Meg is helping her grandmother run a Renaissance Faire this summer when one of the actors is found stabbed. Half of the cast and crew at the Faire had a motive for killing him. Meg will have to help the police solve this mystery while working in her blacksmith's tent and being the assistant manager of the Faire.

I love the Renaissance Faire setting for this book and hope this setting is used in future books. A couple of Meg's friends from Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos shows up in this book. ( )

When Meg's grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, the whole family is put to work: Meg handles the blacksmithing, Michael and the boys will be performing, and no one misses the opportunity to dress up in full regalia.

More exciting to Grandfather is the pair of rare falcons he discovers breeding at the fairgrounds. Concerned for their well-being amid all the activity, he appoints himself their protector.

When one of the actors performing at the fair is found dead--an actor suspected of mistreating one of the falcons, among other sins--Grandfather is a prime suspect.

Donna Andrews's long-running Meg Langslow series continues to be beloved by its fans, who loyally read every new installment. The Falcon Always Wings Twice is a perfect new addition, full of laughter, adventure, and Andrews's wonderful cast of wacky characters. #27 ( )

27 books and I don’t think Andrews has written a bad one yet. The only books in this series that I enjoy less than the others are the ones with settings that aren’t typically my jam.

This is one of those books. The story takes place at a Renaissance Fair being hosted by Meg’s grandmother during summer weekends at the Craft School she owns and runs. Ren Fairs aren’t my thing; I had a brief fling with them as a teen-ager, but you have to be seriously invested to get into a Ren Fair in Florida’s heat and humidity, and I enjoyed the arts and crafts more than the food and the role-playing.

Still, the Red Fair as envisaged by Andrews sounds like a pretty good time: actors that do a daily improve around a loose plot involving the heir to the throne of their fictitious kingdom of Albion. Unfortunately, their nefarious villain takes his job a little too much to heart, and is on the verge of termination for harassment when he’s found dead in the woods outside the fairgrounds, murdered.

What follows is a well-plotted mystery, as Meg and her family assist the police with their investigations while continuing to run the fair. The mystery of who murdered Terrance wasn’t obvious, but it wasn’t a shock either, though Andrews does a pretty good job with clues and misdirection.

Meg is an inspiration to me, not only as the most realistically organised character I’ve ever read, but also the most unflappable. She is so capable that just reading about her makes me feel more capable by osmosis. And her family never, ever fails to delight; the more of them that are present in a story, the more delighted I am.

I keep expecting a flop, to be honest; statistically speaking, it’s a reasonable expectation, but so far Donna Andrews’ well of imaginative stories has not drawn low, and I sincerely hope it never does. I need to be reminded – at least once a year, if not more often in these horrific times – that strong, capable, unflappable, rational men and women (especially women in Meg’s world) exist, even if only on the page.

I read this for my Cozy Mystery square for Halloween Bingo 2020. ( )

Points for diversity and for a creative idea for Ren Fairs. But the lack of personal growth/depth in reoccurring characters is starting to get a bit old. ( )

Donna Andrews is among the finest cozy mystery writers I have encountered. This 27th book of Andrews' Meg Langslow series was most entertaining and quite amusing. This time, the Langslow family are over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother Cordelia's place they go. You see, Grandmother Cordelia has decided to set up a Renaissance Faire on the grounds of her crafting center, two hours away from the Langslow family farm in Caerphilly. The whole family along with their professional acting friends will be spending their summer at Grandma's Faire. Our protagonist and blacksmith, Meg Langslow, is Cordelia's right arm in the management of the Faire. Meg has her plate quite full. Now if Meg can just remember to breathe.

Meg's husband and college drama professor, Michael, is in charge of the story thread which the Faire staff enact for the tourists throughout the day. For the most part everything runs smoothly. Yet one actor is a thorn in everyone's side. Keeping him under control is Meg's top priority. One more wrong move and he's out of there. When his body is discovered in the woods early one morning, the list of suspects grows rather quickly. Meg's task is to keep the death under wraps and Michael's is to reorganize the actors and their roles as "the show must go on".

The tension mounts steadily, as each suspect is grilled and evidence procured, until the entire story arrives at a satisfying conclusion.

Andrews writes a most engaging story. Her characters are well-developed and their banter - quite fun and amusing. I look forward to each new book in this series and have never been disappointed. The next book, "The Gift of the Magpie" is already out and should be arriving on our doorstep sometime later this week. I cannot wait! ( )