catchy and usually punny. Winning would be wonderful!
Oh my goodness, I don’t know how she comes up with these titles! But I sure do love them. I always pay more attention when reading Donna’s books because I need to know where the title bird comes into play in the story. Love, love, love. Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon is still my absolute favorite!
This is one of my all time favorite series. Donna’s writing always makes me laugh and brings a smile to my face. Meg and her family are hilarious. I can’t wait to get the latest release as I know it will be a yet another great adventure. Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
Thanks Donna for giving a glimpse into Meg’s day, especially with her notebook.
I would love to start reading this series! It sounds really good!
Loves this series. I’ve learned lots about penguins, puffins and flamingoes and have several more on my stack. Love to win this one. Thanks. judydee22002@yahoo dot com
I love this series! As a mother of twins (now 7 yrs. old) and with a weird family, I can relate to Meg a lot.
contest is closed.
Thank you, everybody! In a classic example of how I am NOT as organized as Meg, I managed to be on travel with almost no access to the Internet starting Thursday morning, the day Dru posted this!
And in case anyone wonders what I use for my “notebook that tells me when to breathe”–it’s actually a Word document. Combines the portability of paper–I can print it out and take it with me–with the easy updating of electronics–I mostly use it online. And it’s backed up daily on Carbonite.
Hope everyone enjoys The Hen of the Baskervilles!
Who won?!
Janet A. All winners for the week are announced on my FB page and on the Sunday Recap.
Thanks 🙂