JAY TO THE WORLD (Meg Langslow Mystery #40) by Donna Andrews will be released on October 13, 2026, by Minotaur Books.
It’s Christmastime in Caerphilly (again) and the Hollingsworth clan is descending on the town in droves. Meg’s mother, Margaret, has the family busy building a playhouse for granddaughter, Brynn. A damper is thrown over the festivities when the playhouse is vandalized and a boobytrap set that was meant to kill Margaret. Escaping with minor injuries, Margaret finally reveals that over the past few months, she has received several threatening emails. She’s also been threatened by the husband of a woman that the local women’s shelter is helping start over with a new life that does not involve him. With Margaret sidelined, it falls to Meg to handle the family festivities, fix the playhouse, help the abused woman on the first leg of her journey, and oversee operations at the show house. When theft and vandalism happen at the show house, Meg realizes that her mother has more enemies than originally thought. Meg and the police are determined to figure out which of Margaret’s enemies is behind the attack before it ruins the holiday.
Meg’s mother has always come off as a bit overbearing and controlling, and it’s no surprise that she has several enemies determined to bring her down. The question is which of these enemies is determined to kill her. Unfortunately, I had the attempted murderer pegged from the beginning and that spoiled some of my enjoyment of the book. The big confrontation with the guilty party was rushed, fell flat, and lacked emotion considering what happened. The investigation into theft and vandalism at the show home was much more interesting than the attempted murder. Overall, it was a decent, well-written story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.