The Hen of the Baskervilles

June 3, 2013
At the outset of Andrews’s diverting 15th Meg Langslow mystery (after 2012’s Some Like It Hawk), Meg, the deputy director of a fair in Caerphilly, Va., looks into the disappearance of two rare bantam Russian Orloffs from the fair grounds. Meanwhile, Meg’s friend Molly Riordan’s cheese business may be in trouble because Molly’s husband, Brett, has left her for Genette Sedgewick, a hobbyist winemaker disliked by just about everyone in Caerphilly, and may demand his half of the business. On patrol that night, Meg and fair director Randall Shiffley find Brett with a bullet through his head. Unfortunately, Brett’s head lies over the county line in Clay County. Deputy Plunkett of Clay County manages to contaminate every piece of evidence he touches in the ensuing investigation, with Molly as chief suspect. Fortunately, Meg and friends, with a little help from Jim-Bob, the donkey, succeed in bringing the real culprit to justice, in this enjoyable, if predictable cozy. Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary Agency.