"Mingling with Murder" & "Mashed Potato Murder" By Leslie Langtry: Reviews/Giveaways

Reviews by Becky Sue Epstein & Linda Kay Hardie

This week we have a Leslie Langtry double header--we have reviews of Mingling With Murder, and her Thanksgiving novela Mashed Potato Murder. Details at the end of this post on how to win ebook copies of both books, and links to purchase them.

Mingling with Murder: A Merry Wrath Mystery by Leslie Langtry

Review by Becky Sue Epstein

Balance is everything, and this is what author Leslie Langtry achieves admirably (once again) in Mingling with Murder, the latest book in her Merry Wrath extreme caper series. It’s even more impressive when you consider that many of the characters executing these extreme capers are thirteen-year-old girls. Merry Wrath herself is their scout leader. Actually, their co-scout leader. She shares the honor with her childhood best friend, who co-opted Merry into the troop when Merry abruptly returned to her hometown a couple years ago, after her CIA identity was compromised.

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Image Source Gemma Halliday

After a wild decade or so as an international spy, it wasn’t easy for Merry to settle down in Who’s There, Iowa, and try to live a normal life. Fortunately, this scout troupe is anything but normal. In fact, one of the girls is currently the mayor of the town. Which creates the premise of this book: a regional mayors’ convention in the nearby town of Mingle, Iowa. The scout-mayor and her fellow troop members are presenting workshops––what could go wrong? Way too many baby alligators, a giant kangaroo, revengeful squirrels, the girls’ attempted deification of controversial political figure Huey Long. You get the picture.

Merry is attending the conference with her husband Rex, a police officer in Who’s There, who is getting an award for his 100% murder-solve rate which he may have achieved with Merry’s help, though that’s not the official version.

At a conference dinner one night, the mayor of Mingle is killed, right before everyone’s eyes. Rex is out of his jurisdiction, and every other mayor and police officer at the convention has their own ax to grind. Or may, in fact, be the murderer.

Strangely, the Mingle, Iowa police chief has a sister with a background similar to Merry’s, and she might be helping out her brother too. But is it to solve the case, or to shield a killer?

Trying to keep everyone safe and figure out who the murderer is, Merry has to balance her own tendency to act like a CIA operative while riding herd on her scout troop who have developed international spy characteristics––to Merry’s official dismay but secret delight.

One more note: additional kudos to author Langtry for creating an incredible (literally, almost unbelievable) story that any reader can enjoy, without having read the rest of the series.

You can click here to purchase this book.

While traveling the world and writing about wine and spirits, Becky Sue Epstein read cozy mysteries to relax. One day it occurred to her that she could combine the two pursuits. She recently began to write wine-themed cozy mysteries. Hopefully, her agent will love them.

 

Mashed Potato Murder: A Merry Wrath Mystery (A Novella): Merry Wrath Mysteries by Leslie Langtry

Review by Linda Kay Hardie

I’m a completist, so I seldom read a book in the middle of a series. I prefer to start at the beginning and leisurely make my way through. But when I was asked to review this cozy mystery novella as a favor to a friend, I agreed. After all, I figured that if a new reader can pick up and enjoy a story this far into an established series, that’s proof positive the writer is exceptional.

Leslie Langtry is an exceptional author. When I opened the novella in my tablet and flipped to page one of chapter one, Leslie dropped me into the story and caught me up. Although a bit of a whirlwind, I never felt info-dumped on. With Langtry’s folksy and friendly style, I felt like a guest at this holiday celebration with the host, her hand on my arm, giving me a thumbnail introduction to her extended blood- and chosen-family.

Image Source Gemma Halliday

The dust-devil pacing of the first page fits first-person narrator Merry Wrath’s personality. In addition, the character descriptions provide not only thumbnail sketches tickling long-time readers’ memories, but also served as tiny appetizers tempting the newbies like me to go back and download the earlier books. I mean, Chechen brothers-in-law married to Merry’s twin sisters-in-law with the flip-flopping personalities? Slightly mysterious sister and brother twins who might not be what they seem? Middle school kids who might be more at home as MI5 agents than Girl Scouts, who were trained by Merry, a former spy and definitely not an assassin. Oh, and let’s not forget the animal supporting characters, which include four polite hamsters in teensy police uniforms, all named Hamlet.

On to page two! (Technically, the hamsters join here, but I couldn’t very well leave them out of the chosen-family description.) Still, the pace is frenetic, but in a laugh-out-loud funny way, sort of like any Monty Python sketch or an episode of Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

The story relates the antics of a Thanksgiving day for this ragtag bunch, hosted by Merry and her husband Rex. Food is on the mind of more than one character, both before and after the holiday dinner itself. Betty, one of the more-than-oddball Girl Scouts, verbally strong-arms the party into playing the murder game her inventive mind created. One of the Chechen brothers-in-law turns out to be the victim, but he doesn’t know how to play dead.

Who’s the murderer? Merry, who’s solved many murders, fears that she’ll be embarrassed at this game, especially when the rules keep changing. What’s really going on when so many people and situations are more than what they first seem?

I refuse to tell you any more, because that would ruin the holiday nosh of this novella between the main-dish-meals of Leslie’s other  books in the series. An abundance of fun is stuffed (like a holiday turkey or guests at the meal) into this lagniappe, and it will leave you wanting more.

 You can click here to purchase this book.

To enter to win ebook copies of the book and the novella, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "Leslie,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 23, 2024. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! 

Linda Kay Hardie is a freelance writer in Reno, Nevada. She writes short stories in many genres including horror, dark fantasy, and crime, but not romance. She tried once, and everyone ended up dead. Tragic. She also writes recipes and is the reigning Spam champion for Nevada (yes, the tasty treat canned mystery meat). Her writing has won awards dating back to fifth grade, with first place for an essay on fire safety. In 2022, she was honored with the Sierra Arts Foundation Literary Arts Award for fiction. For more, see amazon.com/author/lindakayhardie.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.