I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Terns of Endearment
by
Donna Andrews
amateur sleuth, cozy mystery in a Kindle edition on August 6, 2019 and has 332 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Real Macaw, Some Like It Hawk, The Hen of the Baskervilles, Duck the Halls, The Good, the Bad, and the Emus, Lord of the Wings, The Nightingale Before Christmas, Die Like an Eagle, Gone Gull, How the Finch Stole Christmas!, Toucan Keep a Secret, Lark! The Herald Angels Sing, The Falcon Always Wings Twice, The Gift of the Magpie, The Twelve Jays of Christmas, Murder with Peacocks, Murder with Puffins, Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, We’ll Always Have Parrots, Owls Well That Ends Well, Between a Flock and a Hard Place, No Nest for the Wicket, The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, Cockatiels at Seven, Six Geese A-Slaying, Stork Raving Mad, Owl Be Home for Christmas, Murder Most Fowl, Round Up the Usual Peacocks, Dashing Through the Snowbirds, Birder, She Wrote, Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!, Rockin' Around the Chickadee
Twenty-fifth in the Meg Langslow cozy mystery series and revolving around a blacksmithing mom and amateur sleuth. The focus is on a trio of writers mourning a friend while taking a cruise.
My Take
Grandfather is a character, both as a person in the story and in himself. It’s so much fun to see him through Meg’s perspective, as Andrews uses first person protagonist point-of-view.
Yep, that cruise line must be new, offering up discounts for family and friends without putting a limit on it, lol. Too new perhaps, as it sounds as if the crew has grounds for mutiny!
I do like the writing quartet. And I like how supportive they are of each other and of the crisis. Those ladies were handy! It was interesting to see “behind-the-scenes’ into the ladies’ writing schedules and their fascination with character modeling. Lucky for them, too, that the Langslow family is aboard with all those useful experts, lol. As for the short paragraphs on the love-hate of said, well, I couldn’t’ve said it better myself.
Angie, Dr Langslow, and Horace thrill to their blood experiments. Janet adores Michael and is thrilled at the Langslow-Waterston staging sword fights. Janet also has a fabulous comment about Michael choosing to marry Meg. I loved it.
We need more people in the world like the Langslows. Meg doesn’t hesitate to set up protection for a crew member and document the multiple crime scenes — what is that captain thinking??; Mother takes charge when the crew disappears; Delaney is brilliant with all that tech stuff, from Project Bacon’s writing analysis program to rebuilding that generator; Dad is right there as usual, taking care of those in need; and, quite a bit more. You will be entertained!
Oops, Trevor better not let Grandfather see Master and Commander in his luggage. It’s, ahem, interesting enough to find he possesses The Sharp Claw of Love!
That series . . . Fiefdoms of the Were-Knights with shark-weres and more. Just one secret among many, and a guilty pleasure for a few. I did love the examples given of how some of the characters were funny and why. That his words sounded like purring. The problems of being a weresquid . . . without a backbone!
Yeah, Meg has too much time on her hands with some of those murderous theories she’s coming up with. Oy.
It’s a Meg Langslow, so there are characters and humor a’plenty — and a good thing, as the Langslows and then Grandfather and his team both have their parts to play and skills to use in this drama. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of action as well with murder, kidnapping, bodies overboard, suicide, food poisoning, jerkwads who redeem themselves, red herrings, . . . and pure luck when Mother takes over, lol.
The Story
The cruise is intended to be a quiet, environmentally oriented, educational one. And it is. About gulls, terns, and how to deal with food poisoning along with the murder of a couple of passengers . . .
The Characters
Meg Langslow is a blacksmithing mom with a nose for mysteries. Michael Waterston, a drama professor who also teaches stage combat, is her gorgeous husband. Josh and Jamie are their twin sons. Rob Langslow is Meg’s brother, who owns Mutant Wizards, a computer gaming company. He’s engaged to Delaney, who is brilliant, absolutely brilliant with computers. Dr James Langslow is her dad who is a medical doctor and medical examiner with a fascination for mysteries. Mother is Meg’s very efficient mom. Rose Noire is a cousin with an intense interest in organic herbs and medicines, yoga, and the metaphysical. Penelope is an aunt. Horace Hollingsworth is a cousin and a Caerphilly County deputy and their CSI.
Dr J Montgomery Blake is a world renowned zoologist, starring in documentaries, leading environmental protests, and rescuing endangered species. He’s also Meg’s paternal grandfather. Trevor Ponsonby-West is Grandfather’s much put-upon personal assistant, who knows and manages all. Guillermo and Wim are Grandfather’s cameramen and general tech experts. Caroline Willner is a longtime friend who can manage Grandfather. She’s also an expert zoologist and the owner of the Willner Wildlife Refuge.
Pastime is . . .
. . . a relatively new cruise line — that’s agreed to let Grandfather do whatever he wants, ahem. The Pastime Wanderer is the cruise ship with a 200-passenger capacity. The captain is Detweiler. First Officer John Martin is trying hard. More of the crew is Aarav Lal, a bartender; Léonie Brunot; Serge Charlier is the sous chef; Vaclav; Benigno; and, Anton Bjelica and Gerard Hoffman, who are with engineering. Gianpiero Mulder is a porter.
The writing passengers are Angie Weyburn, a mystery writer; Kate Trevanian and Patricia “Tish” Gregory write romances; and, Janet Costello writes fantasy sagas starring the sword-wielding Rafaella. Nancy Goreham should have been with them . . . The rude, crude Desiree St Christophe is a diva in every sense of the word, who writes trite romances.
The Three Stooges are Bart Evans, Hal Burkhart, and Victor, who is a paramedic. Barry would be the fourth stooge but he’s so sick. The Sandburgs are an elderly couple appalled by Dr Langslow’s lectures. Ted Lambert is a contract lawyer who knows when to shut up, lol. Bob and Heidi are useful passengers.
Lieutenant Tracy commands the Coast Guard cutter. Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle was a cheesy TV show in which Michael played Mephisto. Kevin McReady (Meg’s nephew who lives in their basement) is her go-to tech expert who can do anything with computers. Nocebo is a psychosomatic condition in which if you believe something will hurt you, it most likely will. Leonie’s parents run a restaurant at Saint Cyr sur Mer. Festus Hollingsworth is a very successful crusading attorney.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a gradated background of coral descending to a pale orange and back to coral. In the middle is a wood-framed porthole looking out onto the sea and a blue sky. Doing the looking is Serge’s pale blue tern wearing a captain’s hat and about to drink a beachy red drink out of a tulip glass adorned with a bent straw, a cherry, and an umbrella. At the very top is an info blurb in yellow. Below that is the author’s name in white with the last three letters falling away. Below that on the right next to the porthole is the series info in yellow. Below the behatted tern is the title in white with its letters a’jumble.
The title really has only one tern in this Terns of Endearment which is looked on with terms of endearment.
