Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews is the 20th book in the “Meg Langslow” mystery series. Publisher: Minotaur Books, August 2016

Meg is Team Mom and Michael is coach of their twin sons’ youth baseball team, the Caerphilly Eagles. Meg tangles with Biff Brown, the petty, vindictive league head. On opening day, Biff’s lookalike brother is found dead in the porta-potty at the ball field. So many people think Biff’s scum that it would be easy to blame him, but he has an alibi–and Meg suspects he may actually have been the intended victim.

With Die Like an Eagle, readers can look forward to another zany Meg Langslow mystery–this one filled with the spirit of America’s pastime and Donna’s eagle eye.

Like Meg Langslow, the blacksmith heroine of her series, Donna Andrews was born and raised in Yorktown, Virginia. She introduced Meg to readers in her Malice Domestic Contest-winning first mystery, Murder with Peacocks, and readers are still laughing. This novel swept up the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, and a Romantic Times award for best first novel, and a Lefty for funniest mystery.

I don’t know how Donna does it, but she always delivers a wonderfully-crafted whodunit with a catchy avian title that factors in the theme of her stories. In this one, the favorite pastime of baseball takes center stage as once again, Meg finds another body and it’s these jovial jaunts that bring humor to how this all plays out in the end. Once Meg and her family get involved, the antics are hilarious and intertwined with the solving of the murder creating a well-balanced drama.

The author did a great job in providing us a field of suspects and it was fun watching it all play out until there was only one person left on base. I love how all the characters play pivotal roles that enhances the telling of this tale where the narrative is superbly done and the dialogue is engagingly snappy. The part that put a big grin on my face was the ending with Meg and her boys. A great read and I look forward to more adventures with Meg and her eccentrically quirky family.