41.
Title: [The Good, The Bad, and the Emus]
Author: Donna Andrews
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Ebook
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: 8 May 2016
Rating: ***

It must be difficult to maintain a cozy mystery series for so long, as small towns and craft fairs can only yield so many bodies. To alleviate some of the body count, and protect the convivial small-town feel of Cearphilly, Andrews sends Meg Langslow into a neighboring community in The Good, The Bad, and the Emus with P.I. Stanley, sent on a mission by her grandfather. After all of this time, and having made the acquaintance of the family he didn't before knew he had, Meg's grandfather has hired Stanley to locate his former lover - only to discover that she is not only dead, but was likely murdered six months before. In an effort to win over the reclusive cousin with whom Cordelia lived before her death, Meg manipulates her grandfather into capturing and re-homing the emus Cordelia and Annabel were recently working to protect, placing them in close proximity and allowing for snooping, cautious family bonding, and bird-rescue.  Though the story can feel a bit claustrophobic, and the shallow characters wooden, the plot maintains a consistent pace, and delivers on the promise of the series thus far.

42.
Title: [The Nightingale Before Christmas]
Author: Donna Andrews
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Ebook
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: 10 May 2016
Rating: **1/2

In an effort to protect her home and peace of mind, Meg volunteers to manage a show house decorated by local professionals as a fundraiser for the historical society - provided the show house isn't her house. This puts Meg into the position in which she does best. No, not blacksmithing - she certainly doesn't have time to work, now that she has twin boys! And no, not parenting those boys - sure, she sneaks off for a couple of outings, but largely leaves their care to other family. She's too busy managing decorators to be bogged down with the children! ... For whom she (apparently?) gave up her job...

I intend to raise no arguments about mothers and work and parenting responsibilities - real life is full enough of those empty debates. Rather, I'm snarking because I am less certain of Meg's priorities, and thus connect less with her as a character. Once very capable, Meg now just seems flighty. If she's going to resolutely pursue one occupation over another, which she seemingly feels she needs to do, I wish she would. I want to see Meg as herself, and less of Meg as a tool for everyone else around her.

At one point in the needless character criticism that makes up Meg Langslow's internal (or in this case, actual) dialogue, she asks if a "self-respecting Goth" would actually carry a coffin purse.  This is a passing and relatively insignificant moment, to be sure, and Andrews uses it to offer the suggestion that the character in question has an eye for quality and detail, and could be successful if she outgrows the macabre. It makes a good point of illustration, though, for the trope into which Andrews falls, and one that is beginning to grate so far into the series: wooden stock characters that establish a critical social hierarchy irrelevant to the narrative progress, and reflective of a stodgy world view that masquerades for broad observation.  The decorator is not the first victim of this lack of understanding, as before the same could be said about so many, from computer geeks, to New Agers, to theater types. Heck, Meg even paints Michael into a corner before realizing he "defied type" and isn't actually gay. By pigeon-holing characters into cartoon-like personae, Andrews is carelessly coloring her texts and masking a lack of depth, which is problematic in a series that attempts to drive plot through character.  Meg herself would bristle at being judged on the surface knowledge of being a blacksmith (not that she works much anymore), so she seems much less reasonable than she's otherwise presented in her poor social readings. This works to challenge the suspension of disbelief, and ultimately renders the book - and the unnecessarily repetitive Christmas plot - tiring.

The fact that I'm so focused on poor character development in a character-driven novel is symptomatic of the lack of surface pleasure I found in reading the book, which is the real reason I pick up cozy mysteries. I don't expect them to be anything more than good fun (and highly value them as such!), and when they're not I start to wonder just why that may be. The holiday theme is exactly like the last. The decorating discussions are what you've seen before. The characters are all recycled.  If I didn't have one more book from the library I'd say it was time for me to put down Meg for good, but I'll give it one more shot.