Some Like it Hawk

A Meg Langslow Mystery, Book 14

By: Donna Andrews

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Meg Langslow is plying her blacksmith's trade at Caerphilly Days, a festival inspired by the town's sudden notoriety as "The Town That Mortgaged Its Jail". The lender has foreclosed on all Caerphilly's public buildings, and all employees have evacuated - except one. Phineas Throckmorton, town clerk, has been barricaded in the courthouse basement for over a year. But the lender seems increasingly determined to evict him, and may succeed after one of its executives is found shot, apparently from inside the basement.

Meg and her fellow townspeople suspect that someone hopes to end the siege by framing Mr. Throckmorton. Meg soon deduces that the killer isn't just trying to end the siege but to conceal information that would help the town reclaim its buildings.

©2012 Donna Andrews (P)2012 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"...warm, charming 14th Meg Langslow mystery..." ( Publishers Weekly)

the real hero is the guy who's been in hiding >yr!

situational-humor, verbal-humor, family-dynamics, friendship, cozy-mystery

The town of Caerphilly has been tossed out of its municipal buildings by The Evil Lender since the felonious former mayor did not make payment on loans which used the buildings as collateral and then absconded with the money. Almost all of the relevant offices and materials were relocated when the problem came to light over a year ago, but one citizen has camped out in an area of the basement which appears inaccessible and is guarding all of the documents stored there. There actually is a tunnel to the hidden area and it is kind of an open secret to the townsfolk who have been supplying foodstuffs and other necessities. But of course there are complications and a murder, so then the fun and the sleuthing begin in earnest! Loved it!
Bernadette Dunne is inspired as the narrator!

Missing stories

I loved this book. The resolution of the plot in Add to dictionary was wonderful.
However, the four missing stories between Cockatiels at Sever and this was very jarring.
Kids and Caerphillly in trouble out of nowhere was very jarring.
Please do the missing four books.

Favorite so far

My favorite of the series so far. I love how one book flows into the next, but it's not the same mystery recycled at all. This one kept me guessing and seems like we'll have some new characters for next time.

Love this Series!

Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow stories are great. Love the sense of humor. And Bernadette Dunne does a marvelous job making the stories come alive.

A Great Series

Would you consider the audio edition of Some Like it Hawk to be better than the print version?

There are a few books that I've found that are definitely better having read to me. The Discworld audiobooks are definitely better than reading the books. I wouldn't say these books are necessarily better than the print version, nor would I say they are worse. The reader is definitely up to the job; does wonderfully. Fortunately, since Audible has so few of this series, it's probably just as well that I like the paperbacks just fine!

What did you like best about this story?

I like the people. Each of them with their own quirks and foibles and none of them are utterly stupid. Generally, not even the back guys are utterly stupid.

Have you listened to any of Bernadette Dunne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I believe I've only heard her do other Donna Andrews books. The recording quality on this one seemed a little bit better than the earlier ones.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

I love these books. I've tried to identify what it is that is so appealing, primarily to try and find another equally enjoyable series, and it has got to be the people. I am a sucker for books about women who are living lives that I wish were mine, but aren't so horribly perfect in every way that I simply want to strangle them. They have jobs that aren't just sitting behind a desk; they live someplace just a little bit more interesting than I do; their hobbies are interesting; their friends are interesting. It's a different life that I can escape to just for a little while.

I just hope that the author has a few more volumes in her.