Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews is a 2016 Minotaur publication.
It’s time for summer games!

Wow! I’ve now read TWENTY books in this series!

I’ve followed Meg through courtship, marriage, pregnancy and the birth of her twins. Now the boys are playing baseball for the Caerphilly Eagles, Michael is a coach, and the reader is invited to opening day…

Unfortunately, the festivities are marred by the discovery of a dead body in a porta-potty- so naturally, Meg once more finds herself at the center of a murder investigation…

Wow! I can’t believe I’ve just finished my 20th Meg Langslow mystery!
This series is very dependable, which is why I have stuck with it for so long. The Christmas stories are always a bit more special and are worth checking out even if you don’t follow the series.

Naturally, there have been a few wobbles, too, but overall, dear Meg has remained steady, calm, organized, and hysterically funny, in the midst of absolute chaos. In short, this series is a riot.

The pacing, though, can occasionally feel a bit too brisk, and despite the fun cast of recurring characters, the pressure to inject all of them into each installment can be distracting, which is why I thought this installment was a bit more settled and was perhaps one of the stronger efforts by Andrews.

Nearly all my favorite characters make an appearance, satisfying my desire to touch base with them again, but for the most part they stayed on the periphery, popping in and out long enough to compliment the story, without disrupting Meg’s focus on the mystery.

I felt the pacing was less frenetic and this helped to keep Meg focused on the mystery and as a result the whodunit wasn’t upstaged by Meg’s zany family members.

The tradeoff, perhaps, is that the humor wasn’t quite as sharp, but Meg’s narration is still top-notch and the story didn’t not lose any of its usual charm.

Overall, this is one of the strongest chapters in the series- and as always it was great fun to check on Meg and the gang!

Twenty down- thirteen to go...

4+ stars ( )

There was one screwball scene that reminded me why I feel in love with this series in the first place. I also thought the mystery was one of her better ones. The twins are a bit more rounded out, which was nice. I miss the comedic tone and the family... I guess I'm just too picky. ( )

First time read, kiddy league baseball involving two town. Everyone has heard of the nightmares of little league and toxic parents...this was nice parents who all come together to make a great league. Sometimes, it seems like there are too many really really nice, hard working, generous, civic minded, friendly, socially conscious folk who have lots of money to give generously of their time and money. Lots of inviting entire town to lunch and feeding them all. All a wee bit too good to be true. That being said...I still loved the book.

Reread beginning November 2023. I had boys and never entered them in kiddy league and reading about it reassures me that I escaped.

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'm annoyed because the book itself was a good book. Funny and all that, but there were no relevant clues that I could see. The murderer was a surprise because we didn't have the information until the end.

( )

Die Like An Eagle (2016) by Donna Andrews. Meg Langslow, star of this 20th addition to the series written by Ms. Andrews, is the kind of woman people love to hate. Every small town needs at least one “Alpha” female to take charge of just about everything just to make sure anything gets done.
And she is just an ideal small town sleuth who butts into everyone’s troubles especially when there is a murder involved. Caerphilly has a lot of murders, so many that it makes me wonder why any one would want to live there. I suppose many people don’t want to but are to lazy to move away.
Anyway, a murdered man is found stuffed in a portable toilet at the little kids baseball diamond. While not a nice man in life, Meg suspects it was his brother Biff who was the real target.
A whole bunch of snooping ensues, some veiled threats are made. Meg pries into yet more small town seediness, and her husband happily tends to their flock of children.
This is a nice read, nothing too thrilling or dangerous happens, and of course Meg solves the crime. Why Caerphilly even needs police is beyond me. ( )