Sudden death competes for attention with Andrews' trademark brand of comic bedlam at the Riverton Renaissance Faire. The highlight of the festival is the Game, the semi-improvised period soap opera that climaxes most evenings in a duel between the Duke of Waterston, played by professor Michael Waterston, and his archrival, Sir George of Simsdale, played by George Sims, before continuing with new developments the next day. The lowlight is Terence Cox, a difficult actor whose issues include an awkward amatory history with another cast member; an attempt to blackmail another player; a spot of reckless horsing around that gets computer programmer Tad Jackson, the husband of ornamental blacksmith Faulkner Cates, fired from his job; and perhaps even antagonizing Gracie and Harry, a pair of peregrine falcons who've become one of the faire's signature attractions. It's lucky that when Terence is killed, inevitably by a period dagger to the back, Michael's wife and Faulk's most famous pupil, Meg Langslow, is on hand to help Riverton police chief Mo Heedles with the job of sifting through the dozens of suspects, beginning with two local actors both convinced they've been cast as Polonius in eccentric director Neil O'Malley's new production of Hamlet. Although Andrews keeps the proceedings as light and brisk as a carnival, there's more mystery than in Meg's last several adventures, and Meg rises to the occasion till she's cornered by not one but two independent candidates for the hoosegow. Andrews deftly juggles franchise characters, newbies, red herrings, Renaissance tidbits, and murder most welcome. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In multi-award-winning Andrews's latest "Meg Langslow" mystery, an actor ends up dead at the Renaissance Faire hosted by Meg's grandmother at her crafts center, and Meg must investigate. With a 40,000-copy first printing.

As second-in-command at the Riverton Renaissance Faire, Meg Langslow has myriad details to attend to, in addition to providing blacksmithing demonstrations. Her biggest headache is actor Terence Cox, whose mean-spirited pranks and borderline sexual harassment have angered his fellow cast members. When Cox is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects. Meg assists Riverton Chief of Police Mo Heedles by delivering those suspects to be interviewed and providing background information. Complicating matters, Meg's friend and blacksmithing mentor Faulk appears to be ill, and she must keep her grandfather, noted conservationist Montgomery Blake, away from her grandmother, whom he seems determined to annoy. Fans of Andrews' humorous cozy series will enjoy the familiar quirky characters, all in fine form in this satisfying entry. The Renaissance Faire frame provides a wealth of details on life and times in the fifteenth century as well as on falconry and blacksmithing.

Bestseller Andrews's charming 27th mystery featuring level-headed Meg Langslow (after 2019's Owl Be Home for Christmas) finds Meg's grandmother, Cordelia Mason, hosting the Riverton, Va., Renaissance Faire at her Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, where Meg is conducting blacksmithing demonstrations, along with her teacher and mentor, Faulk Cates, and her twin sons. Meanwhile, Meg's husband, Michael Waterston, is participating in "the Game," a "semi-improvisational entertainment" put on by professional actors that's popular with Faire visitors. Unfortunately, actor Terence Cox turns out to be a not-so-merry-prankster who delights in humiliating his fellow Game participants, so it's not as shocking as it should be when he turns up dead in the woods, stabbed in the back with a cheap faux-Renaissance dagger. As usual, Meg is front and center helping Riverton police chief Mo Heedles track down the culprit. Andrews supplies her usual droll plot and familiar cast of eccentrics, and the picturesque Renaissance Faire setting adds to the fun. This quirky, long-running cozy series shows no signs of losing steam. Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary. (Aug.)